Vastanvi sacking: A scheming, political game

The case of Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi, the sacked “Mohtamin” (vice-chancellor) of Deoband based Darul Uloom —one of the most prestigious and influential seat of Islamic learning in the subcontinent— is another example of how certain stereotypes are bang on target.

But don’t jump the gun in terms of some not entirely accurate but widely held stereotypes about Muslims, particularly their leadership!

The tale of deceit and treachery which has accounted for the summary sacking of the Darul Uloom’s VC in six months of his assuming office compares better with the stereotypes on how ruthless palace coups can be planned and executed with meticulous detail and on how warring clan members can brush aside in house hostility to combat the challenge mounted by an outsider threatening to run away with the family silver.

So for all those jumping to the conclusion that Maulana Vastanvi—a liberal, moderate, educated and progressive face of Islamic clergy and leadership in the country—has been done in by a section of rather retrogressive, fundamentalist, not sufficiently educated Muslim leadership, then that assumption is only half correct.

Not many will question the credentials of Maulana Vastanvi as a respected religious scholar devoted to the cause of education amongst Muslims. An MBA himself, Vastanvi runs over 100 Islamic education institutions across Gujarat and Maharashtra and is widely seen as a secular, liberal and progressive face of Muslim leadership.

The incorrect bit of assumption is that those who have deposed him are a clutch of fundamentalists who want to ensure that some sections of Muslims remain forever myopic, untouched by the winds of education induced change.

My sense of the story is along the following lines.

One will have to go back a little in time to understand the political complexities of not just Vastanvi’s ouster but also the internal politics of Darul Uloom and the Madani clan who wish run it like some kind of a zamindari.

Darul Uloom in Deoband has been run almost like a family fiefdom by the politically savvy and ambitious Madani family almost since its inception. Their stranglehold on this prestigious seat of learning of Sunni Islam only grew post independence as the elders in the family also controlled and led one of the biggest Muslim organizations in the country Jamiat–Ulema-E-Hind. The Jamiat which supported the nationalist stream of thought during the Indian freedom struggle and opposed the Jinnah-led Muslim League reaped the fruits of being on the right side of the congress party post 1947.

Family elders were nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Congress till the turn of the century but the Madani’s failed to retain their pre-eminent position in the community in the post Babri Mosque demolition dynamics as amongst other things the likes of Babri Masjid action committee became the more acceptable voice of the community in the media.

Things became complicated after the death of former MP and Jamiat Ulema E Hind chief Asad Madni a few years ago. A turf war followed between Asad Madni’s son , Mehmood, and his uncle, Arshad Madni. While the uncle managed to take control of the Jamiat-Ulema-E-Hind, his nephew Mehmood succeeded in gaining an entry into the Rajya Sabha with the support of Ajit Singh’s RLD.

So in January when Vastanvi was appointed, the turf war between Arshad and his nephew, Mehmood Madni, was at its bitter peak. By now The Madanis had also come into conflict with Badruddin Ajmal, their erstwhile appointee in Assam who had become too powerful and independent in the last few years to take instructions from Delhi as if he were a Subedar heading a Jamiat outpost in faraway Assam. Ajmal is now the leader of opposition in Assam and his political party a force in its own right in the bordering state.

To cut the story short a confluence of anti-Arshad Madni forces saw Vastanvi emerge as an unlikely consensus candidate for the VC’s post and he humbled the powerful Arshad Madani with the support of his estranged nephew Mehmood Madani and Badruddin Ajmal.

But within days of Vastanvi’s appointment as V-C, the powerful Madani clan realized their family dispute has allowed an outsider to take control of a prized family possession. With his background, experience and standing in the community, Vastanvi was also more assertive whereas Mehmood Madani —who had tacitly supported Vastanvi against his Uncle—was only used to having yes men running the institution.

Then there was the issue of the Gujarati Vastanvi being an outsider in an institution which was always headed by a north Indian Muslim, mostly from UP and Bihar.

So the Madanis buried their differences and on the issue of Vastanvi and wresting back control of Darul Uloom, Arshad, Mehmood and other members of the family came on the same page. A campaign had already been unleashed in an Urdu newspaper against Vastanvi when he committed the cardinal sin of saying a few words in praise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in an interview to the Times of India in February this year.

It’s important to recall what Vastanvi said in that interview. He never condoned Modi’s role in Gujarat riots. He said that Muslims need to move beyond 2002 and look ahead. That’s alright, acceptable and even sensible to the few Muslims I have spoken to. But what has not been accepted by the community is his statement suggesting that Muslims were not being discriminated against in Modi’s Gujarat.

Narendra Modi is the biggest red flag for Muslims of whatever hue; secular, fundamentalist , educated , not so literate, urban and rural. It was at this stage that even the left wing Muslim opinion –represented by the likes of Shabnam Hashmi—said that while they had little intention of joining issues on behalf of either side in the politics of Darul Uloom, a clean chit to Modi was not acceptable.

The immensely emotive and polarizing issue was a god-send opportunity to those gunning for Vastanvi and they succeeded in voting him out in the Sunday meeting of Shoora or the governing council.

It’s a decision which the community may repent down the line.

But even as a large section of the media and analysts succumb to the stereotype in analyzing this sacking of the Darul Uloom VC, one needs to remember that amongst those who voted for Vastanvi on Sunday was the leader of opposition in Assam Badruddin Ajmal, who himself is seen through the prism of a certain stereotype in the sensitive border state of Assam.

In the end the ouster of Vastanvi is as much—if not more—the result of some classic old fashioned political intrigue, inspired by self interest and marked by dirty tricks, than any real ideological divide.