SAMBHAL, India
Thousands of miles away from Turkey and 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of India’s national capital New Delhi, some 1 million voters of Turkic descent voted in India's ongoing general elections early this week.
They are spread across the towns of Sambhal, Moradabad, Rampur, Amroha and Nagina in India’s largest province of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The region has 40 to 55% Muslim electorate, with a majority of them proud of their Turkic descent. They upset electoral calculations in five Parliament and 17 provincial Assembly constituencies.
The town of Sambhal, popularly called 'little Turkey', is known for its artisans who make decorative pieces from animal horns and also the cultivation and export of mentha oil. The Turkic population in the city accounts for 350,000 to 400,000.
Tracing origin of Turks in the region, local political activist and researcher Hafeezu Rahman says that their ancestors were largely part of an army led by the 12th century warrior-saint Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud or Ghazi Miyan. But the influx of Turks migrating to this region continued ever after under Muslim rulers.
He recalls that a decade ago Turkish ambassador to India, Hasan Gogus, was surprised when he received an invitation to attend a seminar in nearby city of Moradabad for promotion of Turkish culture in the region. “The ambassador was amazed to learn that a large number of Turkic people are residing in the region. His successor Halil Akinci visited us in 2007. We gifted him traditional Turkish handicraft items that we have been making here for centuries,” he maintained.
Abhay Kumar Singh, professor of ancient history and culture at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University in Bareilly, said hordes of Turks have settled in the region. He maintains that prominent historians, like KA Nizami and AL Srivastava, have documented Turkic settlements in the region. The Turks are divided into three sub-tribes Jhoja Turk, Khoja Turk and Bobna Turk. There is one more sub-tribe called Tirklu Turks, but they inhabit deep down South India in the regions of Hyderabad and Mehboob Nagar.
The ethnic descents are still tied to various customs practiced in Turkey. Families on festive occasions eat together from Rakavi (a big-sized aluminium plate), a practice prevalent in Turkic countries. Whenever a guest arrives in our house, we serve ‘Turki Tabaq’ (rice cooked with ghee and sugar) to guests in ‘Rakavi’ as per our Turkic tradition,” says Noor Jahan Begum, a housewife in nearby Rasool village. While in India tea is served with milk, this is an island, where community prefers Cay (Turkish tea), black tea prepared without sugar and milk.
Shafiq u Rahman Barq, who has been a turncoat changing parties in every election, is contesting on the Samajwadi Party ticket as an opposition alliance candidate. In the current Indian political landscape, he is the tallest Turk ethnic face. Barq says, fanatic forces are out to target minorities and Hindu backward castes.
The only other Turk descendent in the regional political life was Maulana Ismael Sambhali. He was one of the top leaders of Muslim League led by founder of Pakistan Mohammed Ali Jinnah, but switched over to Congress, led by Indian independence leaders, and did not migrate to Pakistan in 1947, when the British left the sub-continent. He represented the region in the provincial assembly several times.
Mosque and Hindu god
Residents believe that Sambhal is also mythological place reserved for reincarnation of Hindu god Vishnu as Kalki avatar in Kalyug. Several organizations have been working behind the scene to encourage a section of kanwariyas (devotees of Lord Shiva) to perform jalabhishek (a ritual water offering) at the local Jama Masjid, also known as second Babri Masjid, built by a Mughal general Mir Hindu Beg in 1526, almost at the same time when a similar mosque was being built by another general Mir Baqi in Ayodhya.
The Sambhal mosque is the only surviving Mughal building constructed during the time of Emperor Babar, as two others, one in Panipat is in ruins and another at Ayodhya stands demolished by a mob in 1992.
While issues of nationalism and teaching lessons to Pakistan are dominating the electoral agenda of Hindu nationalists all over the country, in this region they have staked claim on Sambhal's Jama Masjid, asserting that it was a temple usurped by the Muslims. “They had exploited the issue of mosque in the past, but were lying dormant. They are using such tactics again for political gain. If some Hindus are trying to build an environment to turn the mosque into a temple, it's an outright political move,” Barq said, reminding that a Parliamentary Act mandates a status quo on all religious structures of the period before Aug. 15, 1947.
“And, moreover this mosque is also under protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)," he added, noting that the Hindus had already lost a claim over the site in 1877 in a court case. Interestingly, earlier the secular alliance had veered to field Javed Khan, a non-Turk but after strong backlash from ethnic descent population, they fielded Barq. Locals even though believe that Barq has hardly attended to development of the region, but they will root for him because of his linage. Hafeezu Rahman, who was vying for a ticket from the country’s main opposition Congress, withdrew to prevent division of Turk votes. 
Hafeezu Rahman
A number of voters in the towns and villages of Moradabad, Amroha, Sambhal and Rampur belt say the emotive issues of nationalism, war with Pakistan and Kashmir have pushed economic agenda to the backburner. The locals are worried over the hallmarks of this region dying fast, be they bone and horn craft, brassware and knives manufacturing and mentha oil production that ensures employment to thousands of artisans and farmers. They say no politician is listing these issues as priorities. The demonetization, a radical step taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to abolish the black money economy has hit the medium and small industry below the belt in this region as in all over India.
Over the past many years, people are deserting these traditional trades, which have been a backbone of this region for over many centuries. With no easy loan facilities available and due to health issues, nearly 11,000 artisans associated with brassware industry are now pulling rickshaw and auto-rickshaws in the streets of Moradbad.
Asia's largest mentha oil market
In Asia’s largest mentha oil market in Sambal, traders say that demonetization and fluctuating dollar, besides local issues like decreasing ground water table have hit them and the farmers. About 500,000 people are associated with this trade that involves growing mentha grass, extraction of oil and its export. The oil is an essential ingredient in pharmaceuticals, perfumes, tooth paste, chocolates, and cigarettes and almost in everything that needs a cooling and freshness agent. 
Mentha fields
Even while admitting the demonetization as a painful step, Pilu Jain, president of mentha oil traders association, prefers to praise Modi, its perpetrator, for his strong image. Another trader Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, an Aligarh university alumnus and chemistry graduate, says the note ban has hit his trade badly.
At a distance from this market is Mohallah Sarai Tareen in the heart of Sambhal town, known for horn and bone craft manufacturing. Some 40,000 artisans in filthy surroundings are engaged in transforming soiled bones and animal horns into world class ornaments. Abdul Wahid engaged in the trade for over past 35 years says politicians during elections promise them an uninterrupted power supply, but the plastic combs and Chinese goods were killing his trade. “I purchase an animal horn for 80 Indian rupees ($1.14) from a trader and then after finishing and working on it for over 10-15 hours, the ornament sells for a meagre 150 Indian rupees ($2.14),” he says. 
Artisians at work
Having inhaled bone dust over all these years, Wahid is a chronic asthma patient. “Banks want us to produce endless identities and papers and I am not sure, even after arranging all these things, if I can then repay loans,” says Wahid, who vouches for the secular alliance candidate, feeling that he identifies with the poor.
In Moradabad, where 50% population is associated with brass trade, small-time politicians assemble in street corners late evenings. They are seeking votes in the name of defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but without spelling an economic agenda. “Brassware as a cottage industry is on its last breath. But it has no effect on big time exporters and manufacturers. They have put up factories and employed labour rather outsourcing work to our artisans,” says Mohammad Mostaqee, a local journalist and activist.
Famed cricketer turned politician Mohammad Azharuddin had won elections here in 2009. Interestingly, Azharudin hails from South Indian city of Hyderabad, but it was his Turkish descent that prompted his candidature in this North Indian constituency to entice the Turkish descent population. He belongs to Tirklu Turkish sub-tribe, says Hafeezu Rahman. Locals, however, say, he forgot soon his constituency after his victory.
'Difficult choice'
In the politically significant state of UP, three decades ago, Mulayam Singh Yadav, a petite wrestler and supreme commander of Samajwadi Party, assiduously sewed up an alliance of Muslims and Yadavs--a backward caste amongst Hindus who sell milk. His son Akhilesh Yadav, is now on the shaky political ground. Pleading Muslims not to abandon his party, he also tells Yadavs not to spoil his party in Delhi “Time has come for us to rule or at least become a factor in Delhi to bring prosperity to people. Will you leave me in the mid-stream,” he raises the emotional quotient, knowing that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Modi has caught the imagination of young Hindu population including Yadavs. 
Market place in Sambhal
To defeat the BJP, Akhilesh has tied up with the BSP, representing some Hindus in lower castes (backward) --Dalits to give a stiff challenge to the BJP. But the spoiler is national secular party -- the Congress, which has also fielded candidates and is eating into the same vote bank. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has roped in his sister Priyanka Gandhi—a charismatic face to campaign in the state, in order to revive the grand old party, which has brought more consternation in the secular alliance rather in the BJP, which is sitting pretty, banking on split of the Muslim votes between the Congress and regional alliance.
While traveling villages after villages in the districts of Sambhal, Moradabad, Amroha to Rampur, this reporter finds the Muslim voters solidly behind the regional alliance. But there are some who blame the Samjwadi Party for the riots in Muzaffarnagar, when it was in power in the province. The riots had claimed hundreds of Muslim lives in 2013. “It is a difficult choice. We have to choose between two ‘M's’-- Muzaffarnagar and Modi. The priority right now is to stop Modi rather continue weeping on Muzaffarnagar riots," says Chaudhry Sharf Ali Khan, a shopkeeper in Sambhal market.
Young Yadavs also face a similar dilemma. A student Ram Avtar Yadav, outside Moradabad Institute of Technology tells the writer that while he would like to see a larger political role for Akhilesh Yadav, son of Netaji (Mulayam Singh) for the sake of his community, he wanted to give Modi another chance to rule at the Center. “Till now I had made a choice: Akhilesh for Lucknow and Modi for Delhi,” he said, adding that he wanted to test Modi’s strong image once again.
Analysts in Delhi may be writing an epitaph for Congress, those with ears on the ground here say the end was not so near as yet. A social scientist Mohammad Mostaqeem in Amroha believes he would give BJP between 30 and 35 seats out of total of 80 seats from UP. In 2014, BJP had garnered 74 seats in the most populous province.
