Soon after prayers last Friday, political and social activist A S Fathima Muzaffer addressed a gathering of anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protesters along with DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran. Among the crowd, which had gathered in the Muslim majority Ice House in Triplicane in Chennai, were several women wearing hijab and cheering the speakers. “The CAA has wrought a bigger change among women, who are voicing their angst frankly and boldly,” said Fathima, daughter of former

leader A K A Abdul Samad.

In Tamil Nadu’s small towns, too, where anti-CAA protests are finding much resonance, impressive crowds including women have joined sloganeering against CAA, National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) which have triggered country-wide agitations. “All this has changed the mindset of Muslim leaders who have erstwhile been very divided in Tamil Nadu,” said Fathima.

A section of the community is excited by what it terms as the revival of Muslim politics in the state

After the Marina jallikattu protests and the opposition to hydrocarbon projects in the delta belt three years ago, the latest to rock Tamil Nadu are anti-CAA agitations by Muslim organisations, with a significant participation of the educated class. Some dub it as a resurgence of sorts, while some say it is an awakening of the middle-class Muslim community in the state, which had been largely silent and non-reactive till now.

A section of the community is excited by what it terms as the revival of Muslim politics in the state. Many are now talking about the golden days under freedom fighter and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Mohammed Ismail, who hailed from Tirunelveli, and DMK founder C N Annadurai, who ensured one Muslim minister in the TN cabinet.

Over the years, at least two Muslim parties, the IUML and MMK, have largely represented the community. As per the 2011 census, the Muslim population in Tamil Nadu is 5.86% (42.3 lakh). This could have risen to nearly 7% or more than 50 lakh Muslims in the state.

Apart from a proportionate presence in the state assembly in alliance with either the DMK and AIADMK, Muslim political parties are now toying with the idea of channelling the growing angst of their community into a stronger political movement.

“Television images show that not just Muslims, but members of other non-Muslim communities too have been protesting against CAA,” said A Faizur Rahman, secretary general, Islamic Forum for Promotion of Moderate Thought. In the recent anti-CAA protest organised in Chennai, for instance, thousands, including women and children, gathered near the Alandur court, holding up banners and shouting slogans. The Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath (TNTJ) got together other Muslim groups like MMK, SDPI and MJK. “We came together not looking at ideologies,” said TNTJ general secretary E Mohammed.

“More heartening was that all over the country, cutting across religions and ideologies, people united in solidarity,” said MMK president M H Jawahirullah.

In the wake of the 1998 serial bombings in Coimbatore when more than 50 people were killed, there was a crackdown on extremist Muslim outfits like the Al Umma, which was subsequently banned. In the aftermath of the blasts, hostilities deepened between Hindu outfits and Muslim organisations in the state. Mainstream Muslim parties, however, migrated towards the DMK, while a few of them teamed up with the AIADMK.

Though Muslim parties played a significant role in the 1990s, post the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya (in 1992), in both the AIADMK and the DMK governments in the state, many issues concerning empowerment was not addressed, said Jawahirullah.

“The consolidation against the CAA will now force the Dravidian parties to take Muslim political parties seriously,” said Faizur Rahman. But this should not be at the cost of secularism and Muslim parties must resist the temptation to view every issue facing them in terms of their religious beliefs or identity, he said.