Thank you for the kind wordsFirst, I want to genuinely thank you for a decent proper reply.
If you are talking about the law of banning cow slaughter, I agree that such a law should not be there in a secular country. However, I do like to add that in any society, it is common sense to not hurt anyone's sentiments. Not eating beef does not hurt Muslim sentiment as it is not mandatory for them to eat beef.You see if a law is passed to cater to the religious belief of the majority, but those sentiments are not held by the minority then it is very discriminatory. Because the minority is being forced to observed the belief system of the majority. It would be wrong under any system, but it is especially wrong in a secular country.
However, eating beef and seeing cow getting killed (whom Hindus consider as mother) does hurt Hindu sentiment. So it should be socially requested of Muslims to give up beef eating since it is anyways not central to their religion. There are lots of other helpless animals in the country which can be murdered.
As I already mentioned, I dont think this law is good. I say this for a different reason than what you pointed out. The law says 'Non-muslims' from neighboring countries would be given a priority in citizenship. This religion specific law against the secular constitution. If the intention is to give citizenship to oppressed ppl, the law should have just said 'oppressed people from neighboring countries'.If a law takes into account a person's religion to award citizenship or a special right to anyone, that is highly discriminatory. These laws do affect the Indian citizens because the citizen is being classed as a second-class citizen if he/she is not a Hindu because a Hindu immigrant is afforded a special position, therefore being a Hindu is held as higher status. So as a Muslim or Christian, you hold less value. To add to that, a Hindu citizen will not have to worry about proving their right to be an Indian citizen because even if they cant provide documentary evidence, they by virtue of being a Hindu are protected, but a minority member is under threat because they must prove if required that they are Indian citizens with documentary evidence. That's not right, because it creates two classes of citizens, Hindus, Sikh, others as higher status vs Muslims as lower legal status.
Anyways, this law is on hold for now.
Historically, backward Hindu caste people were discriminated against due to the caste they were born in. No such discrimination (or not at that level) ever happened on Muslims or other minorities. Hence the reservation was only for backward Hindu castes.I do understand the reasons behind the system, and in all honesty, I agree because it is a good system, for India and for society. But, that's not at discussion here. We are discussing whether it is discriminatory or not. If the reservation system caters to one community because of their backwardness, but it ignores other community's backwardness then it is a very unfair system. That's the issue, either something is fair or unfair, no matter what the noble thinking behind it. in this case, it is unfair and discriminatory.
If this is unfair, then it is unfair to all minorities and also to Hindu upper castes. So this is not purely a religion based discrimination.
Same answer as explained above.Again, first past the post could be part of the problem, but it is not the major problem. and, if the issue is already known, and it is, then it should have been remedied long ago. Just like the reservation system was introduced to cater to some communities, something should have been done for Muslims too.
That is not true. Can you give proof of your statement.But it goes much deeper, the lack of Muslim representation in legislative assemblies stems from deep root prejudice that refuses to view Muslims as equals.
Over the years, less number of minorities are entering politics which leads to lesser pool of minorities to choose from in Rajya Sabha. But there should be some reservation for minorities in Rajya Sabha to solve this issue.Even in the Rajya Sabha, where the choice is essentially made by the political parties so the first past the post system plays no role, the Muslim representation on average is around 4-5% mark, same as other assemblies for 70 years. The problem is a lot deeper.
Heavy focus on education for Muslims is needed. Poor muslims should be given subsidy in primary and secondary education. They will help uplift them. This will then have domino effect on govt jobs, wealth etc.This goes back to the reservation issue, it is unfair to look after the interest of one community and ignore the backwardness of another, and adding insult to injury by blaming them. It would be fair if India had no positive action programs, the fact they exist only for some and not for others, and the others always seem to be Muslims, is very discriminatory.
There have been at least two reports that I know of, who have looked into the backwardness of Muslims, but nothing has been done over the decades.