By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Kolkata : Muslim organisations and influential leaders in the state, including Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Shahri Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, Milli Council, Sunnat Aljamaat, Shia Asna Asari and the Muslim Institute, have come under one platform to tackle the "indifferent" attitude of the state government towards minorities.
The front, named the Milli Ittehad Parishad (MIP), is led by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind state secretary Siddiqullah Chowdhury and has patronage of Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat and Qari Fazlur Rahman, Imam-Eidain (the Imam who leads Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha prayers).
Muslim activists, who so far have been supporting the ruling Left Front, have also extended their support to the new coalition.
The Parishad sent letters to major political parties of the state, seeking appointments for a discussion. The idea is to assess the stand of the various parties on issues concerning Muslims.
MIP members held a meeting with Left Front chairman Biman Bose and put forward the coalition’s demands.
"We talked about social injustice faced by the Muslims. Taslima Nasreen’s extended stay and how her writings hurt the community’s sentiments were also discussed. Bose also claimed that his party intends to give Muslims more amenities than in Andhra Pradesh," said Abdul Aziz, joint convenor of the Parishad.
Biman Bose told the delegation that the party was studying Sachar’s recommendations, said MP Md Salim, who was present at the meeting. "They (Parishad members) have some concerns, which they wanted to share with the CPM party secretary. The issues will be taken up by the party or the state government, as the need be."
On Tuesday, Parishad representatives met Pradesh Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharya and sought the Congress’ opinion on issues concerning the minorities. "I cannot say much at the moment. They (delegates) presented their views on Justice Sachar’s findings and Taslima Nasreen’s writings," Bhattacharya said.
With the state panchayat elections just a few months away, the formation of the Parishad has political implications. Significantly, Muslim activists with Leftist bent have joined the forum too.
"This has nothing to do with our ideology. It’s a non-political platform. The effort is to bring Muslim organisations with different ideologies together for the community’s interests," said Salman Khurshid, a senior official of the Muslim Institute.
"Whatever promises the government had made to us, have remained on paper. Education, recognition of minority institutions, health projects, hostels for Muslim students and housing – none of them have materialised. We are disappointed. Muslim leaders within the ruling party too have done nothing for the community," alleged Shahood Alam, state president of the Milli Council.
Siddiqullah Chowdhury claimed that the Parishad is the first "coalition of Muslims" in the state.
"Hamain khairat nahin chahiye, huqooq chahiye (we don’t want charity, we want our rights). We will work in sync on issues of common interest," Siddiqullah said.
To gather greater momentum, Parishad partners are holding a series of iftar parties, where they propagate their agenda. To assess the coalition’s strength, a state-wide bandh and a mass rally will be announced soon.