Did Gandhi betray Muslims of India ?

Did Gandhiji betray Muslims in India ?

The Communal Award of 1932 was supportive of many other communities other than Muslims but the leaders of the Independence Movement in India could identify Muslims as the only community which was getting the benefits or so called benefits from the Communal Award.  The case for the present day dalits (Scheduled Castes or the SCs ) and the tribal communities was understood by Dr Bhimrao R. Ambedkar ji . He raised the issues of biasness and favored the treatment that was meant for these backward communities. We find that there was total absence of Muslim leadership in advocating for the causes of Muslims community.

The indefinite hunger strike started by Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhiji to press for the complete withdrawal of the Communal Award was the turning point in history of events that have alienated the Muslims communities from the mainstream of the independent India.

When the right of dual-electorate was awarded to the Muslims in 1932, it was an alternative whereby the common Muslim was encouraged to participate in the election process and they could have got ample representations in the elected bodies of the independent India. Their representatives could have come forward to solve numerous local problems specific to the community at the village or social level. We could have seen many women and young leaders from these communities, whether literate or illiterate, rural or urban, modern or stereotypical and men or women had the process of dual-electorate started. Gandhiji cut short this political awareness among the Muslims and prevented even the local leadership among the Dalits and tribals to participate in active politics.

Islam , as a religion , promotes  active participation of women in all  social and political processes of the society but we find that the powerful people and communities have always stood in the path of their sociopolitical empowerment. The youth could have got a chance to mould a better future for themselves and tried to become better leaders doing better work for the society. We could have seen more numbers of political-parties forming to cater to the needs of the Muslim community and the bigger national level  political-parties would have performed better, while delivering results for the Muslims.

The hunger strike by Gandhiji was a step which threw the Muslim community into the deep trench of injustice, hatred for them and a feeling of being left out in the process of getting freedom that would have been more just, equal and encouraging. This was happening as early as 1932 when there were no concrete proposal for the creation of Pakistan.

What we have seen is that this alienation of the Muslims has been continued as an agenda for the development of a particular community while also sidelining the tribals, other religious communities and the Dalits of Modern India as well.
 The question still remains valid - Did Gandhi betray the Muslims of India ?