THE uncertainty prevailing over Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi's continuation as the rector of Darul Uloom Deoband, amid rising criticism, provides cause for introspection. The teaching of modern subjects like engineering, medicine and pharmacy at the Jamia Islamia Ishaatul Uloom at Akkalkuwa in Maharashtra, which Vastanvi had earlier helped set up, is an exemplary template for educating students for 21st century opportunities. However, it was his view that development in Narendra Modi's Gujarat did not leave Muslims untouched that made his position shaky. Having trumped prominent leader Arshad Madni to become the first person from outside Uttar Pradesh to head Darul Uloom, his statement was fodder for his rivals, writes The Times of India in its editorial. Although Vastanvi never gave Modi a clean chit for the 2002 Gujarat riots, his views on development clash directly with the aims of identity politics. For, there is a tendency within the latter to look upon development as a zero-sum game. In the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, it is understandably difficult for many Muslims to reconcile Modi and Muslim empowerment in any way. But Vastanvi's comments, and the support he has elicited from a section of Darul Uloom students, prove that India's Muslim community is not a monolith, as both Hindutva hard-liners and ‘secular' politicians looking for a votebank tend to presume. The socio-economic experience of Muslims from Gujarat or Kerala is markedly different from those hailing from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. The Muslim political voice would do well to accommodate various shades of opinion. This will bring vibrancy to institutions such as the Darul Uloom. Internal democracy within the clergy and reforms linked to opportunities, combined with an effective political campaign to isolate majoritarians in the larger polity, comprise the way to greater empowerment for Indian Muslims. __
