While Rahul Gandhi called IUML ‘secular’, the offshoot of Jinnah’s Muslim League calls itself “a political entity dedicated to safeguarding Muslim rights” in petition challenging Waqf Act

The enactment of the Waqf Act by the Parliament has stirred up countrywide protests by Muslims who are calling the Act a violation of and intrusion into their religious rights. A slew of petitions have been filed by various Muslim organisations and political parties before the Supreme Court challenging the Act. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), popularly known as the Muslim League, is also one of the petitioners before the Apex Court. Notably, the IUML was also the principal petitioner in the Supreme Court among the writ petitions contesting the CAA.

On page 3 of the writ petition, the first paragraph of the synopsis states, “The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a political entity dedicated to safeguarding Muslim rights, files this Public Interest Litigation under Article 32 to challenge the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (the “2025 Act”), as an unconstitutional assault on the religious autonomy and personal rights of the Muslim community in India”.

Moreover, on page 22 of the writ petition, it is mentioned, “Petitioner No.1 (IUML) has among its objectives to strive to preserve and promote and honour the religious and cultural identity of Muslims and other minorities and backwards communities of India, enriching national life and strengthening its secular and democratic foundations.”

When Rahul Gandhi called the IUML a “completely secular party”

Interestingly, the IUML, which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi once boasted of as a ‘secular party’, has described itself as “a political entity dedicated to safeguarding Muslim rights” in its petition filed before the Supreme Court. During his visit to the US in June 2023, an interviewer asked Gandhi why Congress was in alliance with a Muslim party (IUML) in Kerala when it opposes the ‘Hindu’ BJP. “You talked about secularism and democracy while opposing the Hindu party BJP, however, the Congress in Kerala has been in alliance with the Muslim party, the Muslim League in Kerala, the state from which you were an MP,” the interviewer asked. Responding to the question, Gandhi asserted that the Muslim League (IUML) was “a completely secular party”. “Muslim League is a completely secular party, there is nothing non-secular about the Muslim League. I think the person has not studied the Muslim League, “Gandhi said.

Pertinently, the IUML, which is an offshoot of the Muslim League that played a significant role in the partition of India, has links with Jammat-e-Islami and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), both accused by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of spreading radicalism in Kerala, Rahul Gandhi had called the IUML a ‘secular’ party.

The IUML and its “secular” identity

The IUML, which claims to have come into existence after 1948, is an offshoot of the All India Muslim League (AIML), a party founded by Pakistan’s founder and Islamist leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah. After partition, the AIML was succeeded by the Muslim League in Pakistan and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in India. It is a known fact that the Muslim League openly demanded the establishment of a separate nation for Muslims, and their demand was fulfilled with the creation of Pakistan.

The formation of the IUML was a part of the plan to keep the spirit of the AIML alive. It is evident from the fact that the first president of the IUML, Muhammad Ismail, actively participated in the partition movement of the country and was an ardent supporter of the creation of Pakistan. Besides, Ismail, who on one hand claimed that the IUML was a secular outfit, supported the retention of Sharia law for Indian Muslims in the Constituent Assembly after independence. Not just that, Ismail went to bargain with the Congress to “recognise the League as the sole representative of Muslims” on the lines of Jinnah’s claim that AIML was the sole representative of the Muslims in undivided India.

The IUML is known for flaring up communal incidents in the state of Kerala. As per the report of the Justice Thomas P Joseph Commission, which was set up to investigate the 2003 Marad massacre in Kerala, the IUML was found involved in the planning as well as the execution of the brutal violence. The report had declared the massacre as “a clear communal conspiracy, with Muslim fundamentalist and terrorist organisations involved”. In 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR in connection with the Marad massacre, naming IUML leaders P.P. Moideen Koya and Moyeen Haji as accused of funding, conspiring and executing the riots

Clearly, in light of these facts, the claim of Rahul Gandhi, whose great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru had rejected Jinnah’s offer to form a coalition government with the Muslim League, that the IUML is a secular party does not hold water.

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