TIRUPATHUR: At a time when the country is facing polarisation on religious lines, the Muslim-majority Ambur town in Tirupathur district has ensured communal amity by electing Muslims and Hindus as president and vice-president of the municipality alternatively for years, thanks to a verbal pact reached by leaders of both the communities around 1947. If the president is a Hindu, the V-P will be a Muslim, and the communities switch roles in the next election.
“Doraisamy Naidu, Appa Pillai Abdul Jabbar, MR Waheed, former MLA Panneer Selvam, and Salaludin and several Congress leaders and freedom fighters took part in the meeting where the agreement was reached by Hindus and Muslims. The pact was made to ensure political balance of power and peaceful co-existence of both the communities,” said former MLA Abdul Basith.
Political parties, too, adhere to the practice till date. “This will continue in the forthcoming elections too,” M Madhiyalagan, AIADMK town secretary, told TNIE. We have decided on names for the top posts and they will be finalised after the polls, he said. Of the 210 nominations filed in Ambur municipality, 204 have been accepted. Voters will choose municipal councillors for 36 wards.
‘In Muslim-majority Ambur, agreement benefits Hindus’
President and vice-president will be chosen by councillors through indirect election. It is up to the parties to draw candidates from a particular community and both major parties, the DMK and the AIADMK, will stick to the system.
“We have shortlisted a few names like Shakeel Ahamed and Nijaz Ahamed, but it’s up to Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan. He’ll take the final call,” Ambur town DMK secretary MR Arumugam said.
The pact benefits Hindus, says Ambur-based senior journalist J Venkatesan. “Muslims are the majority community. They are dominant in 18 out of 36 wards and it’s difficult for Hindus to get president or V-P posts. But they (Muslims) have not violated the agreement till date,” he said.
But everything is not rosy in Ambur. The town had faced minor clashes in the past including the 2015 riots. “Some hard line groups create tension but most of the people want peace and brotherhood to continue,” a long-time resident told TNIE.
As per 2011 census, of the 1,14,608 people living in Ambur municipality, 52,486 (45%) are Hindus and 57,415 (50%) are Urdu-speaking Muslims. The town has a significant Dalit population and Christians are a small minority.