By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Muslim community leaders, it seems, have lost confidence in them or lack courage – maybe even potential – to launch a mass movement democratically to press the authorities for their genuine demands — whether it is Muslim reservation or judicial probe of Batla House encounter. Like many times in the recent past, today they again demanded reservation in job and education but clearly lacked courage when repeatedly asked if they would launch a mass movement in case government did not listen.
L-R: Dr Tasleem Rahmani, Dr SQR Ilyas, Maulana Wahab Khilji, Maulana Ameeduzzaman Kairanvi and others
They were addressing a press conference at Press Club of India in New Delhi to reiterate the demand for implementation of Ranganath Mishra Commission recommendations – chiefly 10% reservation to Muslims in job and education throughout the country. The Mishra Commission has also recommended that Para 3 of the Constitutional (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 is repealed so that not only Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist SCs but also those Muslims who belong to the same occupational groups and have remained educationally and socially backward are included in the SC list.
Rejecting the official indication that 3% out of 27% OBC quota could be carved out for Muslims, Dr SQR Ilyas, executive committee member of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said this is not acceptable. “We demand 10% reservation for all Muslims in the country without tinkering the OBC quota,” he said and to strengthen his point he gave example of Kerala (12%) and Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (4% each) where Muslim have been given reservation outside the OBC quota.
He also refuted the argument that 10% reservation to Muslims will violate the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court. “Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have already crossed that limit and even Supreme Court has given permission to do that in specific cases,” said Dr Ilyas.
Maulana Abdul Wahab Khilji, president of Islahi Movement expressed his sorrow that government makes commissions and forgets their recommendations. Maulana Ameeduzzaman Kairanwi, General Secretary, All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat and Dr Tasleem Rahmani, president, Muslim Political Council of India also spoke.
But when repeatedly asked what they would do if the government did not heed to their demand, they shied away from making any announcement that they would launch a massive movement. Dr Ilyas said he will wait for ATR of government on Mishra report while Maulana Kairanwi said that if need be, we will think of a movement.