Zakat Foundation of India’s letter to Arvind Kejriwal
Dear Sri Arvind Kejriwal Ji,
Congratulations for your party’s second victory in Delhi.
We promise that we the office bearers & members of Zakat Foundation of India shall never seek any personal favor from you or your government for ourselves or any other well placed individual.
You would kindly recall that during its second innings the UPA Govt in the centre generally ignored the restoration of justice to Muslims except toning up the Waqf law. Through a PowerPoint presentation made at Ahmedabad on 29 June 2013 in a program of Sri Narendra Modi, the ZFI President had eloquently narrated the reasons of Muslim disenchantment with his party and the requiredremedial measures. But asubstantial improvement in the situation has yet to come. Thus, during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and in the just concluded Delhi Assembly elections, Muslims overwhelminglyvoted for AAP.
We would now request you to kindly consider the following major recommendations of Justice Sachar Committee, Justice Mishra Commission, Mr. Harsh Mandar and others for planned implementation in Delhi in a time bound manner.
With warm regards, yours faithfully,
For Zakat Foundation of India:
Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood, S. M. Shakil, Asrar Ahmad, Anisur Rahman, Mumtaz Najmi, Irfan Baig, Mufti Dr Adil Jamal, Imtiyaz Ahmad Siddiqui, Kamal Akhtar
www.zakatindia.org
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Works pending for long
1. Units of Planning & Implementation
Make the village (in rural area) and ward (in urban area) [and not the district or block] as units of planning for infrastructure schemes (including MSDP) and their implementation.
2. Alternate Admission Criteria
Implement the ALTERNATE ADMISSION CRITERIA that will help the poor among all communities and will facilitate admissions to the ‘most backward’ in regular universities and colleges, providing a rating/grading system(Sachar Committee Report page 246, Statement 12.1). That way, for granting admission in higher education, the candidate’s backwardness will occupy 40% of the criteria while the remaining 60% will be based on the candidate’s academic merit.
State funding should also be linked to the use of such criteria in admissions by the educational institutions.
3. Equal Opportunity Commission
Establish Equal Opportunity Commission in Delhi.
(Modalities were finalized by Central Govt’s Expert Committee 5 years ago)
4. IncentiveSchemes based on Diversity Index
Institute in Delhi the Schemes for Incentives based on Diversity Index. That is to say, if an individual, a government officer, a company, a PSU etc proactively ensures that the beneficiaries of his or her work proportionately include persons of different faiths then such government officer, company, PSU etc will be given incentives by way of tax benefit or conferment of state award etc. (Modalities for such schemes also werefinalized by Central Govt’s Expert Committee 5 years ago).
5. Interest Free Finance Option
(a) Accept in principle the option for interest-free finance in the banking sector.
(b) Write to the Central Government recommending the:
(i) Implementation of the erstwhile Planning Commission’s Raghuram Rajan Committee Report on financial sector reforms and
(ii) Expeditious launch of the SBI’s proposed Shariat-friendly Mutual Equity Fund.
(c) In the meanwhile, initiate the process in Delhi by granting the facility of SUKUK BONDS.
6. Budget Component
Create Special Component Plan in the Budget for Muslims’ skill development programs and other economic opportunities.
(‘Promises to Keep’ by Harsh Mandar & others)
7. Delimitation
Get de-reservedthe constituencies with substantial Muslim presence. Create a cell in the CM’s office to carry out research and collect data. Write to the Delimitation Commission to remove these anomalies.
For example, in Delhi, Mangolpuri assembly constituency (Scheduled Castes 34.16%, Muslims 6.31%) is not reserved for SCs. However, Seemapuri assembly constituency (SCs 28.97%, Muslims 17.38%) is reserved for SCs. Such gross injustice to Muslims needs to be reversed.
8. Waqfs
(a)Institutionally ensure that
(i) No Waqf property is leased at less than the currently prevalent fair market rate of rent.
(ii) No Waqf lease proposal is required to be submitted to the state government before the State Waqf Board is enabled to issue the lease order.
(b) Orderthe vacation of Waqf properties occupied for long by the central &Delhi Governmentsand their agencies and restore these to the Delhi State Waqf Board. For the period of occupation, Waqf Board should be given rent at market rate.
(c) Ensure that all the 123 Waqf properties are immediately returned to the Delhi Waqf Board immediately and it begins working to fruitfully utilize these as per the Waqf purposes.
(d)Appoint a senior officer of an all-India or central serviceas CEO of Delhi Waqf Board on the pattern of several states where senior officers are appointed to manage temples &pratishthaans.
9. Madarsas
(a) Publicize the Central Madarsa Modernization Scheme (SPQEM) in Urdu &Hindi.
(b) Establish equivalence between Madarsa and other education in coordination with UGC and NIOS.
10. Urdu Teachers
Implement the Central Urdu Teachers Scheme.
11. Muslim Nomination & Involvement
(a) Like, Andhra Pradesh, evolve procedure to nominate Muslims in public positions of power, not only in areas of exclusive Muslim interest but in all other areas also.
(b) Involve Muslim beneficiary groups in planning & oversight of projects.
(c) Concentrate on benefiting the whole Muslim community, not only a few individuals