news details |
|
|
| 'We are a neglected and ignored community' | | Charge Ill-conceived | | Rustam
Jammu, Nov 30: The Muslim leadership across the country accuses the Indian State of deliberately ignoring and marginalizing them. The charge appears communally-motivated and ill-conceived.
The fact is that it is a privileged community, leave alone the fact that the bulk of Muslim leadership wants its co-religionists to remain illiterate or study in the Jamaat-run religious seminaries and schools. It is a privileged community and it enjoys privileges which are not available to the majority community, notwithstanding the fact that our constitution is secular. Indian Constitution doesn't envisage preferential treatment for any community.
If sections among the Muslim community are still backward and illiterate, it is not because of the state policies; it is because of their conservative attitude or it is because of the influence of their leadership which lives on the blood and sweat of the common Muslims or thrive on the Muslims' backwardness.
It would be appropriate to say that the political status of the Muslim community is higher as compared to the majority community. It is the spokesperson of almost all the political parties. Take, for example, the Congress party. The Congress party has several spokespersons. But it is basically Rashid Alvi, Shakeel Ahmed, Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz and Salman Khurshid who speak on behalf of the Congress most of the time.
Others like Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manish Tiwari and Renuka Choudhary speak only rarely on behalf of or for the Congress party to which they belong. The other main spokesperson of the Congress party is Digvijaya Singh, who presents things in the fashion Alvi, Ahmed and Khurshid present. Not just this, AICC president and UPA chairperson has her political advisor in the person of Ahmad Patel.
There is a perception that the BJP is a communal outfit, an outfit which is essentially pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim. It's a flawed perception. The BJP, like the Congress, has many spokespersons. But it is basically Shah Nawaz Hussain and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi who speak on behalf of or for the BJP most of the time. Other spokespersons of the party, including Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, J P Nadda, Nirmala Sitharaman and Tarun Vijay do appear on the national news channels but not to the extent Hussain and Naqvi appear.
The story of the Samajwadi Party (SP) of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of Mayawati, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Shard Pawar, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) of Ajit Singh, to mention only a few, is no different. The main spokespersons of these parties are all Muslims. Some of them include Shahid Sadiqqi, Tariq Anwar and Azam Khan. They, like other Muslim spokespersons, are also very assertive. The Indian media also recognizes them and ensures their participation in the crucial debates.
The fact is that the majority of the spokespersons in India are Muslims, who participate in crucial debates organized by the leading news channels. It is not an ordinary thing. The Muslim leadership would do well to recognize the fact that the office of spokesperson is a very crucial for any political party.
Crucial in the sense that he/she represents the party viewpoint, he/she defends the party; and he/she takes on other political parties and influences people's opinion. It would be better for the Muslim leadership to stop accusing the Indian State and majority community of ignoring its co-religionists. The best thing for it to do would be to let its co-religionists acquire modern education and become part of the mainstream. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
