| |
Representation
to Hon'ble Chairman, Justice Rangnath Mishra
Justice (Retd.) Shri Rangnath Mishra,
Chairman, National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities
Gate No. 30, 2nd Floor,
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Lodhi Road
New Delhi.
Subject: The proposal for
Granting SC/ST status to converted Muslims and
Christians is motivated by vote bank politics. It is dangerously
divisive and undermines much needed National Integration and communal
harmony.
Hon'ble Chairman Justice Rangnath Mishra,
In regard to the issue stated above we would like to state it at the
very outset that we firmly stand for social respect and equality of
economic opportunity for all. But the Govt's intention to grant SC/ST
status to converted Muslims and Christians can only be seen as
motivated by vote bank politics. The nature of this cleverly designed
policy is divisive and anti-national integration with a strong
potential for communal friction and social fragmentation. This demand
is yet another tool at the behest of foreign inspired “conversion
merchants” or ruse to entice SC/ST to conversions in search of
equality and economic progress in non-Hindu religions. Note must be
taken of the fact that only the Hindu community is the target of these
“religious merchants”.
There are some fundamental and structural
social reasons why some minorities, say Muslims, are still poor.
Their willful reluctance or failure to join the national mainstream
and avail of the educational and other facilities available to all
Indian citizens must not be considered a reasonable ground for
entitling them to have reservations in numerous fields. Their leaders
are averse to joining the mainstream as their leadership depends upon
keeping them as separatists and isolationists.
That the Indian President and the richest
Indian, Azim Premji, presiding over a giant Indian business
establishment, both of them Muslims, is not an accident.
They are the proof that those who join the mainstream in India have
every opportunity for progress and all the doors are open for them.
If the Muslims
leaders were serious for the economic and social progress of their
community they could devise ways and means for their upliftment
rather than preaching and promoting sharply their demographic numbers
as indicated by census reports for the last so many decades. The
recent widespread protests and demands for clemency for the terrorist
Afzal, a convicted murderer, by a Muslim Chief Minister, some Muslim
politicians and organizations and open threats are a sign of their
separatism and political blackmail of the current weak Indian Govt.
That after Sixty years of reservations the
SC/ST have not achieved the desired goal of social and economic
equality proves that there is something inherently wrong with this
policy and that it should be speedily discarded.
Arrogant continuation of a failed policy lacks wisdom and costs the
nation very dearly. The establishment of bureaucracy and laws are no
answer to socio-economic ills. The example of Mr. Muhammad Yunus, an
NGO of Bangladesh, who was awarded a Nobel Prize for devising
mechanisms to improve the socio-economic conditions of the poor, and
who made a monumental difference in the lives of millions are worth
emulation. Another example in India is that of an "Ekal Vidyalya"
organization, who runs one teacher schools with donations and have
made a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of students and
families.
The failed Soviet experiment of equality
for all through official patronage and communism is yet another
example that bureaucracy and laws are not the answer.
May we ask why the Muslims: a) flounder subsidy worth billions of
rupees for Hajj, and foreign funding for building mosques, etc.; but
not divert such resources for advancement of the community, and b) why
they do not limit their family size to allow for betterment of their
children ? Going simply by statistics on poverty and ignoring inherent
faults in the social system, could be as fallacious as using
statistics on terrorism, and saying that Muslims are terrorists.
Regarding Christian demands for
reservations: They have hundreds of millions of dollars worth foreign
assistance available annually which they spend on conversions and
building churches and not for the benefit of the converted poor?
They seem to be driven by the call of the Pope and others like him to
reap the rich harvest of the heathen souls and Christianize India. It
is important to note that Christians though only about 2% of the
national population, occupy a much larger percentage in jobs and
education.
It seems as if
the Indian state is rewarding and providing bonus to the converts for
breaking away from the broad Hindu Samaj.
Such anti-Hindu policies were in vogue during the treacherous regimes
of Muslim and English conquerors of India. These foreign occupiers
recognized that Hinduism was the single unifying factor in keeping the
Indian nation integrated. Therefore, the need for punishing Hindus and
Hinduism for standing in their way. But why free India’s Govt. follows
their path is highly mind boggling.
Mr. Chairman, when Govt. grants incentives, benefits
and special status to those who breakaway from India’s mainstream
religion i.e., Hinduism, does that not constitute to be an anti-Hindu
policy? Why such benefits are not being made available when the
breakaways are still a part of the broad Hindu society? Sir,
using, misusing and abusing the system to sabotage the unified nature
of the Indian nation must be considered a crime worthy of severest
punishment. In order to entertain some idiotic notions of a few
opportunist policy makers hold, should the patriotic Indians forget
where the terrorists and militants, who exploit and hurt India’s
tolerant civil society, come from?
Furthermore, If the converted Christians
and Muslims are granted the status of Scheduled Castes, they will be
eligible for double benefits of reservation as Scheduled Caste and as
Minority. Providing all kinds of
incentives to individuals for leaving the Hindu majority is a
prescription for eventual fragmentation of India. No other country in
the world nurses and promotes such a policy of disintegration which at
once is discriminative towards the majority and rewards the breakaway
splinter groups.
May we remind that when the British
Government sought to give separate electorates to the Scheduled
Castes, Gandhi went on a hunger strike -
which ended in the Poona Pact in 1932. Some seven and a half decades
later, on September 6, 1990 Rajiv Gandhi made a similar, though not as
sensational, effort to promote national unity. Addressing the Lok
Sabha he said: "If you believe in a casteless society, every major
step you take must be such that you move towards a casteless society.
And you must avoid taking any step which takes you to a caste-ridden
society".
Further, in a circular to the presidents of all Pradesh Congress
Committees, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU on May 26, 1954 said: "In particular, we
must fight whole-heartedly against those narrow divisions which have
grown up in our country in the name of caste, which weaken the unity,
solidarity and progress of the country...." Ironically, what the
federal Govt. composed of the followers of Nehru is proposing to do
through the present initiative is diametrically opposite to what
Jawaharlal advised.
The proposal to continue reservation even
after changing the faith is perpetuating the institution of casteism
for ever. After all changing faith and
castes under the present policy brings in benefits, safeguards and
other rewards. Then why would people not take advantage of them up
particularly when they realize that they have every thing to gain by
fragmenting into smaller and splinter group. Inadvertently or by
design the religious and political horse traders, who thrive on social
fragmentism, separatism and isolationism, have given a new life to
casteism and forces of national disunity. Accepting the proposal in
question will only strengthen their hands.
Hon'ble Chairman, based on the arguments
presented above there should be no doubt in any body’s mind that
supporting such a request will boost the unconstitutional
proselytization by Govt. at the tax payer’s expense. Sir, for the sake
national unity the Govt. patronage of “tactical converts” must end
here and now. Secular, democratic governments do not patronize or
penalize religions. Keeping in view the welfare of all citizens,
please recommend to the Government not to grant the status of SC/ST to
the people who converted to Islam and Christianity.
Thank you Mr. Chairman for your time.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr. Jagan Kaul
Krishan Bhatnagar
Hindu Jagran Forum ( USA)
October 28, 2006
|
|
