National Conference on “12th Five-Year-Plan & Minorities” organized in Lucknow
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Lucknow: The concerted and sustained campaign to get allocated substantial increase in the funds in the 12th Five-Year-Plan (2012-2017) for the welfare of minorities, especially Muslims, has borne fruits.
The efforts put in by Muslim cleric Maulana Mohammad Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, chairman of Strive for Eminence and Empowerment (SEE) and trusted band of his lieutenants who orchestrated the whole campaign, came for all round praise from one all at the National Conference on “12th Five Year Plan & Minorities” here in Lucknow at Ganna Sanstha on Sunday last.
Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, who is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Planning Commission, while delivering keynote address at the conference declared that in the last 65 years after India’s independence, eleven Five-Year-Plans have passed away into darkness and gone to the winds and the minorities, especially the Muslim community, remained cocooned in the web of ignorance and illiteracy while wallowing in the memories of their long-gone glorious past. But now, the Muslims have awakened and they will keep track of each and every paisa allotted for their welfare in the 12th Plan, he thundered.
Maulana Mujaddidi said: “In the 11th Plan mainly we concentrated on Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA), wherein we had three tasks viz. 1. To Understand the Plan & Process; 2. To understand the guideline & 3. To understand the implementation mechanism. Now, after being okayed by the National Development Council (NDC) on December 27, 2012 the 12th Plan: PM’s New 15 PP & Flagship Schemes we will have only one task i.e. monitoring each and every paisa.
Nirmal Khatri, Member of Parliament and President Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), presided over the national conference, while Prakash Jaiswal, Union Coal Minister, was the chief guest at the conference. Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, ex-president of UPCC; Zafar Ali Naqvi, Member of Parliament; Dr. Mohammad Muslim, MLA from Sultanpur in Rai Bareli in Lok Sabha constituency; Akhtar Husain Akhtar; Masood Ahmad and Anees Ansari (Rtd. IAS), were guests of honour on the occasion. Many important dignitaries, academicians, social activists, NGOs and delegates from all over India participated in the programme.
Talking about the 12th Plan which has been claimed to be faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth, Maulana Mujaddidi pointed out that the total allotment outlay for minority affairs has been hiked from Rs.7,283/- crore in the 11th Plan to Rs.7,323/- crores in the 12th Plan which is 137.85 per cent increase. While in the social services sector the total allotment outlay has been increased from Rs.1,197,576/- crore in the 11th Plan to Rs.2,664,843/- crores in the 12th Plan which is 122.52 per cent hike out of which 15 per cent share is Rs.399,726/- crores for minorities. As per his own calculations, a whopping Rs. 1 lakh crore has been allotted for the Uttar Pradesh Muslims under social services, Maulana Mujaddidi stated.
He pointed out that specific interventions under PM’s 15 Point Programme, the 12th Plan document states that in order to provide the best quality education, the endeavour in the 12th Plan will be towards having one residential school along the lines of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya. It will be established in a phased manner in minority concentration blocks and minority concentration towns/cities. Norms in these schools need to ensure admission to at least 50 per cent children belonging to minorities.
A sizeable minority population in towns and cities is socio-economically disadvantaged and requires a whole range of special initiatives to improve their living conditions and opportunities. It is, therefore, necessary to initiate special programmes for the promotion of education, including skill and vocational education, in such backward towns/cities for empowering members of minority communities, among others.
Talking of the ground realities Maulana Mujaddidi lamented that in the11th Plan under the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) for minorities only 2 per cent of the targeted 15 per cent houses were allotted to them.
India as world super power without Muslims impossible:
Speaking as chief guest Prakash Jaiswal said the importance of education must be inculcated among Indian Muslims and they should be acquainted with the schemes brought out by the Union Government for their welfare so that they can derive maximum utilisation and thereby extricate themselves from the morass of illiteracy and poverty. He told the audience that it is their responsibility to make the government answerable by taking two steps and then ask it to take four steps.
Jaiswal said that then only India can aspire to become a world super power. He candidly admitted without any inhibition that without the progress and development of 15 per cent Muslims, who are denied their due share, India cannot become a Super Power in the 21st Century. It would remain only a pipe dream if Muslim community is not brought into the mainstream to enjoy the fruits of development as equal partners, he remarked.
He said that there are ample welfare schemes for the uplift of Muslims by the Union government. However, the benefits do not reach the common man as the regional governments which are the implementing agencies are equally responsible for this, he added.
Jaiswal, while heaping praises on Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi for his vision and mission, said the erudite Muslim cleric has wealth of knowledge to uplift Muslims educationally through Union government’s welfare schemes. He said when he visited Maulana Fazlur Rahim’s Jamea-Tul-Hidaya Madrasa at Jaipur of which he is Rector, he was spell-bound by the ambience of education that pervades at his institute. It is a unique Madrasa in Jaipur (Rajasthan), wherein religious, modern and technical education have been so well combined for the all round development of Aalims (graduate students) studying there in. Though a product of madrasa education the Maulana is a real educationist and a social activist in the true sense, who has engaged himself with making the Muslim community aware of their rights and duties, he added. Every state should be endowed with such a personality which would transform the fate of Muslims in particular and the country at large to become a super power, he opined.
Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, in a most humble manner acknowledged the contributions of Maulana Mujaddidi for the uplift of Muslim community which we politicians have failed to do so. She also admitted that India gained freedom due to great sacrifices of Madrasa education stalwart.
Three books related to 12th Plan brought by SEE were released on the occasion. At the end of the National Conference three resolutions were unanimously adopted. The resolutions which were passed are:-
(i) The concerned Union Ministries should immediately make public the action taken report. One year of the 12th Plan has already been passed, the community had bad experienced of 11th plan implementation specially related with educational infrastructure. Therefore it is proposed that concerned Ministries are requested to prepare an implementation Schedule for 12th Plan.
(ii) Though, The Scholarship Scheme has been made Demand Driven in the 12th Plan but the amount layout will not fulfil the financial needs to make it Demand Driven. Therefore, it is proposed that the Scholarship outlay should be increased and matched as per recommendations of Working Group (Ministry of Minority Affairs) & Steering Committee (Planning Commission) proposal. Further, the guidelines should also be amended according to the proposal.
(iii) The 12th Plan has introduced three (3) new Schemes viz. (a) Educational Infrastructure for 100 MCTs, (Minority Concentrated Towns); (b) Scholarship for Civil Services Exams & (c) Appointment of Welfare Officer in MCDs (Minority Concentrated Districts). These schemes are yet to be launched. It is proposed that these schemes should be launched immediately.
It may be mentioned here that the conference was webcast live on http://www.cacademy.org with the link being http://96.125.174.63/~devtechn/projects/jamiya/ .