Patna: Challenges before the Muslim community in India today are many thanks to some historical events on one hand and discrimination by political parties and successive governments in Independent India on the other. Solution lies not in wailing but in education and political empowerment. These were the views of various Muslim leaders who had gathered here from major North Indian states.
More than 50 known faces of the Muslim community from social, political and educational field were invited at the “National Seminar on Challenges Before Minorities” organized by ETV group of regional and language news channels. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi also attended the seminar.
Highlighting the apathetic attitude of the BJP-JDU alliance government of Bihar towards the Muslim community in the state, Maulana Wali Rahmani, Sajjada Nashin of Khanqah Munger, quoting official data said that central funds for minority welfare schemes are not being used properly here.
“The Katihar Medical College, the only minority medical college in the state, had sent an application to the state government two years ago. The state government is sitting on the application and not forwarding it to the central government,” said Maulana Rahmani. Only yesterday the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman here said that the country needs 1.5 lakh more doctors. According to health policy, for every 2000 people there should be a doctor. But the total number of seats in all medical colleges in the state is just 300. Yet the state government is sleeping on the application of Katihar Medical College, Maulana Rahmani added.
“It is said we are backward in education. True, but when we want to move we are put in fetters,” said the Maulana who is also patron of Rahmani Foundation.
He gave another example of the discrimination of the state government.
For Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) scheme, the state government has not recommended any Muslim NGO, he alleged.
“I want to ask the government if they have sent any application of a Muslim NGO for this scheme in the last 7 years. It is not that application from Muslim NGOs has not reached the government. I myself had submitted an application to none other than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 7th August 2007. The application has not yet reached Delhi,” said Maulana Wali Rahmani.
With the help of Bihar government data, the Maulana exposed the state government’s unwillingness to work for minorities.
Talking about little utilization of funds of the central government for minority welfare schemes in minority districts under Multi-sectoral Development Program, he said: By 31st Dec 2010, the centre had sent funds for 30298 units under Indira Awas Yojna, but the state government has achieved just 2100 units. By the same period, 1416 anganwadi centres were to be created but only 14 were created. Besides out of sanctioned 2735 hand pumps only 100 could be set up and out of 134 school buildings only 1 could be built.
Maulana Mahmood Madani, Member Rajya Sabha and General Secretary Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, said people should know that Muslims are here by choice, not by chance. He urged the community to come out of the feeling of minorityism.
Referring to the attitude of political parties who have taken the community as use-and-throw, Maulana Madani recited some couplets of a poem written by noted Urdu poet and writer Dr Kaleem Aajiz:
Mere hi lahu per guzar auqat karo ho/Mujh se hi ameeron ki tarah baat karo ho
Hum khaak nasheen tum sukhan aara sarebam/Paas aa ke milo dur se kya baat karo ho
Youn to kabhi muh pher ke dekho bhi nahi ho/Jab waqt pade hai to madaarat karo ho
Before reciting the last couplet of the poem, Maulana Madani specially and meaningfully drew the attention of BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi who was sitting on the stage:
Daman pe koi chheent na khanjar pe koi daag/Tum qatl karo ho ke karamaat karo ho. Maulana Madani earned a huge applaud from the audience.
While admitting discrimination and bias from governments and political parties, he said India still is the best place on earth for Indian Muslims.
“Still I say, for Indian Muslims there is no place better than India and I am proud of it. Please do not make Muslims a minority. They are the second largest majority of the country. It’s time wwe should leave minorityism. Muslims are the shareholder of the country. Muslims are asset for the country, not liability. We are Indian not by chance but by choice. We do not want to live as a minority,” he concluded.
Dr Shakeel Ahmed, Congress spokesperson and Special Invitee to All India Congress Committee, in his turn, pointed to three historical factors mainly responsible for the backwardness of the Muslim community.
“There are three basic and historical factors behind the backwardness of the community. About 90% of the community is convert. Cream and upper class people did not convert to Islam. People in isolated and backward areas converted from a community to other community. Second is oppression of the British rule. They snatched power from Muslims so there were always afraid of the community to get united and return to power. That’s why the one community which the Britishers oppressed since the beginning in an organized way was the Muslim community. And the third is partition when cream of the community left the country for greener pastures,” said Dr Ahmed.
True, in Independent India, parties and governments have done discrimination with Muslims. But such discrimination has been done to other communities as well, he said and urged: “We can overcome it only through hard work and education. We have to come out and work hard, we cannot afford just sitting and wailing and listening to our people narrating the stories of discrimination and injustice,” the Congress leader said and gave some examples of hard work that earned Muslims top positions in the country.
“Free India has got 3-4 presidents from the Muslim community. Could they have got such position if they had sat at home wailing? Muslims have topped IAS and IPS in the country. Amir Subhani, Jawed Usmani and Shahla Nigar to name some. How could they have got it if they had not work hard? At one time, national teams of all five top games in the country were led by Muslims: Mohammed Azharuddin (Cricket), Mohammed Nayemuddin (Football), Zafar Iqbal (Hockey), Akhtar Ali (Tennis), Mir Qasim Ali (Table Tennis) and Syed Modi (Badminton). They got the position by their labor, not in charity. If they had sat at home thinking who hears Muslims, they could not have got what they did. I request you to keep away from those who put you in inferiority complex.”
Others who spoke on the occasion included Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Opposition Leader, Bihar (RJD), Imran Qidwai (Chairman, Minority Cell, Congress Party), Dr Jagannath Mishra, (Ex-CM, Bihar), Ali Anwar Ansari, Rajya Sabha MP (JD-U), Sultan Ahmed, Union Minister, Qazi Rasheed Masood, vice president SP.
(Photos and videos by Mudassir Rizwan, TwoCircles.net)
