By IANS
Lucknow : The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is spearheading a movement to include Dalits from the community under the category of Scheduled Castes.
Zafaryab Jilani, a member of the AIMPLB executive body, has got down to mobilizing Muslims in a big way to pursue his new mission.
Jilani, who is also a lawyer, has given it the banner of 'Muslim Reservation Movement'.
"My logic is simple – when certain groups of Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists performing particular functions were listed as Dalits and were therefore entitled to all accruing benefits, why were equivalent Muslims deprived from those concessions," Jilani asked.
After convening an informal meeting of prominent Muslim leaders in Lucknow Sunday, Jilani proposes to hold larger rallies of Muslims in Meerut, Faizabad and Barielly in Uttar Pradesh over the next two months on the issue.
"We will hold our first rally in Meerut on July 15," Jilani told IANS.
"I am confident of receiving wide support as the issue is related to the gross deprivation of deserving members of the community from certain vital concessions that could have changed their socio-economic status in the country."
He also had a point to make on Other Backward Classes (OBC) among Muslims.
"Unless backward Muslims are allocated a separate reservation of 8 percent within OBC list, they would remain deprived of their legitimate due," he pointed out.
Muslims total over 140 million in India and constitute the country's largest religious minority.