By TCN Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: Noted academician and Padmabhushan awardee T.K. Oommen urged the civil societies and non-government organisations to come forward for the development of backward communities, particularly the Muslims.
“Non-governmental civil societies should take measures for empowering the minority population and ensuring the protection of their rights,” said Oomen during a commemorative ceremony at New Delhi’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Oomen was addressing a programme conducted to commemorate the late political leader of Kerala Sayed Muhammadali Shihab.
On the economic state of Muslims in India, Oommen, who was also one of the members of the government-appointed Sachar committee to study the educational backwardness of Muslims in India, noted: “Utilization of Waqf properties all over the country can solve financial problems of Muslim society.”
Oomen also praised the Institute for Minority Studies and Inclusive Social Action (IMSISA), a Delhi-based NGO which had organized the programme.
Even though there are efforts for democratic social inclusion, they are hindered at practical level in the electoral politics, diverting reserved constituencies into Muslim majority areas, he added, referring to examples from UP, Bihar and West Bengal.
The insufficient representation at political level is caused in account of posting Muslim candidates to the constituencies where community presence is comparatively low, the academician argued.
The conference was preceded by a national seminar on “Development, empowerment and human rights: Perspectives on Muslims in post-colonial India,” attended by eminent scholars and academics. The lecture was chaired by Sayyid Munawwar Ali Shihab, the president of IMSISA.