By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The movement for the minority status of Jamia Millia Islamia is still preferring air-conditioned rooms and halls. It is yet to reach street as the community ‘leaders’ and well-wishers of the central university seem not to have qualification and charisma required to make it a public movement issue. Like dozens in the last few months, a similar meeting was held today at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi.
R-L: Maulana Ameeduzzaman Kairanvi, MPs Mohammad Adeeb and Ahmad Sayeed Malihabadi, Maulana Mohammad Wali Rahmani and Okhla MLA Asif Mohammad Khan (extreme left)
Cold weather outside was very much reflective inside the meeting hall as speaker after speaker was reiterating in less enthusiastic way the demand for minority status of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Tabrez Ahmed of Jamia Teachers’ Association expressed apprehension of the implementation of OBC reservation quota in the university as the UGC is threatening to withhold grants in case the OBC quota was not implemented. Once the quota is implemented it will adversely damage the minority status of the university, he said. Jawed Alam of Jamia Old Boys’ Association repeated the same views.
Shoaib Danish, Jamia Nagar ward councilor and ex-president of Jamia Millia Students Union said he was ready to fight a long war on the issue. He is also ready to meet Prime Minister. But he added that he has been advised by some to meet MPs in this regard first. Dainsh has been elected on Congress ticket.
Newly elected Okhla MLA Asif Mohammad Khan demanded Muslim MPs to raise the issue in the Parliament. He said as the issue is related to central government he cannot raise it in the Assembly. He, however, promised he would consult with people to know if he could raise it in the state legislature. He also criticized Muslim MPs, many of them are Congressmen, for not giving the issue much importance as the Congress-led UPA government is cold on minority status of Jamia Millia.
Prominent personalities who attended the program included Maulana Mohammad Wali Rahmani, Maulana Ameeduzzaman Kairanvi, MPs Mohammad Adeeb and Ahmad Sayeed Malihabadi and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind secretary Intizar Naeem.
The program was organized by Jamia Minority Status Coordination Committee. Half a dozen groups have emerged in the recent past for the same purpose, and all have so far preferred indoor meetings.