By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net,
Reservation for Muslims is one of the most debated topics. When election comes knocking, it comes out from the closet only to fade from memory once the voting is over for the political bosses. The ‘reservation’ candy is offered to Muslims only to please them but never to benefit them. Amidst this grim situation, several voices are being raised for inclusion of Muslims who are akin to dalit in their profession under SC category. Strange, a scavenger Muslim is denied reservation by the President’s order in India while his Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist colleague enjoys it making progresses by leaps and bounds in their life. Once such voice is Dr MA Siddiqui, MBBS, MD and also the president of All India United Muslim Morcha (AIUMM) that is waging a battle for the dalit Muslims. Demanding reservation and SC status to them, the battle is being fought on roads, in courts and even on personal front. Dr Siddiqui during an interaction with Faisal Fareed of TwoCircles.net highlights the various stages of his struggle, the hits and misses.
What is the role of AIUMM in the issue of reservation for ‘dalit’ Muslims?
The Muslims have been denied ‘dalit’ status and despite being engaged in such jobs they have been excluded from the SC list. AIUMM is waging a battle for their right for 18 years. We are for peaceful means for our demands. Dharnas, processions, press conferences, workshops, rallies have been held in most of the parts of the country and are continuing for their right.
Dr MA Siddiqui, president of All India United Muslim Morcha (AIUMM)
How did this situation crop up which excluded Muslims from SC list?
It is a long history. In 1935, Dr BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi had a Poona Pact where as per 1931 census report it was felt that there is a need for special concessions to certain castes who are downtrodden in the society both socially and through their profession. Gandhiji undertook 24 days hunger strike before the sealing of Poona Pact. Then a schedule was made with a list of castes which later came to be known as SC list. In this list irrespective of the religion, certain castes were given benefits.
Then how did Muslims get omitted from the SC list?
The SC list of pre-independence era continued till 1950 when Congress government through a Presidential Order after a cabinet meeting made it mandatory that for getting SC benefits one has to be Hindu by religion. Thus all Muslims were excluded from the SC list since 1950. In Article 341 which deals with SC reservation issue, it has been mentioned in para 3 and the condition of president’s order has been made mandatory.
So you demand that Muslims be included in the SC list again.
Yes, because this exclusion is against the spirit of Indian constitution. In Article 14, 15, 16 there is right to equality and in Article 25 there is freedom of religion. The SC status has been restored for Sikhs in 1956 and to Buddhist in 1990 but Muslims are still kept out of bound. To make things worse, central government of Congress on July 23, 1959 passed a circular that Muslims need to reconvert to Hinduism for getting SC benefits. It is violation of essence of a secular country and promotes conversion. It is against our fundamental right.
What efforts have you made for restoration of SC status to Muslims?
We met all political leaders and every single Prime Minister since HD Devegowda took oath. We met HRD and Law ministers and several others. The result is that a constitution review committee was formed which recommended our plea. The National Commission for Minorities also recommended it, SC/ST Commission also made its recommendations. Even Ranganath Mishra and Sachar Committee reports also made strong recommendations. All parties except BJP and Shiv Sena agreed to our demand.
Then what is stopping them from fulfilling the demands?
Simple thing that the issue has been accepted by their ‘dal’ (party) but not by their ‘dil’(heart). Several senior leaders as Ram Vilas Paswan, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh made strong point during parliament but in the end the result is zero. We are now trying to unite Muslims on this agenda across the country.
What about the response by Muslim leaders?
They all agreed but they speak their party’s agenda. Now we will force them to speak Muslim agenda. We will make it an election issue. You can take votes only if you fulfill our demands. Even the Muslim organizations and clerics too supported us but we still need to toil hard as there is little awareness among our community.
How are Muslims being harmed by not getting SC status?
It is a planned conspiracy to wipe out Muslims from the country’s top positions. The representation of Muslims in government sector after independence has come down to less than two percent. A Muslim scavenger is living in penury while his Hindu colleague enjoys all the benefits.
Who is the main culprit behind this issue?
There is no doubt it is the Congress party which has harmed the interests of Muslims. Every adverse decision was taken during its regime. They speak in the interests of Muslims but their intentions are doubtful. Even government organizations are against us, as I demanded data from Registrar General, Census for India for data on Muslims and they did not provide.
What is the latest status on this issue, how far has it reached?
A cabinet decision was taken by PM Manmohan Singh’s government on 18 May 2007 that they will decide the issue after Ranganath Mishra report. Nothing has been done so far after that by the government. We have now approached the Supreme Court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). It has been accepted by the apex court. It will be soon listed for hearing. Our contention is that the President of India’s order in 1950 is illegal as no one except the parliament has the right to amend the constitution. We have full faith in judiciary and hope to get justice.
Raising the issue for nearly two decades, you must have been approached by political parties. Don’t you nurture political ambitions after taking the battle so far?
I have been approached by every single political party including BJP. My only point is that do not talk about me, talk about my issue. Come clean over my justified issue and I will support you. Regarding contesting the elections, I may do so if my organization feels it is necessary. Winning is another matter but we have strength to disturb the equations. We had even ensured Laloo Yadav’s defeat from Madhepura in 1999 by campaigning against him and then in 2000 he passed the resolution in support of the demand from Bihar Assembly. Similar step has been taken by Mulayam Singh when his close confidante lost mayor election in Bareilly due to our efforts and then he realized our power and passed the resolution supporting our cause.
Besides this issue, are there any other concerns you are focused on?
Our organization and me are totally for Muslim cause and a united and peaceful country. When the issue of illegal migrants was raked up in Lucknow after which thousands of Assamese Muslims who were engaged in filthy jobs here were branded as Bangladeshis, I took up the issue with authorities. We deputed our volunteers along with official teams which undertook verification. Surprisingly, out of 12000 verifications, all were found to be Indian and none was Bangladeshi. The officials had to cut a sorry figure and since then the issue has been shelved.