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Minority-bashing: There we go again



A significant mass of this nation, after 60-odd years of nationhood, still lacks a heart. It cannot bear the sight of even crumbs being given to minorities.

Gandhi, if we remember, said that a state should be judged by the way it treats its minorities. Let’s consider the things that the right-wing, including the main opposition BJP, have said about this past week’s decision to earmark minorities a 4.5% share in jobs and university seats within an existing 27% “reservation” system for Other Backward Classes (comprising 1,900-odd socially disadvantaged groups).

But before that, let’s understand what this new political largesse is all about. First things first, this is no big fat pie that’s going to rob all jobs and seats. It does not breach the existing level of government jobs and university seats — 50% — set aside for weaker sections.

The 4.5% quota does not create any new groups but those already surveyed and approved for affirmative action. Including new beneficiaries or excluding existing ones require approval of not only certain statutory bodies but also of the Parliament.

It merely creates a sub-category for minorities. So, while earlier “backward” groups among minorities, including Muslims, had to compete within the 27% OBC quota, they will now have to make it within the 4.5% share assigned to them. Whether this is a boon or bane, in terms of opportunity, is still being debated.

Most importantly, this is not a Muslim-only offer, but for all minorities in this country.

Now, let’s listen in to some of the canards being spread. Reservation on the basis of religion is unconstitutional. Truth is nobody is being given reservation benefits on the basis of religion. It’s being given on the basis of a community’s backwardness or disadvantaged status. And there is, in the Constitution, a clear promise for reservation benefits on the basis of “backwardness”.

A number of Muslim communities are already listed among the “backward classes”. Their backwardness is constitutionally settled, up till the Supreme Court. It is they who benefit.

But the right-wing is going to town. The Uttar Pradesh unit of BJP said it was holding demonstrations on December 27. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) showed up in great numbers to protest against the reservation decision for “Muslims” in Indore. The Bajrang Dal, another right-wing outfit, announced launching a countrywide agitation too.

In their rush to pan the reservation, some BJP leaders are uttering mumbo-jumbo. Former UP chief minister and BJP president Rajnath Singh said: “I oppose reservation on religious grounds. It’s unconstitutional. But we believe in social justice.” Singh said during his tenure (as UP chief minister) his government gave reservation benefits to not only the backwards, but even the most backwards and extremely backward communities. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/minority-reservation-in-job-quota/1/165695.html

Rajnath Singh cannot claim to believe in social justice and oppose reservation to constitutionally validated backward minorities and yet be offering them reservation (as he claims) all at the same. Sorry, he has to come up again, re-collecting his thoughts and framing it better.

BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the 4.5% quota is the Congress party’s “dangerous political game”, which can lead to a “civil war among the different communities and castes”.

There’s hardly any doubt that, apart from having a social objective, the 4.5% sub-quota is also a political strategy. Only that it may not be a very bright political strategy to give far less that what has actually been recommended by a national commission. The government has already laid itself bare to the charge of tokenism.

But did we hear the BJP say it foresees a “civil war”? Or is it trying to incite one? Two days after the new sub-quota has been implemented through an executive order to be applicable from January 1, 2012, we are yet to see even a brawl.

In any case, the only way to sustain an efficient affirmative action system in this country is by gradually weaning off the fat cats and including more deserving ones from all communities. If the historically well-off Brahmins were to fall upon bad times, even they should be considered.

But the larger point is that this nation ought to have faith in the notion of social justice. Elections alone do not a democracy make.

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Posted by Zia Haq on Monday, December 26, 2011 at 12:00 am 
Filed under India · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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  • Abu Ahmed

    All the stars mentioned abve have taken to the tv screens when they had either gone past their shelf lives or are about to go down-hill. KBC caught people’s imagination because it hit the screen at the right time – the pro-reform Indian on-the-rise economy wherein everybody dreamt of becoming a millionaire overnight. Star Plus launched the right product at the right time for the right people and with the right people – once-in-a-lifetime stroke of genius, one would say.

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  • Aman

    Totally agree with it. It has happened to me at number of occasions. The brand is losing out because of this kind of staff. May be they should hire MBA’s and pay them hefty salaries.

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  • http://www.forexsignalsafe.com Admin

    Fair treatment is essential and mandatory. BUT, reservation should be eradicated in India. My 2 cents :)

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  • Anonymous

    Reservation per se discourages excellence .However, to set right social imbalance ,it needs to be enforced but limited to a specified period.A well defined cut off date will effectively encourage the addressed communities to use the opportunity to the maximum.Perpetuating the reservation regime for ever will only encourage mediocrity

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    RajX Reply:
    December 27th, 2011 at 6:28 am

    DrBhaShyam, well put. The problem is certain groups have an interest in prolonging reservation and for them the immorality of reservation and the destruction it cause in society doesn’t matter.

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  • Anonymous

    Zia, my mate WHEN WILL YOU STOP SEEING TREE FOR THE WOODS.
    Now lets say THERE IS NO RESERVATION BASED ON CASTE OR RELIGION ., BUT BASED ON FAMILY INCOME.
    Please answer me, WHO WILL BE THE BENEFECIARIES,
    will it not be the SC/ST , OBC AND MUSLIMS.
    The preference will be given to the poorer of the poor.
    IT COMES TO SAME , ONLY NO LABELS , OR PERHAPS ONLY LABEL
    INDIAN, not a bad idea really.

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  • Anonymous

    So long as the Nehru dynasty is in power,reservations for any caste or religion,are provided for garnering votes and are hogged primarily by the fat cats of that segment of society and secondarily by the congress and babudom.Time has come for the weaker sections of society to refuse to be exploited by the govts that offer small doles and make big promises before the elections for looting the country.Marx,the real father of Marxism,had advised the working classes to rise against those who exploited them,saying ‘You have nothing but chains (Gulami ki berian) to lose’.Communists of West Bengal are the agents of trade and industry(the two corrupt classes).The bulk of their party cadres consisted of power-hungry criminals.A large number of them were inducted into various departments of the govt.Personaly, I won’t be surprised,if an honest probe holds them responsible for some of the heinous crimes,including the death(killing?) of infants for destabilising the govt.There is a saying in Chinese:’Don’t give me fish,teach me how to catch fish”.The real well-wishers of deprived classes must put pressure on the govts to provide free educational facilities for the first two children of parents of this class in the schools where the children of babus and netas generally study.It must be ensured that Jagjivan Rams,Paswans and Jogis (the fat cats of these castes and the corrupt favourites of the powerful families)don’t hog the reserved seats.It should also ensured that the students of these classes are not discriminated against.And this can be ensured by honest govts.Therefore,the voters of deprived and underprivilleged classes must vote only for honest candidates.This time Anna hazare could guide you in this matter.The supporters will certainly be the agents of the corrupt.

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  • indian

    It should strictly be based on income. Otherwise there are going to be internal wars as we have seen like gujjar agitation, jat agitation. People will realise this one day how congress is doing the harm by using divide and rule policy.

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  • Sumit Bose

    Helloooo, is or isn’t India a secular country?
    If we are indeed a secular country then we must not have any reservations based on anyone’s religion. We must also not have the Prophet’s birthday as a national holiday, alongside our Independence day and Republic day. We must cease being pseudo-secular. That is the only way to give a sound stability on the bedrock of individual merit. My query to this muslim and the pseudo-secularists is why cannot they give a direction to the country for merit to be the sole criteria for personal or social advancement. In areas that were seceded to Pakistan, the people of this muslim’s community drove out almost all Hindus and Sikhs, and instead of the muslims of India, who voted whole-heartedly for the Muslim League in the 1946 , who after coming into power, resorted to “direct action” of brutal aggression on Hindus, stayed on in India. These muslims who stayed on in India, faced no official harassment or social terror. They live and are viewed equally by the official machinery and the judiciary, something that is to speak voloumes of the “large-heartedness” of the Indians. Mr muslim, please dont spit on the plate you have been feeding yourself.

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  • anil

    I think some politicians in politics will fall sick if they don’t take minority tablets every now and then.
    Are you one of their kind?

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  • Anonymous

    It seems totally naive and wrong for this blogger to conclude majority of the people of the nation ”cannot bear the sight of even crumbs being given to minorities!” On the contrary, the writer should have emphasised the well-known fact that even after almost 65 years of independence, the minority still refuses to become part of the majority without realising the broad range of benefits that will accrue to them!

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  • http://twitter.com/shreyasdesai Shreyas

    Instead of focusing on rightwing, why don’t u ask real questions? Why rulers of India for 600 years require affirmative action? Why is it that muslims breed at twice the national rate, do poorly in women education and empowerment and education?

    Probably you can take guy out of muslims but can’t get muslim out of a guy like you.

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    RajX Reply:
    December 26th, 2011 at 8:21 am

    For people like Zia, it is easy to take the tax payers money based n religion. To fix social issues you are talking about, it requires a lot of hard work and social reforms. There are very few social reformers in the Islamic community unlike other religious groups in India. You won’t find any dayananda saraswati in that community.

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  • Anonymous

    They call you Muslim because you don’t want to erases your identity as a Muslim. Greatest tragedy of Muslim community of India they think themselves orphan.Living ghetto not to mix up in national circle, not participated in business ,education, never think to be competitive with, Hindu in every field.Don’t want forget their historical past. Till obey Maula and Moulvi.When they break the out of dated old norms and came forward with new norms which are appropriate with new era till people called them Muslim.

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  • RajX

    Every Indian is a minority in some way or the other. I doubt if SRK’s kids need help from the government through reservation but the “high” caste Kashmiri pandits in refugee camps in Delhi who were driven away from their lands by Muslims will definitely need government help. But the in sad and pathetic India, the Muslims who drove the “high” caste Hindus out of Kashmir and stole their property will get reservation while the poor “high” caste Kashmiri pandits will be left to rot in refugee camps with no support even though he has lost everything because he was loyal to India. Our country is full of injustices where villains are turned into heros and victims are turned into oppressors, up is down and down is up.kalyug where communal groups rule the roost and have their people like Zia firmly in place in the Indian main stream media. We need a revolution.

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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5LKDVIAY6R5XC3TZH3EJ5DGQUM R

    who do you think will benefit from this? only the creAMy layer

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  • Anonymous

    Why not people called Kalam or M.J. Akaber Muslim?Simple answer both mingle in main social circle.Majority accepted both of them useful to nation.Why not other Muslim follow both of them?

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  • Abu Ahmed

    U.P. elections have become fertile playground for a thousand mutinies after 1992 – all the major parties are seducing voters with whatever it takes to have their vote. There will always be those who will oppose any scheme designed to benefit any community’s backwards – as the cake is of a definitie size while its claimants are infinite. Whatever – Mukhtar Naqvi of the BJP should be arrested for threatening of a civil war – opposing a political scheme with another political one is the name of the game, not the threat of violence as that amounts to terrorism – hence Naqvi and his colleagues should be arrested for threatening a civil war and trying to terrorise people. Why can’t the BJP come up with a better offer to entice voters instead of issuing threats?

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  • RajX

    Hahaha…here you go again. Funny guy.

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  • RajX

    You meant to say that Muslims in nonmuslim majority nation want secularism? The answer to that is easy. Because they can’t have sharia in nonmuslim majority countries. The majority won’t tolerate primitive Arab practices in their countries.

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  • RajX

    Smart approach. Both congress and BJP are crooks.

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  • Azhar Hussain

    Your Hindus are living happily in Mid east Muslim countries, and most of your fellow country would love to go there. what BS are you talking about.

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    RajX Reply:
    January 6th, 2012 at 10:26 pm

    Take the oil away from the middleast and they got nothing we want. They are just a bunch of not so civilized societies.

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    RajX Reply:
    January 6th, 2012 at 10:26 pm

    Take the oil away from the middleast and they got nothing we want. They are just a bunch of not so civilized societies.

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  • RajX

    I have discovered a donkey…you.

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  • engrich

    yes and feel proud.

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  • engrich

    forceful making was hindu samaj was the first major terrorist act in india.there was no forceful conversion.

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