By TCN News,
New Delhi: Feeling that the present electoral system in India is “inherently anti-minority and reduces the representation of all minority groups in the legislatures and gives it a majoritarian dominance, All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat has pitched for proportional electoral system. AIMMM has also demanded reform in the electoral system.
“The AIMMM is of a view that the electoral system presently in force is democratically flawed & creates legislatures and governments which enjoy the positive support of less than 20 % of the electorate & finds that from the Muslim point of view the present FPTP system is inherently anti-minority & reduces the representation of all minority groups in the legislatures and gives it a majoritarian dominance,” the national working committee of AIMMM observed in its meeting held last week in Delhi.
The AIMMM is aware that the antipathy towards the proportional electoral system arises the apprehension that it may lead to higher representation for the Muslims & all minorities in the legislatures. The fact is the Muslim representation on the whole is less than 50 % of what it should be and the Community has never been equitably represented in the Central or any state legislature since 1950. In any case no social group can exceed in legislatures its proportion in the population, while democracy demands that all identifiable & conscious social groups be equitably represented in the legislatures to create a flawless democracy.
“The AIMMM is of view to refine the democratic system as well as to make it fully representative of various social groups, the civil society must resume a serious discussion on the introduction of proportional electoral system while reserving its views on its shape and form, the AIMMM would be glad to participate in a National Dialogue on the subject which was initiated decades ago by two great leaders Jaiprakash Narain and Justice V M Tarkunde,” the resolution passed at the AIMMM meeting said.
On Muslim under-representation in the Judiciary, it said.
“The AIMMM has noted the very poor representation of Muslims in Higher Judiciary throughout the country. This is primarily because of the monopolies based on caste & kin operating in judicial appointments and the arbitrary methods used in selection. The AIMMM demands that the All India Judicial Service should be constituted immediately & man 40- 50 % of the posts of judges in the High Courts & the Supreme Court, the balance in the High Court Judges should be selected by promotion from the State Judicial Services and the Supreme Court & High Courts themselves should not nominate more than 10 % of the judges from the Bench on the basis of prescribed merit or eminence as jurist.
The AIMMM also considers that as in many developed countries the higher judiciary should not be appointed on the basis of understanding & agreement between the Executive and the Judiciary but that all decisions must be subject to approval & endorsement by a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Judicial Appointments.
The AIMMM demands that in order to scan the facts the Government should appoint a Judicial Commission to look into the appointments to the High Court & Supreme Court since 1950 & particularly the present level of representation of various social groups on their intra-family connections.
The AIMMM also feels that the High Courts should be located in accordance with the population of its service area and the number of Judges should be decided scientifically on the basis of well-establish norms of performance.
The AIMMM also proposes that should be 4 Regional Courts to hear appeals form the High Court and that the Supreme Court should deal only with constitutional cases as well as Center-state or inter-state differences.”
AIMMM has also expressed concern on Muslim under-representation in the Armed Forces.
“The AIMMM has noted the representation of Muslim in the Arm Forces has remained static at roughly about 3 % which their representation is nearly 15 % because the Armed Forces continue to function under the categorization of the people by the British among the martial and non-martial races which depended on the historical experience of the East India Company & later of the British Government with various social groups& old formalities.
The AIMMM is convinced that all citizens have right to bear arms for the defence of their country and therefore no one should be barred only on ground of community caste, race, language or region from joining the Armed Forces. The AIMMM also that no regiment or unit should be the exclusive monopoly of any particular social or geographical & suggest that group all regiments & army units which are named after religion or ethnicity should be renamed after the areas from the which they are largely recruited and allowing for specialization as in the Air Force, which any case is a small arm, every major state of the country should have a regiment named after it & its strength should be in proportion to its population, recruited on the basis of common physical and intellectual standards except for natural differences, for example, average stature.
For the Commissioned Officers, whose demand exceeds the supply, the AIMMM suggest that the doors of entry should be wide open to enable all carefully selected university graduates who can physically undergo rigorous of training.
The AIMMM notes that the emoluments received by the Jawans are a major factor in the economic development of their states & communities
Recruitment to Armed Forces has a development asked democracy demands that all citizens who are eligible should enjoy equality of affording and that there should be no discrimination, either positive or negative or any score. The AIMMM is convinced that if the Armed Forces are reorganized on just priority the proportion of Muslims will early cross 10 % & shall play a major role in the economic & commercial development of their areas of societies.”
AIMMM has demanded deeper investigations into the terror blasts in Samjhauta Express and Mumbai local trains, and into the killing of the senior police officer Hemant Karkare. The demand has been made in the light of the involvement of Hindutva terrorists in Ajmer, Malegaon and Hyderabad blasts.
“The AIMMM has noted that the investigations by ATS in Rajasthan & Maharashtra have exposed the contours of the ugly face of Hindu Terrorism whose hand has become obvious in the terrorist attacks in Malegeon, Hyderabad and Ajmer Sharif. The AIMMM demands deeper investigations to establish whether the same or similar groups have been involved in other major terrorist attacks such as those on Samjhauta Express & Mumbai Local Trains or even had a hand in the killing of the senior police officer Karkare in the course of the terrorist invasion in November, 2008.”
Since Abhinav Bharati and others are close to the RSS, the AIMMM supports the demand by several political parties for a ban on the RSS and on recruitment of persons associated with it in the Armed Forces, it added.
AIMMM has rejected the police charge-sheet in the Batla House Encounter case, terming it as “misleading as it has many flaws & gaps” and demanded that the Government should appoint a SIT to assist the persecution as well as a National Commission to investigate all cases of police encounters and custodial killings reported since 2004.