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New Delhi: Indian
Muslims need reservation, inclusive government policies and
affirmative action to join the mainstream of national life, civil
society members and academics said at a seminar here Thursday.
The seminar -- 'Round table on Muslims, inequity and the post-Millenium
Development Goals framework' -- was organised by Oxfam India at
the Constitution Club in the capital to emphasise the status of
Indian Muslims in the context of the UN Millenium Development
Goals (MDGs).
The speakers deliberated on the MDGs and the status of the
country's Muslims against the backdrop of the Sachar Committee and
Ranganath Mishra Commission reports, besides discussing inclusive
development agenda for the minority community beyond 2015.
"Development among Muslims can only take place if they are
politically empowered. And that can come about only if they are
given reservation," said Anis Ansari, vice-chancellor of the
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti University in Uttar Pradesh.
"Article 341 of the Indian Constitution needs to be changed so
that Dalit Muslims can avail of the same benefits as their Hindu
counterparts," he added.
Mumbai-based civil society activist Asghar Ali Engineer said the
government as well as Muslims need to "address issues like
security, poverty and gender discrimination among Muslims". "We
also need to implement the Ranganath Mishra Commission report," he
said.
The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities,
headed by former chief justice Ranganath Misra, in its 2007 report
suggested that instead of the 27 percent reservation for Other
Backward Classes (OBCs), 15 percent should be set aside for
Muslims and Christians, leaving 12 percent for the OBCs.
Under the present arrangement, minorities (Muslims and Christians)
get 8.4 percent reservation, while 18.6 per cent goes to the OBCs.
"We should start addressing the problems of Mulims from an Indian
perspective," said columnist and writer Nilofer Suhrawardi.
"If we wish to have an inclusive society, we should have inclusive
thinking. Only then can we think of inclusive development," said
Navaid Hamid, founder secretary of the South Asia Minorities
Forum.
Mumbai-based veteran activist Ram Puniyani felt that inclusive
development could not take place in isolation. "Till insecurity
among Muslims prevails, inclusive development cannot take place,"
he said.
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