Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the IUML or Muslim League) is a muslim political party primarily based in Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India.[6]
After the Partition of India, the first Council of the Indian segment of the All-India Muslim League was held on 10 March 1948 at the south Indian city of Madras (now Chennai).[7] The party renamed itself as the 'Indian Union Muslim League' and adopted a new constitution on 1 September 1951.[7]
IUML is a major member of the opposition United Democratic Front, the INC-led pre-poll state level alliance in Kerala.[8][9] Whenever the United Democratic Front rules in Kerala, the party leaders are chosen as important Cabinet Ministers. The party has always had a constant, albeit small, presence in the Indian Parliament.[8] The party is a part of the INDIA in national level.[8] The League first gained a ministry (Minister of State for External Affairs) in Indian Government in 2004.[10]
The party currently has five members in Parliament – E. T. Mohammed Basheer, M. P. Abdussamad Samadani and Kani K. Navas in the Lok Sabha and P. V. Abdul Wahab and Adv. Haris Beeran[11] in the Rajya Sabha – and fifteen members in Kerala State Legislative Assembly.
The first Muslim political agency in the region was the Kerala Muslim Majlis formed in 1931. It joined the federal setup of All-India Muslim League later.[12]
After the partition of India in 1947, the All-India Muslim League was virtually disbanded. It was succeeded by the Indian segment of the Muslim League in the new Dominion of India (first session on 10 March 1948 and constitution passed on 1 September 1951).[13] M. Muhammad Ismail, the then President of the Madras unit of the Muslim League was chosen as the Convener of the Indian segment of the party.[7] The Travancore Muslim League (the States' Muslim League) was merged with the Malabar League in November 1956.[7]
Indian Union Muslim League contests General Elections under the Indian Constitution.[13] The party is normally represented by two members in the Indian Lower House (the Lok Sabha).[13] B. Pocker, elected from Malappuram Constituency, was a member of the First Lower House (1952–57) from the Madras Muslim League.[13] The party currently has four members in Parliament.
Apart from Kerala and West Bengal, the League had Legislative Assembly members in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Maharastra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam.[14] In West Bengal, the League had won Assembly seats in the 1970s, and A. K. A. Hassanussaman was a member of the Ajoy Mukherjee cabinet.[15]
Indian Union Muslim League first gained a ministry in Kerala Government as part of the Communist Party of India Marxist-led United Front in 1967. The party switched fronts in 1969 and formed an alliance with the Congress in 1976.[16][9] It later became a chief constituent in a succession of Indian National Congress-led ministries.[9]
| No. | Name | Portrait | Tenure | Home State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. Muhammed Ismail | .jpg)
|
10 March 1948 — 5 April 1972 | Tamil Nadu |
| 2 | Bafaqy Thangal | 1972 — 19 January 1973 | Kerala | |
| 3 | Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait | 
|
1973—1994 | Karnataka |
| 4 | G. M. Banatwala | 1994— 25 June 2008 | Maharashtra | |
| 5 | E. Ahamed | 
|
25 June 2008 — 1 February 2017 | Kerala |
| 6 | K. M. Kader Mohideen | 
|
27 February 2017 — present | Tamil Nadu |
| Part of a series on |
| Conservatism |
|---|
 |
The [Indian Union Muslim League] party...has shown strands of identity politics, but largely remained communitarian; it has at times been conservative, but never communal. It has furthered Muslim aspirations without antagonising any other segment—and hence has retained its centrality in the larger Kerala polity.
The distinctive feature of the [Indian Union] Muslim League in Kerala is that it strove to keep the [Muslim] community at the centre of the [Kerala] state's politics, unlike other Muslim political formations elsewhere in India that revelled in confessional isolationism. As a result, the Kerala Muslims emerged as probably the only community of that faith in India that achieved genuine political empowerment on the one hand and, on the other, lived out the promise of equal citizenship enshrined in the [Indian] Constitution.
— Outlook[29]
If organising a religious community politically on the basis of antagonism to another is communalism, the IUML has never mobilised its cadre nor used its political and often administrative clout to create religious divides. On the contrary, whenever the state faced a communally sensitive situation, the party rose to the occasion and played a stellar role in dousing the flames....By practicing a brand of politics that could be termed communitarian rather than communal, the IUML succeeded in actualising the constitutional guarantee of equal citizenship for the Muslims in the state.
| Designation | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman- Political Advisory Committee (PAC) | Sadiq Ali Thangal (Kerala) |
| National President | K. M. Kader Mohideen (Tamil Nadu)[31] |
| Vice Presidents | Iqbal Ahmed (Uttar Pradesh) |
| Dastagir Ibrahim Aga (Karnataka) | |
| National General Secretary | P. K. Kunhalikutty (Kerala)[32] |
| National Organising Secretary | E. T. Mohammed Basheer (Kerala) |
| National Treasurer | P. V. Abdul Wahab (Kerala)[33] |
| Secretaries | Khorrum Anis Omer (Delhi) |
| M. P. Abdussamad Samadani (Kerala) | |
| Jayanthi Rajan (Kerala)[34] | |
| S. Naim Akthar (Bihar) | |
| Siraj Ebrahim Sait (Karnataka) | |
| Assistant Secretaries | Abdul Basith (Tamil Nadu) |
| Kausar Hayat Khan (Uttar Pradesh) |
Source: http://www.ceo.kerala.gov.in/electionhistory.html Archived 11 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine
| Election | Seats | Vote% | Government/Opposition | Ministers | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won (Contested) | |||||
| 1957 | 8 (19)
As independents |
4.72 | Opposition (to Namboodiripad Ministry)
1957–59 |
[20][37] | |
| 1960 | 11 (12) | 5.0 
|
Government (Pattom Ministry)
1960–62
|
Excluded from the Pattom Ministry[38] | [38][20][39] |
| Abstaining Opposition (to Shankar Ministry)[38]
1962–64 |
[38] | ||||
| 1965 | 6 (16) | 3.71 
|
Inconclusive (no government formed)[38] | [39][20] | |
| 1967 | 14 (15) | 6.75
|
Government[9] (Namboodiripad Ministry)
1967–69 |
|
[9][39] |
| Government (Achutha Menon Ministry)
1969–70 |
[40] | ||||
| 1970 | 11 (20) | 7.7
|
Government (Achutha Menon Ministry)
1970–77 |
|
[40][41] |
| 1977 | 13 (16) | 6.65
|
Government (Karunakaran Ministry)
1977 |
[40][41] | |
| Government (Antony Ministry)
1977–78 |
| ||||
| Government (PKV Ministry)
1978–79 |
|||||
| Government (Koya Ministry)
1979 |
|||||
| Election | Seats | Vote % | Government/Opposition[9] | Ministers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won (Contested) | ||||
| 1980 | 14 (21) | 7.18
|
Opposition (to Nayanar Ministry)
1980–81 | |
| Government (Karunakaran Ministry)
1981–82 |
||||
| 1982 | 14 (18) | 6.17
|
Government (Karunakaran Ministry)
1982–87 |
|
| 1987 | 15 (23) | 7.73
|
Opposition
(to Nayanar Ministry) 1987–91 | |
| 1991 | 19 (22) | 7.37
|
Government
(Karunakaran Ministry) 1991–95 |
|
| Government
(Antony Ministry) 1995–96 |
| |||
| 1996 | 13 (23) | 7.19
|
Opposition
(to Nayanar Ministry) 1996–2001 | |
| 2001 | 16 (21) | 7.59
|
Government
(Antony Ministry) 2001–2004 |
|
| Government
(Chandy Ministry) 2004–2006 |
| |||
| 2006 | 7 (21) | 7.30
|
Opposition
(to Achuthanandan Ministry) 2006–11 | |
| 2011 | 20 (23) | 7.92
|
Government
(Chandy Ministry) 2011–16 |
|
| 2016 | 18 (23) | 7.40
|
Opposition
(to Vijayan Ministry) 2016–2021 | |
| 2021 | 15 (25) | 8.27
|
Opposition
(to Vijayan Ministry) | |
| Election Year | Alliance | Seats contested | Seats won | Total Votes | Percentage of votes | +/- Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
1,199,839 | 6.07% | 0.59%
|
| 2019 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
1,111,697 | 5.48% | 0.94%
|
| 2014 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
816,226 | 4.54% | 0.54%
|
| 2009 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
813,741 | 5.07% | 0.21%
|
| 2004 | UDF | 2 | 1 / 20
|
733,228 | 4.86% | 0.44%
|
| 1999 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
810,135 | 5.30% | 0.29%
|
| 1998 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
745,070 | 5.01% | 0.07%
|
| 1996 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
745,070 | 5.08% | 0.06%
|
| 1991 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
715,222 | 5.02% | 0.21%
|
| 1989 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
780,322 | 5.23% | 0.06%
|
| 1984 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
575,754 | 5.29% | 0.27%
|
| 1980 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
454,235 | 5.60% | 0.40%
|
| 1977 | UDF | 2 | 2 / 20
|
533,726 | 6.0% | 0.38%
|
| 1971 | LDF | 2 | 2 / 19
|
366,702 | 5.62% | 0.98%
|
| 1967 | LDF | 2 | 2 / 19
|
413,868 | 6.6% | 2.11%
|
| 1962 | LDF | 3 | 2 / 18
|
248,038 | 4.49% | 2.84%
|
| 1957 | 
|
1 | 1 / 18
|
99,777 | 1.65% | New |
| Election Year | Alliance | Seats contested | Seats won | Total Votes | Percentage of votes | +/- Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | UDF | 25 | 15 / 140
|
1,723,593 | 8.27% | 0.87%
|
| 2016 | UDF | 23 | 18 / 140
|
1,496,864 | 7.4% | 0.52%
|
| 2011 | UDF | 23 | 20 / 140
|
1,383,670 | 7.92% | 0.62%
|
| 2006 | UDF | 21 | 7 / 140
|
1,135,098 | 7.30% | 0.70%
|
| 2001 | UDF | 23 | 16 / 140
|
1,259,572 | 8.00% | 0.81%
|
| 1996 | UDF | 22 | 13 / 140
|
1,025,556 | 7.19% | 0.18%
|
| 1991 | UDF | 22 | 19 / 140
|
1,044,582 | 7.37% | 0.36%
|
| 1987 | UDF | 23 | 15 / 140
|
985,011 | 7.73% | 1.56%
|
| 1982 | UDF | 18 | 14 / 140
|
590,255 | 6.17% | 1.01%
|
| 1980 | UDF | 21 | 14 / 140
|
684,910 | 7.18% | 0.52%
|
| 1977 | UDF | 16 | 13 / 140
|
584,642 | 6.66% | 0.90%
|
| 1970 | LDF | 20 | 11 / 133
|
569,220 | 7.56% | 0.81%
|
| 1967 | LDF | 15 | 14 / 133
|
424,159 | 6.75% | 2.92%
|
| 1965 |
|
16 | 6 / 133
|
242,529 | 3.83% | 1.13%
|
| 1960 |
|
12 | 11 / 126
|
401,925 | 4.96% | New |
| 1957 |
|
19 | 8 / 126
|
4.72% |
|
| No. | Photo | Portfolio | Name (Lifespan) |
Assumed office | Left office | Duration | Constituency (House) |
Prime Minister | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Minister of External Affairs (MoS) |
E. Ahamed (1938–2017) |
23 May 2004 |
22 May 2009 |
4 years, 364 days | Ponnani (Lok Sabha) |
Manmohan Singh | |
| Minister of Railways (MoS) |
28 May 2009 |
19 January 2011 |
1 year, 236 days | Malappuram (Lok Sabha) |
|||||
| Minister of External Affairs (MoS) |
19 January 2011 |
26 May 2014 |
3 years, 127 days | ||||||
| Minister of Human Resource Development (MoS) |
12 July 2011 |
28 October 2012 |
1 year, 108 days | ||||||
| State | Member | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Madras | M. Muhammad Ismail | 1952–58 |
| Tamil Nadu | A. K. A. Abdul Samad | 1964–70 |
| S. A. Khwaja Mohideen | 1968–74 | |
| A. K. A. Abdul Samad | 1970–76 | |
| A. K. Refaye | 1972–78 | |
| S. A. Khwaja Mohideen | 1974–80 | |
| Kerala | Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait | 1960–66 |
| Abdulla Koya | 1967–73
1974–98 | |
| Hamid Ali Schamnad | 1970–79 | |
| Abdussamad Samadani | 1994–2006 | |
| Korambayil Ahammed | 1998–03 | |
| P. V. Abdul Wahab | 2004–10
2015–present | |
| Adv.Haris Beeran | 2024–present |
The party when in control of the local self-government department, issued a circular which legalised marriage for Muslim women between ages of 16 and 18 and Muslim men below age 21.The circular was later amended after backlash.[42]
The Muslim League has opposed the Supreme Court of India verdict regarding entry of adult women to Sabarimala temple.[43][44] It is also at odds with several LGBTQ rulings from the Supreme Court.[45] The party also supports the primacy of Muslim Personal Law among Indian Muslims.[46][47]
IUML opposes implementing gender neutrality and comprehensive sex education in school curriculum saying that it promotes homosexuality, leads to sexual anarchy and is part of an atheist-liberal conspiracy to destroy religious values.[48][49][50]
An article by the current president of the Muslim League, on Hagia Sophia,[51] seemed to support the views of political Islam.[52][53]
Muslim League generally presents itself as a conservative political party in Kerala.[54][55] In 2021, ten female leaders from the disbanded Haritha state committee lodged a police complaint against the state president of the Muslim Students Federation (MSF) and the Malappuram district general secretary, accusing them of making sexual remarks.[56][57]
In July 2023, following the Manipur violence where a woman was paraded naked in public,[58] members of the Muslim League raised anti Hindu slogans in Kanhangad, located in the Kasaragod district of Kerala. The following day, Kerala Police arrested five of those members.[59][60][61] Upon criticism over the incident, the State President of IUML Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal responded on 28 July, saying no one has the right to hurt the sentiments and faith of others.[62]
... the Indian Union Muslim League(IUML) in Kerala,... are all, by and large, centre-right political formations
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