Secularism In India

[arihant]

Oh man when your own neutral Indians question the fake secularism then why you are bringing Pakistan in.

Pakistan's existance is not based on whether India is secular or not.

Because, its Pakistani and Bangladeshi who are unable to digest the truth.

 

[Spring Onion]

Hi Doc,

I first and formost agree that if Pakistan recognizes that Muslims are living happily in India, the sole reason for its creation proves to be invalid, and its not my intention to give them the pleasure. I think biggest jolt to Pakistan has been co-existance of Indians regardless of their religion, buut at the same time I am viewing a constant decline in the trend - which is alarming.
.

That is just hypocratical self-claiming.

Do you claim Muslims in India are happy?? I dont think so




Why do Indian Muslims lag behind?
By Soutik Biswas
BBC News



Muslims make up India's largest religious minority


Enlarge Image

As historians tell it, during India's first election in 1952, Jawaharlal Nehru was already worrying about the feeble representation of Muslims in the country's positions of authority.

Many more Muslims had stayed back in India than the millions who migrated to newly-born Pakistan after the partition just five years before.

India's first prime minister's concerns about the country's second largest religious group and the largest religious minority were eminently justified.



See a map of the area
"There were hardly any Muslims left in the defence service, and not many in the secretariat," says historian Ramachandra Guha.

Next year, in 1953, a group of intellectuals met to discuss forming a political party for the Muslims and spoke about the low representation of Muslims in political positions and bureaucracy.

More than half century later, on India's 60th anniversary of independence, very little has changed.


(Indian Muslims) carry a double burden of being labelled as 'anti-national' and as being 'appeased' at the same time


Staying behind in India

Today, at over 138 million, Muslims constitute over 13% of India 's billion-strong population, and in sheer numbers are exceeded only by Indonesia's and Pakistan's Muslim community.

The country has had three Muslim presidents - a largely ceremonial role. Bollywood and cricket, two secular pan-Indian obsessions, continue to have their fair share of Muslim stars - the ruling heroes in Mumbai films are Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman Khan, and the star of India's current English cricket tour is pace bowler Zaheer Khan. Not long ago, the national team was led by the stylish Mohammed Azharuddin.
That's where the good news essentially ends.


Muslims are a 'vulnerable' community
Muslims comprise only 5% of employees in India's big government, a recent study found. The figure for Indian Railways, the country's biggest employer, is only 4.5%.

The community continues to have a paltry representation in the bureaucracy and police - 3% in the powerful Indian Civil Service, 1.8% in foreign service and only 4% in the Indian Police Service. And Muslims account for only 7.8% of the people working in the judiciary.

Indian Muslims are also largely illiterate and poor.

At just under 60%, the community's literacy rate is lower than the national average of 65%. Only half of Muslim women can read and write. As many as a quarter of Muslim children in the age-group 6-14 have either never attended school or dropped out.

They are also poor - 31% of Muslims are below the country's poverty line, just a notch above the lowest castes and tribes who remain the poorest of the poor.

Identity card

To add to the community's woes are myriad problems relating to, as one expert says, "identity, security and equity".

"They carry a double burden of being labelled as 'anti-national' and as being 'appeased' at the same time," says a recent report on the state of Indian Muslims.

Historians say it is ironic that many Indians bought the Hindu nationalist bogey of 'Muslim appeasement' when it had not translated into any major socio-economic gain for the community.
So why has the lot of Indian Muslims remained miserable after six decades of independence?


Half of Muslim women in India cannot read or write
For one, it is the sheer apathy and ineptitude of the Indian state which has failed to provide equality of opportunity in health, education and employment.

This has hurt the poor - including the Muslim poor who comprise the majority of the community - most.

There is also the relatively recent trend of political bias against the community when Hindu nationalist governments have ruled in Delhi and the states.

Also, the lack of credible middle class leadership among the Muslims has hobbled the community's vision and progress.

Consequently, rabble rousers claiming to represent the community have thrust themselves to the fore.

To be true, mass migration during partition robbed the community of potential leaders - most Muslim civil servants, teachers, doctors and professionals crossed over.

But the failure to throw up credible leaders has meant low community participation in the political processes and government - of the 543 MPs in India's lower house of parliament, only 36 are Muslims.

Also, as Ramachandra Guha says, the "vicissitudes of India-Pakistan relations and Pakistan's treatment of its minorities" ensured that Muslims remained a "vulnerable" community.

Regional disparities

The plight of Indian Muslims also has a lot to do with the appalling quality of governance, unequal social order and lack of equality of opportunity in northern India where most of the community lives.

Populous Uttar Pradesh is home to nearly a fifth of Muslims (31 million) living in India, while Bihar has more than 10 million community members.



"Southern India is a different picture. Larger cultural and social movements have made education more accessible and self employment more lucrative benefiting a large number of Muslims," says historian Mahesh Rangarajan.

In Andhra Pradesh state, for example, 68% of Muslims are literate, higher than the state and national average. School enrolment rates for Muslim children are above 90% in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Mahesh Rangarajan says poverty and "absence of ameliorative policies" has hurt India's Muslims most.

If India was to be "a secular, stable and strong state," Nehru once said, "then our first consideration must be to give absolute fair play to our minority".

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Why do Indian Muslims lag behind?

 

[glomex]

^^^

No one will feed you if you have no intentions to work and earn your living...

Muslims in India are given enough opportunities and freedom to pursue whatever kind of education....and whatever career they want......

Pakistanis have abandoned Indian Muslims long time back in 1947 at the time of partition....so they don't have any right to become Godfathers of India Muslims...

Please mind your own country...and we will take care of our citizens.......we have been doing the same for past 62 yrs ...without a begging bowl in our hand........

 

[Skeptic]

That is just hypocratical self-claiming.

Do you claim Muslims in India are happy?? I dont think so




Why do Indian Muslims lag behind?
By Soutik Biswas
BBC News

Blah Blah

First of all, let us take away these generic terms - who is happy who is sad???

Is everyone apart from Muslims happy?
Are Hindus Happy in India - if yes why is there a line outside immigration office everyday. Is Sikh happy in India - Every Sikh family has atleast some connection in another country.

Are Athiest happy in india - No I am asked (by my family) to pray on every occasion.
Are Americans or Chinese happy??
Who is happy - Noone is.

Discussion is about the increasing gap between Hindus and Muslim with the emergence of political and apolitical hindu right wing which should be curbed at the earliest. I am open about discussing what is wrong with indian secularism, but it is still very sustainable model for any minority to survive and prosper.

 

[Spring Onion]

First of all, let us take away these generic terms - who is happy who is sad???

Is everyone apart from Muslims happy?
Are Hindus Happy in India - if yes why is there a line outside immigration office everyday. Is Sikh happy in India - Every Sikh family has atleast some connection in another country.

Are Athiest happy in india - No I am asked (by my family) to pray on every occasion.
Are Americans or Chinese happy??
Who is happy - Noone is.

Discussion is about the increasing gap between Hindus and Muslim with the emergence of political and apolitical hindu right wing which should be curbed at the earliest. I am open about discussing what is wrong with indian secularism, but it is still very sustainable model for any minority to survive and prosper.

These generic terms were brought into discussion non other than you.

It was you and your fellow Indians who are shying away from discussing Indian secularism and its flaws purely on the basis of Indian issue, and bringing Pakistan into it.

It is very strange that when we talk about plight of Indian Muslims and their worst conditions, the Indians automatically started disowning their own citizens and start linking them to Pakistan because they are Muslims.

Now lets get back to Indian secular status and the difference between a pratical secular state and non-pratical secular attitude.

I do not see any reason not to make India a Hindu state and work as secular one pratically instead of just incorporating the word secular into legal documents.

 

[Spring Onion]

^^^

No one will feed you if you have no intentions to work and earn your living...

Muslims in India are given enough opportunities and freedom to pursue whatever kind of education....and whatever career they want......

Pakistanis have abandoned Indian Muslims long time back in 1947 at the time of partition....so they don't have any right to become Godfathers of India Muslims...

Please mind your own country...and we will take care of our citizens.......we have been doing the same for past 62 yrs ...without a begging bowl in our hand........

its not we who are owning them or acting like godfather of Indian Muslims but its you the Indians who are just having this phobia and discrediting your own citizens. Its you who are just giving us the credit of being godfather of Indian Muslims.

And no we can not mind our own country as long as you come to Pakistani foras just to poke into Pakistani affairs.

If you want us to mind our own country then please you first adopt the same practice.

 

[arihant]

These generic terms were brought into discussion non other than you.

It was you and your fellow Indians who are shying away from discussing Indian secularism and its flaws purely on the basis of Indian issue, and bringing Pakistan into it.

It is very strange that when we talk about plight of Indian Muslims and their worst conditions, the Indians automatically started disowning their own citizens and start linking them to Pakistan because they are Muslims.

Now lets get back to Indian secular status and the difference between a pratical secular state and non-pratical secular attitude.

I do not see any reason not to make India a Hindu state and work as secular one pratically instead of just incorporating the word secular into legal documents.

Surely, India need to do a lot more not only for Muslims but also for Sikhs, Jains, Buddhist, etc. So taking Muslims into consideration while framing secular India is worst thing one does.

 

[glomex]

Indian Muslims Do not need A Pakistan to vouch for them...and Pakistan is no Guardian Angel o India Muslims...

Indian Muslims, because of their sheer number, cannot be regarded as a minority. The Indian Muslims were quite capable of looking after their own interests and did not need any support from outside.

Pakistan, while shedding crocodile tears, actually endangers Indian Muslims by indulging in acts like cross border terrorism, sabotage, causing riots and distribution of fake Indian currency.


In July 1947, before partition, some of his community members of Central Constituent Assembly asked Mohammad Ali Jinnah for his advice to Indian Muslims in the new State of India. Jinnah, refrained from giving specific advice but cautioned them, " be loyal to India, concentrate on education and politics, and avoid confrontationist politics" and that "they should not seek to ride two horses" (The Muslims in India by A.G.Noorani)


If Pakistan cannot take in Indian Muslims as its citizens what right has it got to meddle in the internal affairs of India, endangering local Muslim population?

 

[glomex]

This is what an India Muslim has to say to you ...

We, Indian Muslims, really don’t need to take lessons from you all. Your kind of Islam has miserably failed you all no ends, and Pakistan, which was formed in the name of Islam, is fast approaching to don the status of a failed state. Just cite me a single reason as to why we, Indian Muslims, shouldn’t acknowledge and proclaim Pakistan as a terrorist hub.

Response To A Pakistani View Of Indian Muslims | Indian Muslims

 

[Spring Onion]

Surely, India need to do a lot more not only for Muslims but also for Sikhs, Jains, Buddhist, etc. So taking Muslims into consideration while framing secular India is worst thing one does.

Yes agreed. But see you can not wash your hands by bringing this argument, because when the world observe your secular conduct they take into consideration the plight of Muslims why?

Because Muslims are the biggest minority so you can understand if they are not benfited out of secularism slogan rather being discriminated then what would be plight of smaller groups.

But again there is big difference between Muslims, Sikhs, jains and Buddhists in India.

Somhow the Indian majority elite ruling class of Hindus have incorporated some laws just to do away difference between hindus and jains, buddhists etc.

When the conversion started from Hinduism into Buddhism, your elite came up with idea of declaring Buddhims a branch of Hinduism.

there are many cases where secularism was altogather ignored.

 

[Spring Onion]

This is what an India Muslim has to say to you ...

We, Indian Muslims, really don’t need to take lessons from you all. Your kind of Islam has miserably failed you all no ends, and Pakistan, which was formed in the name of Islam, is fast approaching to don the status of a failed state. Just cite me a single reason as to why we, Indian Muslims, shouldn’t acknowledge and proclaim Pakistan as a terrorist hub.

Response To A Pakistani View Of Indian Muslims | Indian Muslims

we are failed state or not that has nothing to do with Indian secularism topic.
besides do not tell me that the poster is proven India as we have seen and we know the Hindu Indians are in a habit of posing as Muslims and postings on different foras just to give the impression that Indian Muslims are very very happy in India.
And hey even some Indians are posing as Pakistanis just to post anti-Pakistan comments so sorry mate your comment dosent hold any weight.

 

[glomex]

Indian Muslim Woman Talks about Pakistan

Author: Mrs Hamida Maqbool Shah
Publication:
Date: February 21, 2003
Muslim Woman Talks about Pakistan

I am an aware, Muslim Kashmiri woman and a responsible member of society. My husband, also a Muslim Kashmiri, is an army officer and one among the best in our army. Since I am a commoner, I am sure my comments would be taken as impartial and devoid of rhetoric.

It is rather unfortunate to witness the steady and gradual degeneration of Pakistan over the decades sinking into the abysmal cesspool of India-baiting. One had expected a lot from the rapproachement which appeared imminent during the Lahore Declaration days in 1999. However, that great leap forward was soon swallowed by the Kargil intrusions and subsequent increase in cross border terrorism. Presently, Pakistan is just short of being declared a terrorist state, a centre of narcotics smuggling and home for wild eyed muslim fundamentalists. What amazes me is the shamelessness of the whole situation which Pakistan has itself landed in. This reminds me of the famous couplet by Mirza Ghalib, "KIS KE GHAR JAYEGI BALLA MERE BAD" (God knows whose home is going to be the next victim).

Since its creation, Pakistan, has tried to become the self-styled guardian of all Muslims in the sub-continent, which at the outset has been a flawed assumption. Although ever since 1947, in one form or the other, Pakistan has made sneak attempts at such portrayal, the first major signs of it manifested during the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Premiership, when he hosted the first Islamic Summit in Islamabad in 1974; a brilliant piece of tatesmanship and world-class diplomacy by the astute Bhutto, even when the nation was still gathering itself from the defeat and genocide of fellow Muslims in the then East Pakistan( now Bangladesh). During that summit, Mr Bhutto was much restrained in voicing his so called concern for Kashmir as in fact he had earlier accepted the Cease Fire Line in Jammu and Kashmir to be the Line of Control and subsequently to be recognized/adopted as the boundary between the two countries. But subsequent rulers like the shark-eyed General Zia-ul-Haq and now General Parvez Musharaf chose to throw caution to the winds and voice their crocodile concerns over the plight of Muslims in the whole of India, perceived human rights abuses against them and so called liberation of Kashmir through the barrel of the gun; in the bargain accumulating the collective responsibility of massacre and mayhem, disorder and disruption, desecration and degeneration by employing ercenaries like Afghan hordes, Sudanese bushmen and Pakistani marauders. Their latest action has been the sabotaging the of the peace initiatives in J&K. As someone has rightly said, "BADSHAH DUNIYA KE MHORE HAIN MERI SHATRANJ KE, DILLAGI KI CHAAL HAI SAB RANG SULAH JANG KE" (Pawns are kings of this world of my game, these ceasefires and negotiations are but frivolities of my heart).

Let me discuss the two issues about which Pakistan has been kicking up such a shindy: Kashmir and the plight of Muslims in India. First Kashmir; ever since partition, Pakistan has been a constant source of trouble in Kashmir. It is well known that Pakistan has no love for Kashmiris as their so called co-religionists. The necessity is a geo- political one. It has been a great travesty of destiny that one third of the Valley came under Pakistan control and remained so ever since. That part rightfully belongs to India and is the only unresolved issue between the two countries. Imagine a Pakistan without the *** (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir); no strategic access to China and Central Asia, no Siachin and no Karakoram. Second, the so-called pilght of Kashmiris; a Kashmiri Muslim is as divergent and as far removed from, say, a Pakistani Punjabi or Sindhi Muslim as a German from a Pole (and the pun is intended). It has been the misfortune of Kashmiris and one of the greatest cruelties of history that invaders had to enter India through these parts, thus leaving a stamp of eternal conflict and chaos.

Kashmir is no pocket borough of Pakistan and Kashmiris no pawns on Pakistan's political chess board. They are a proud, ancient and most cultured community in the sub-continent; be they Hindus or Muslims. It has been the short-sightedness on the part of our leadership that we did not wrest *** from Pakistan soon after that country invaded the valley in 1947.

Now for the plight of Muslims in India; to a very large extent Pakistan is responsible for the ghetto-like existence of Muslims in India. It is Pakistan who has been constantly reminding Muslims in India, through poisonous propaganda, that they are Muslims first and Indians later. The Muslim community has long realised these designs. Muslims are Indians, as much Indian as are believers of any other religion, as much Indian as George Habbash is a Palestinian, as much Indian as Boutros Ghali is an Egyptian or a Tariq Aziz is an Iraqi. Muslims in India are not rented, they have their own distinct identity and pride and belong to the soil. They don't require a certificate from an Ishaq Khan, who played dirty with all his benefactors-a tenet absolutely un- Islamic; or a Zia-ul-Haq who trampled the Constitution he had sworn to defend- an offence punishable by death in Islam-and yet went scot-free, and flogged his nation for ten long years, thus revealing the most ugly face of the faith ; or from General Pervez Musharaf, who is yet to exchange his kneepants for long trousers in the field of international politics.

On the contrary, Pakistan junta should turn a page or two in the history of Independent India and they would find that Muslims in India are Abdul Hamids, Brig Usmans, Idris Latifs or Abdul Kalams or my father-in-law, a Second World War veteran, a freedom fighter and a pious Muslim who was assassinated in cold blood by an ISI-hired Afghan mercenary in July 1992 while offering afternoon prayers. Indian Muslims and Kashmiris in particular do not require to be authenticated by Pakistan. It is therefore, time that the present leadership in Pakistan woke up to the realities and considered accommodation instead of confrontation.

The court of history will judge Pakistanis harshly in case they fail in their duties of nation-building and instead become the instruments of their own destruction, thus perthaps living up to their late Prime Minister's prophecy when just a day prior to commencement of the 1971 war, the fierce Zulfikar Ali Bhutto rose like the legandary Roman General Cassius Gaius in the Security Council facing Indian Foreign Minister Sardar Swaran Singh and said, "Believe me, Mr Foreign Minister, this is the lesson of history from the beginning of time......what belongs to a people will go to that people". By this corollary then, Sind should go to the Sindhis, Punjab to the Punjabis, Baluchistan to Baluchis and NWFP to the Pathans so on. There ought to be a limit to trouble- making. "The malice of the wicked" may have got reinforced by the weakness of the virtuous"; but no more. We shall pray that Pakistanis see the light and leave India's Kashmiris to their own destiny which is secure in Secular India. One can`t help recalling legendary Faiz Ahmed Faiz,

"HAZR KARO MERE TUN SE YEH SIM KA DARYA HAI, HAZR KARO KI MERA TUN WHO CHOB-E-SEHRA HAI, JISE JALAO TO SAHAN CHAMAN MEIN DEHKINGE" (Beware of me for my body is a river of poison. Stay away from me for my body is a parched log in the desert. If you burn it, you won`t see the cypress or the jasmine, But my bones blossoming like thorns on the cactus)".

Indian Muslim Woman Talks about Pakistan

 

[r3alist]

muslims have every right to have concern for indian muslims, every right, period.

a hindu has no place in telling any muslim from anywhere what they should and should not be concerned about, lets just state the obvious.

this is the thing that makes me laugh about hindu secularism, they just dont understand the idealogy they preach, they really dont get it.

to be a so called secular enlightened democracy is to SHARE OUR CONCERNS ON INDIAN MUSLIMS, THATS A KEY TENET, TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY IN YOUR SOCIETY

instead our hindu friends talk about pakistan this, pakistan that thus confirming that they are not so secular that they can face the legitimate criticism from a pakistani, they are hindu secularists, happy to go with the hindu dominated democratic trend.

Main findings of the report

The entire Sachar Report is available for download at various websites.[6]

Some findings are as follows: A..Sachar committee has put a lot of analysis about the Indian Muslim with "statistical reports" based on information from government agencies, banks, Indian Minority Commission, different state governments and its agencies. The major points covered in the reports are:
In the field of literacy the Committee has found that the rate among Muslims is very much below than the national average. The gap between Muslims and the general average is greater in urban areas and women. 25 per cent of children of Muslim parents in the 6-14 year age group have either never attended school or have dropped out.
Muslim parents are not averse to mainstream education or to send their children to affordable Government schools. The access to government schools for children of Muslim parents is limited.
Bidi workers, tailors and mechanics need to be provided with social safety nets and social security. The participation of Muslims in the professional and managerial cadre is low.
The average amount of bank loan disbursed to the Muslims is 2/3 of the amount disbursed to other minorities. In some cases it is half. The Reserve Bank of India’s efforts to extend banking and credit facilities under the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme of 1983 has mainly benefited other minorities marginalizing Muslims.
There is a clear and significant inverse association between the proportion of the Muslim population and the availability of educational infrastructure in small villages. Muslim concentration villages are not well served with pucca approach roads and local bus stops.
Substantially larger proportion of the Muslim households in urban areas are in the less than Rs.500 expenditure bracket.
The presence of Muslims has been found to be only 3% in the IAS, 1.8% in the IFS and 4% in the IPS.
Muslim community has a representation of only 4.5% in Indian Railways while 98.7% of them are positioned at lower levels. Representation of Muslims is very low in the Universities and in Banks. Their share in police constables is only 6%, in health 4.4%, in transport 6.5%.
For the Maulana Azad Education Foundation to be effective the corpus fund needs to be increased to 1000 crores. Total allocation in the four years 2002 to 2006 for Madarsa Modernization Scheme is 106 crores. The information regarding the Scheme has not adequately percolated down. Even if the share of Muslims in elected bodies is low they and other under represented segments can be involved in the decision making process through innovative mechanisms.
Most of the variables indicate that Muslim-OBCs are significantly deprived in comparison to Hindu-OBCs. The work participation rate (WPR) shows the presence of a sharp difference between Hindu-OBCs (67%) and the Muslims. The share of Muslim-OBCs in government/ PSU jobs is much lower than Hindu-OBCs.
There are about 5 lakh registered Wakfs with 600,000 acres (2,400 km&#178 land and Rs 6,000 crore book value.[7]

A summary of the report by the Officer on Special Duty to the Sachar Committee, Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood, is also available.[8]

[edit]
Removal of Common Stereotypes

The Sachar committee helped in a big way to expose stereotypes that had been used by right wing communal groups as part of their propaganda[9]. Some of these important findings were[9]:
Only four per cent of Muslims students actually go to madrasas primarily because primary state schools do not exist for miles. Therefore, the idea that Muslims prefer madrasa education was found to be not true.
That there is “substantial demand from the community for fertility regulation and for modern contraceptives” and over 20 million couples are already use contraceptives. “Muslim population growth has slowed down as fertility has declined substantially”. This clarified and puts an end to any propaganda that there has been a Muslim conspiracy afoot since 1947 to reproduce mightily, and that a danger that the Indian Hindus will be reduced to a minority due to high birth rate of Muslims.
That Muslims wherever spoken to complained of suffering the twin calumnies of being dubbed “anti-national” and of being “appeased”. However, the Indian Muslim community as a whole had never indulged in anti-national activities and the conditions borne out by the committee's findings clearly explained that no "appeasement" had taken place.

[edit]
Summary of recommendations

The report put forward some recommendations to eliminate the situation raised for Indian Muslim. Justice Sachar explained that the upliftment minorities and implementation of these recommendations would strengthen the secular fabirc of Indian society as well as increase patriotism due to their all inclusive progress. The recommendation include:
Mechanisms to ensure equity and equality of opportunity and eliminate discrimination.
Creation of a National Data Bank (NDB) where all relevant data for various Socio Religious Communities are maintained.
Form an autonomous Assessment and Monitoring Authority to evaluate the extent of development benefits
An Equal Opportunity Commission should be constituted to look into the grievances of the deprived groups.
Elimination of the anomalies with respect to reserved constituencies under the delimitation scheme.
The idea of providing certain incentives to a diversity index should be explored to ensure equal opportunities in education, governance, private employment and housing.
A process of evaluating the content of the school textbooks needs to be initiated and institutionalized.
The UGC should evolve a system where part of the allocation to colleges and universities is linked to the diversity in the student population.
Providing hostel facilities at reasonable costs for students from minorities must be taken up on a priority basis.
The Committee recommended promoting and enhancing access to Muslims in Priority Sector Bank Advances.
The real need is of policy initiatives that improve the participation and share of the Minorities, particularly Muslims in the business of regular commercial banks.
The community should be represented on interview panels and Boards. The underprivileged should be helped to utilize new opportunities in its high growth phase through skill development and education.
Provide financial and other support to initiatives built around occupations where Muslims are concentrated and have growth potential.[7][10]
The Committee made no recommendation of “reservations” per se, but suggests that those among the minority communities who approximate in terms of social and occupational status the scheduled and backward classes among Hindus be classified as Most Backward Castes and proferred the same benefits that relevant Articles of the Constitution make available to counterparts among Hindus. [9]

Sachar Committee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[glomex]

Though there may be injustice to some extent* and often a feeling of persecution, but the nature of our democracy is such that it allows a person or group to give vent to their feelings publicly.

Gujarat carnage aside, it is mainly the failure of Muslim leadership to raise real issues concerning Muslims. Otherwise the Hindu leaders and parties in even states like Tamil Nadu which have barely 5% Muslim votes, have championed the cause of minority and it is not just votes or appeasement alone, which prompts them to do it.

In society, politics, media, there are non-Muslims who speak for Muslims. Otherwise, which group has not faced injustice! * The status of Dalits in Indian society is yet to improve much and tribal populace has suffered most from the apathetic administration. But that's the general problem of a bureaucracy, which is corrupt and insensitive. Muslims do have a much better social status despite their poor financial state.



In Sports, Films, Arts and especially Indian traditional music, Muslim representation is more than their percentage. This shows that complaint of'bias' and 'communalism' doesn't hold much water. Of course, it is a casteist society so there is bound to be a feeling of discrimination experienced by each section, but Indian society is a much better evolved society with an interaction of Hindus and Muslims for over a millennium.

In this democracy you can shout from the rooftop that you have faced bias at any office or any official of any rank has been guilty of partiality. There are a range of commissions where you can complain and media channels and a press that is absolutely free to give your story and tell them your grievances.

And government jobs are not everything. We are lucky to have a great advantage in free media, where if nothing, at least if you are angry, your letter to editor can get published after a few rounds to the office. I mean, dil ka Ghubaar nikalne ke kaii raste maujuud haiN.

If percent of Muslims is not too high in government jobs, there are all other avenues and business. Just an incident, whatever people may term Mulayam Singh Yadav (a majority of politicians and also public servants are guilty of corruption and nepotism) but he dared to fire at the Kar Sewaks.

In the late 80s and early 90s, the Mandir movement was so fierce that despite any amount of lure for Muslim vote no government could have risked that. He did and it kept the faith of many Muslims in the inherent secular nature of this country and the fact that somebody stood for Me and the Mosque despite all odds. And there are always voices of dissent against any totalitarian regime. May be these are some of the reasons.

I think extremism can't come to Indian Muslims because of our democracy that may not be perfect but is still the best in the world in many respects. Our Supreme Court is a great institution and we ought to be proud of it. Yes, Gujarat became a fasicst state but hopefully it would prove to be the last such pogrom. New laws against communal violence and riots are on the cards. Compensation for riot victims and justice will also come steadily.

When you see Harsh Mander, a brilliant person, resigning from IAS just because he was shaken by Gujarat riots, and forming Aman Biradari or Teesta Setalvad fighting for victims of riots, your trust in the values of this country and society enhances tremendously. I don't think there is any cause for Muslims to get infected by any extremism.

If people in failed Muslim countries where even organising demonstrations and rallies is banned or even writing a blog can be dangerous, get extremist I understand but not in India. Here you can be a Muslim of any sect, organise a rally or demo, stage a protest, climb up a tower in Delhi to demand 'that India should help Saddam', as a person had done, and what not. Remember the huge rallies on Caricature Controversy when lakhs poured on streets in India, whether rightly or wrongly, but can they come out in most countries in Gulf? That's why, I guess, a resounding No from Indian Muslims to any form of extremism. Aap logoN ka kyaa khayaal hai?

An Indian Muslim's Blog: News, Daily Articles, Views on Muslims & Urdu poetry website: Indian Muslims are away from extremist influences because...

 

[r3alist]

Indian Muslim Woman Talks about Pakistan

from a hinduvata source, LOL.

how wonderfully you demonstrate my point.