By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Bangalore (Karnataka): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka, the first state in South India where the Hindu rightist party recently formed government on its own, has allocated Rs 144 crore for welfare of Muslims, much to the surprise of many.
Chief minister B.S. Yeddiyurrapa, who also holds the portfolio of finance minister, presented the Budget for the financial year 2008-2009 on July 17, 2008.
The BJP government has allocated the fund for the development and welfare of Muslims who constitute around 13% of the state population.
The fund will be spent on several programmes including establishment of Karnataka Minorities Board, constitution of a survey committee and proper utilization of Muzrai and wakf properties. Besides, Rs 15 crore will be spent on construction of marriage halls for minority communities in several districts.
Surprised? You have reasons to be so. Because this announcement has come from a party which has been out and out to oppose any affirmative and constructive action by the government for Muslims whose grim situation is evident from the Sachar Committee report. The party has always considered any special treatment to Muslims in the country as “anti-constitution.”
Then one can frankly ask: isn’t it also a case of “minority appeasement” in the BJP’s own political parlance?
TwoCircles.net talked to some Muslim intellectuals, social workers and journalists in the state to know their views about the budgetary allocation for Muslims.
What could be inferred from their views is that any analysis of the issue cannot be based completely on the stereotypical logic which guides the Indian politics: the assumption that any announcement for any community or class, just before elections, by the ruling dispensation is aimed at appeasing the concerned community or the class.
Of course the budgetary allocation for Muslims when general elections are just months away seems to be aimed at making the community happy, but it is not the complete picture of the story.
“The announcement by the BJP government for welfare of Muslims is part of the development quotient and not the electoral stunt,” said Bangalore-based BBC journalist Maqbool Ahmad Siraj to TwoCircles.net.
He says BJP in Karnataka is quite a development-oriented party; many people in the party come from various social movements and just don’t see every issue in the communal perspective.
They would be quite genuinely sincere for the development of the Muslims because they would like to expand and consolidate their constituency among Muslims.
The political dynamics of development have not been developed fully in North India.
The fact, as Siraj points out, is that the dynamics that guide the politics in South India is different from that of North India. It is not that Muslims don’t vote for the BJP here; in fact in the recently held Assembly election 15-20% of Muslims voted for the party particularly in the northern Karnataka where the party has got a wider base, argues Siraj.
He points out that if there are political leaders in the party who come from the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) rank but there are also quite a few leaders in the party, who come from the social movements, he says.
Even the most communal leaders also get the votes of the other community because of the issue of the development, informs the BBC journalist.
Mumtaz Ali Khan, Minister for Minority Welfare in the current BJP government, is considered to be one of the best ministers. Syed Tanweer, a journalist who also runs a news agency, considers Khan to be genuinely interested in the welfare and development of Muslims in the state.
As for the amount allocated in the budget for Muslims, Tanweer doesn’t consider it huge. “This is not very huge amount particularly when compared with the amount sanctioned for the Backward Commission. Muslim leaders and social workers were demanding RS 250 crore to be allocated,” says Tanweer.
But at the same time he admits that it is not a small amount that cannot make any change. It can bring change if used honestly.
Is there any obstacle in the proper utilization of the fund?
Yes, he says, lots of corruption will be there, and the schemes meant for the minority will not be implemented completely.
Lack of awareness among Muslims of schemes also contributes to their incomplete implementation.
Tanweer also says that proper implementation of government plans need a serious participation of all stake holders: public, NGOs and bureaucrats. Muslim masses need to be well aware and educated, bureaucracy needs to be sensitized towards the plight and problem of the community and NGOs need to educate Muslim masses and play the role of a watchdog for proper utilization of funds for the sanctioned schemes.
TwoCircles.net also spoke to president of Karnataka Muslim Muttahida Tahrik, Mukhtar Ahmad. He also cited the above-mentioned reasons for the insufficient implementations of the plans for minorities.
Several attempts to contact Minister for Minority Welfare Mumtaz Ali Khan failed.