By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Agra : It is the constitutional duty of the government to provide the minorities with their legitimate rights and privileges; if a court of law nullifies the minority status of Muslims, it would be un-constitutional and the government would stand duty bound to get such a pronouncement null and void, remarked Head Department of Law Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Dr Shakeel Samdani. He was participating in a seminar on "If Muslims would not be Minority" organised here Monday under the aegis of Muslim Advocates Forum.
Dr Samdani reminded the audience that every country in the world protects its minorities and grants them special status. This is in fulfilment of the Charter of the United Nations, one of the signatories of which is India.
"If the country has to progress, seeks permanent membership of United Nations, and wants to be a civilized nation among the comity of nations, it will have to give the minorities special status. Even if Muslims in India constitute 49% of the total population, the government will have to give them minority status," he stressed.
Participating in the seminar, Reader Department of Political Science AMU Dr Muhibbul Haque said whenever a court of law interfered in Muslim affairs, it did at lower level; and it evoked wide public protest. The government always took corrective measures in such a case.
He further said that the definition of minority given by a Judge of Allahabad High Court in a recent judgement stands in sharp contrast with our Constitution, judicial tradition and international definition of the term.
Dr Ausaf Ali maintained that the real success of Muslims does not lie in being or not being a minority but in their internal strength.
Presiding over the seminar, Dr Khalid Zaki termed the said judgement as the result of Jewish conspiracy.