Affirmative action for Muslims key to sabka saath, sabka vikas: VP
Hamid Ansari
Sections trapped in
vicious circle, culturally defensive posture (where) modernity seen as tainted,
Ansari said.
Vice President Hamid Ansari with Syed Shahabuddin
at the golden jubilee celebration of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat in
New Delhi on Monday. (Source: PTI photo)
Describing as “commendable” the “official objective
of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”, the government’s policy initiative for inclusive
development, Vice President Hamid Ansari underlined Monday that “a
pre-requisite for this is affirmative action (where necessary) to ensure a
common starting point”.
“The default by the State or its agents in terms of
deprivation, exclusion and discrimination (including failure to provide
security) is to be corrected by the State; this needs to be done at the
earliest and appropriate instruments developed for it,” Ansari said at the
golden jubilee session of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat in New
Delhi.
Asking Muslims to also look inward and see what
they have done to redress “identified shortcomings”, he said “corrective
strategies, therefore, have to be sought on category-differentiation admissible
in Indian state practice and hitherto denied to Muslims (Scheduled Caste
status) or inadequately admitted (segments of OBC status). Available data makes
it clear that a high percentage of Muslims falls into these two broad
categories.”
Referring to a “compendium of official reports”, he
listed “principal problems confronting India’s Muslims” as “identity and
security; education and empowerment; equitable share in the largesse of the
state; and fair share in decision-making”.
Each of these, he said, is a right of the citizen.
“The shortcomings in regard to each have been analysed threadbare. The
challenge before us today is to develop strategies and methodologies to address
them… Political sagacity, the imperative of social peace, and public opinion
play an important role in it. Experience shows that the corrective has to be
both at the policy and the implementation levels; the latter, in particular,
necessitates mechanisms to ensure active cooperation of the State governments.”
He said Muslims were “made to carry, unfairly, the
burden of political events and compromises that resulted in the Partition. The
process of recovery from that trauma has been gradual and uneven, and at times
painful. They have hesitatingly sought to tend to their wounds, face the
challenges and seek to develop response patterns. Success has been achieved in
some measure; much more, however, needs to be done.”
“Equally relevant is the autonomous effort by the
community itself in regard to its identified shortcomings. What has it done to
redress the backwardness and poverty arising out of socio-economic and
educational under-development? How adequate is the response in relation to the
challenge?”
“It is evident that significant sections of the
community remain trapped in a vicious circle and in a culturally defensive
posture that hinders self advancement. Tradition is made sacrosanct but the
rationale of tradition is all but forgotten. Jadeediyat or modernity has become
a tainted expression. Such a mindset constrains critical thinking necessary
both for the affirmation of faith and for the wellbeing of the community.”
“The instrumentality of adaptation to change —
Ijtihad — is frowned upon or glossed over. Forgotten is its purpose, defined by
the late Sheikh Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi as ‘the ability to cope with the
ever-changing pattern of life’s requirements’. Equally relevant is Imam
Al-Ghazali’s delineation of the ambit of Maslaha — protection of religion,
life, intellect, lineage and property. Both provide ample theoretical space for
focused thinking on social change without impinging on the fundamentals of
faith.”
He said the Mushawarat had a critical role to play.
“As a grouping of leading and most respected minds of the community, it should
go beyond looking at questions of identity and dignity in a defensive mode and
explore how both can be furthered in a changing India and a changing world. It
should widen its ambit to hitherto unexplored or inadequately explored
requirements of all segments of the community particularly women, youth, and
non-elite sections who together constitute the overwhelming majority.”
“This effort has to be made in the context of
Indian conditions and the uniqueness of its three dimensions: plural, secular
and democratic… This would necessitate sustained and candid interaction with
fellow citizens without a syndrome of superiority or inferiority and can be
fruitful only in the actual implementation of the principles of justice,
equality and fraternity inscribed in the Preamble of the Constitution and the
totality of Fundamental Rights.”
“The failure to communicate with the wider
community in sufficient measure has tended to freeze the boundaries of
diversities that characterise Indian society. Efforts may be made to isolate
the community; such an approach should be resisted. The Indian experience of a
large Muslim minority living in secular polity, however imperfect, could even
be a model for others to emulate,” he said.
Modi must respond to VP Ansari’s concerns
Hamid Ansari asked
Muslims to candidly introspect why ‘modernity’ was given a bad name and how it
was bad that the “instrumentality’’ of adaptation to change – Ijtihad – is
"frowned upon or glossed over."
Hamid Ansari asked Muslims to candidly introspect
why ‘modernity’ was given a bad name and how it was bad that the
“instrumentality’’ of adaptation to change – Ijtihad – is “frowned upon or
glossed over.”
Vice President Hamid Ansari said clearly that the
most “commendable” of the stated objectives of the NDA government — `Sabka
Saath, Sabka Vikas’ for inclusive development — would not be possible until
Muslims who deserved a leg up got it and there was “affirmative action (where
necessary) to ensure a common starting point.”
Addressing the 50th anniversary celebrations of the
All India Majlis e Mushawarat, the apex consultative body of Muslim
organisations in India, he referred to a host of data that identified “most” of
Indian Muslims as needing help.
He said it was imperative that all corrective
strategies available under the Constitution, with “category-differentiation”
admissible in India and “hitherto denied to Muslims (scheduled caste status) or
inadequately admitted (segments of OBC status) must be put to use. Ansari did
not stop at that: he asked Muslims to candidly introspect why ‘modernity’ was
given a bad name and how it was bad that the “instrumentality’’ of adaptation
to change – Ijtihad – is “frowned upon or glossed over.”
In prose and in verse, the vice president made an
eloquent case hard to argue with, where social and economic backwardness were
discussed in one breath. He called for a nuanced but less emotional response to
dealing with both issues and addressed the lack of representation and economic
backwardness at the same time.
The government despite getting a pat on its back
for articulating `Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ is still to come up with a cogent
response or a reaction of any sort.
Earlier in August, there was a very different kind
of articulation but one challenging the Centre and state government when the
Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) under the stewardship of 22-year old
Hardik Patel spoke of how conditions in Gujarat for even those considered
socially, politically and economically the most powerful, were perceived as
deserving of ‘quotas’.
Propaganda of the ‘Gujarat model’ served as a big
prop in the BJP’s campaign to power in 2014, and it was
not contested effectively enough with no one was able to explain or even
express ideas about its shortcomings.
In October 2012, economists like Prof Atul Sood
conducted a study for the Institute of Development and Communication of Gujarat
between 2005-10. He concluded that “employment is the biggest casualty” of the
manufacturing growth in the state and that growing investment and profitability
in capital intensive sectors of the economy came with worsening conditions for
workers. However, such analyses did not get much attention then.
The Centre has reacted to economic discontent like
the one expressed in the Patel agitation by speaking of it as a ‘law and order’
problem.
The Patidars and the Vice President have raised
concerns – although very different in nature – that clearly demand redressal
but before that, an acknowledgement. The BJP finds dealing with the ‘Muslim’
issue difficult and questions over the Gujarat model are perhaps equally thorny
for the PM who held his 14 years record there as his passport to Delhi.
The trouble is, he must respond. So far he has
displayed a ‘style’ that pooh-poohed the previous regime’s “communication
style” and has been loud and constant in communicating, often
over-communicating. Now it will be difficult and perhaps politically
counter-productive to switch off the megaphone.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/modi-must-respond-to-vp-ansaris-concerns/#sthash.P0osB4rL.dpuf
VHP calls Hamid Ansari’s affirmative action for Muslims comment
‘political’ and ‘communal’
With due respect to
the Vice President's chair, we condemn this rank communal statement. This is a
political statement.... which does not befit the office of a Vice
Making a strong pitch to develop strategies to
address problems of identity and security confronting Muslims in the country,
Vice President Hamid Ansari had sought an “affirmative action” from the
government, which espouses the policy of ‘growth for all’.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad criticised Vice President
Hamid Ansari over his pitch for “affirmative action” for Muslims on Tuesday,
alleging it was a “political” and “communal” statement which did not befit the
dignity of his office.
The Hindutva organisation said such a demand seeks
to “push Muslims in dark alleys of dissatisfaction whose consequences will be
dangerous.”
“With due respect to the Vice President’s chair,
VHP condemns this rank communal statement. This is a political statement….
which does not befit the office of a Vice President,” VHP Joint General
Secretary Surendra Jain said.
He said Indian Muslims enjoy more constitutional
rights than they do in many Muslim countries, claiming that they have been
appeased by various means over the years.
Jain said Ansari should apologise for his
“unfortunate” statement.
Making a strong pitch to develop strategies to
address problems of identity and security confronting Muslims in the country,
Ansari had sought an “affirmative action” from the government, which espouses
the policy of ‘growth for all’.
He said that exclusion and discrimination including
failure to provide security have to be corrected by the state at the earliest
and appropriate instruments developed for it.
RSS criticises Hamid Ansari for remarks on
religion, calls him 'communal Muslim leader'
by FP Staff Sep 15, 2015 12:17
IST
The RSS has criticised Vice-President
Hamid Ansari for his talk at the inauguration of the All India
Majlis-e-Mushawarat Golden Jubilee.
In the latest issue of the Sangh's
mouthpiece Panchjanya, RSS-affiliated journalist Satish Pednekar
has accused Ansari of speaking as a “communal Muslim leader",
according to a report in The Indian Express.
File
photo of Hamid Ansari. Reuters
At the event, Ansari had said that had spoken about the problems Indian
Muslims face and said that affirmative action was a pre-requisite for
their development.
He had further said that studies
bring forth sufficient evidence to substantiate the view that "inequality
traps prevent the marginalised and work in favour of the dominant groups in
society".
Ansari's remarks were criticised by
the RSS with Pednekar saying that India has given Muslims several advantages
such as the right to run minority educational institutions and Haj
subsidy, continued the report.
The Indian Express quoted the article which said, “Did
he (Ansari) want to convey that Muslims face a threat from the majority
community? He perhaps hinted about riots. But they are mostly started by the
minority community. When the majority community reacts to it, it is made the
issue of Muslim safety.”
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had
criticised Ansari's remarks as well alleging it was a “political” and
“communal” statement which did not befit the dignity of his office. “With
due respect to the Vice President’s chair, VHP condemns this rank communal
statement. This is a political statement…. which does not befit the office of a
Vice President,” VHP Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain said.
This is not the first time that the
vice-president has faced criticism from right-wing factions.
Back in June, he was conspicuous by
his absence at the grand events organised to celebrate the first International
Yoga Day and BJP general secretary and former RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav
publicly questioned this on Twitter.
The tweets and ensuing speculation
about his health on social media lead to Ansari clarifying his stand that he did not attend the function
in Delhi as he was not invited. However, Madhav's tweets snowballed into a
controversy that lead both him and the government apologising to the vice-president. Madhav deleted his
tweets and even met Ansari to clear the air.
Earlier this year, Ansari was
criticised on social media for not saluting the national flag on Republic Day.
As thisFirstpost article pointed out, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj
didn't salute the flag either, but their patriotism was not questioned. Nor
were they called 'Jihadi sympathiser", "anti-India",
"traitor"on Twitter. While Ansari's office issued a
clarification that it wasn't part of protocol to salute, it didn't take away
the fact that there was a clear discrimination, possibly motivated by
Ansari's religion.
Ansari's office has responded to
these latest comments as yet.
(With agency inputs)
OPINION » COMMENT
Invigorating
Islam in India
Hamid Ansari’s recent speech on Indian Muslims was a
creative and thoughtful celebration of India, Islam and democracy.
Shiv Visvanathan
A community of 180 million people amounting to 14 per cent of the population is not a demographic threat but a cultural possibility. The Indian Muslim contributes not just to India but to the culture of Islam across the world. Muslims were an integral part of the freedom struggle and an integral part of independent India. Yet, he remarks, injustice has been done to them.
OPINION » COMMENT
September 4, 2015
Updated: September 4,
2015 00:42 IST
Invigorating
Islam in India
·
PTI
In the speech made during the golden
jubilee celebrations of Majlis-E-Mushawarat, Vice-President Hamid Ansari
exhorted Indian Muslims to focus on issues concerning the marginalised, rather
than being fixated on identity. Picture shows him releasing a bookduring the
function in New Delhi earlier in the week.
Hamid Ansari’s recent speech on Indian Muslims was a
creative and thoughtful celebration of India, Islam and democracy.
Hamid Ansari is an important man who has
raised several important questions in the past. As the Vice-President, he has
been a frequent target of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leaders, who see in him an independent voice, one that speaks
courageously about critical issues. The BJP had criticised him for not being
present on Yoga Day, forgetting that he had not been invited.
Shiv Visvanathan
In the last few days, leaders from the
BJP and the VHP have demanded an apology from him over his representation of
the status of Muslims in India. The BJP and the VHP behave like a predictably
savage chorus in Modi’s India but rather than responding to them, I want to
celebrate Mr. Ansari’s speech made on the golden jubilee of the All India
Majlis-E-Mushawarat. The speech opens up new possibilities which deserve a
close reading.
Mr. Ansari is clear that when he speaks
about Indian Muslims, he is responding to their condition keeping in mind the
spirit of the Preamble and the values of the Constitution. He begins by
emphasising that India is among the countries with the highest number of
Muslims.
A community of 180 million people amounting to 14 per cent of the population is not a demographic threat but a cultural possibility. The Indian Muslim contributes not just to India but to the culture of Islam across the world. Muslims were an integral part of the freedom struggle and an integral part of independent India. Yet, he remarks, injustice has been done to them.
Mr. Ansari points out that Partition
hangs as a shadow over independent India and that the Indian Muslim has been
“made to carry unfairly, the burden of political events and the compromises
resulting from the Partition.” The trauma of Partition as memory, as violence
is still present out and the responses to it have been uneven.
Then, Mr. Ansari, turning official,
quotes the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee’s Report to emphasise the fact
that on most socio-economic indicators, Muslims are “on the margins of the
structures of political, economic and social relevance, their average condition
even worse than the country’s historically backward communities, Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes.” This, while being predictable, is immaculately
true. However, it is Mr. Ansari’s handling of the problems that offers new possibilities.
He lists out the problems of the Muslims bluntly as relating to a) identity and
security; b) education and empowerment; c) equitable share in the largesse of
state; and d) a fair share in decision making.
He commends the spirit of Sabka saath sabka vikas (Development for all), one that captures
the spirit of inclusiveness and representation that resonates the tenor of what
he is trying to communicate.
However, Mr. Ansari is no apologist for
the community. He slams the Muslims as being “ trapped in a vicious circle and
in a culturally defensive posture that hinders self-advancement.”
Mr. Ansari’s critique of the status of
Indian Muslims brings out a fascinating set of points. He observes that
“tradition is made sacrosanct but the rationale of tradition is all but
forgotten.” As a result,Jadeediyat or modernity has become “a tainted
expression.” He claims that critical thinking is needed both for “the
affirmation of faith” and “the well-being of the community”. He also contends
that a fixation on the questions of identity and dignity create a defensive
mode of thinking.
He exhorts the Mushawarat, a grouping of “respected minds,” to
focus on issues concerning women, youth and the marginalised, who constitute
“the overwhelming majority” of Indian Muslims. Mr. Ansari’s plea to the
community to think along plural, secular and democratic lines is hard-headed
and clear. Here is a leader and a scholar who both cares for the community and
yet can be both confident and critical about it. But Mr. Ansari goes further.
He remarks astutely that the way we solve a problem might add to the problem
and quotes “a close observer” who pointed out that “agitation against
discrimination can arouse the very emotions that foster discrimination.”
The solution to the problems faced by the
Indian Muslims lies in devising a form and content which heals old wounds and
does it without inflicting no new ones. The Muslim is, here, easy with her
identity, comfortable in her Indian citizenship and confident that she can
solve problems within the framework of Indian democracy. This is cultural
confidence, citizenship and constitutionalism at its creative best.
The VHP and BJP must be tone-deaf to
democracy to have missed the sheer creativity in Mr. Ansari’s speech. A Muslim
problem is no longer merely a Muslim problem but an Indian one to be shared
with the wider community. Mr. Ansari emphasises that a lack of communication
among communities has frozen the diversities of Indian society.
In his speech, problem-solving is not
only creative but plural and democratic. The Indian thought experiment,
whatever its flaws, becomes a model relevant for the world. It combines an
ethics of memory, interpretation and innovation.
Creating a new Islamic imagery
But Mr. Ansari as a scholar, reflecting on
the recent debates in Islam, goes dramatically further. He cites the work of
Mohammed Arkoun, the Algerian scholar. Arkoun like U.K.-based scholar of Islam,
Ziauddin Sardar, does not reduce Islam to essentialist categories. He is
neither an Orientalist nor a fundamentalist but is keen to develop that plural
space where Islam is no longer a closed official corpus replete with rituals of
ideology and domination. He seeks to create a new Islamic imaginary, opening up
new fields of reflection and research within the Islamic domain. Arkoun was no
ivory tower intellectual but a scholar who engaged in the everydayness of
debate and policy.
Mr. Ansari invites us to be Arkouns where
Islam, in an open-ended manner, critiques modernity while also confronting
itself.
If Ziauddin Sardar created a new
perspective on Islam through his idea of Islamic Scienc and his journalThe
Critical Muslim, Arkoun sought to go beyond the dogmatic enclosure of Islam
to permit the entry of the unthinkable into the official enclosure. His
journal, Arabica, was a venture in that direction. Mr. Ansari, like Arkoun
and Sardar, points to the fecundity of Islam, its creative possibilities. They
do this while remaining believers. Islam in in their eyes becomes an apparatus
for the creative transformation of modernity.
There is a strategy of struggle laid out
playfully, transparently and creatively. Mr. Ansari claims that the struggle
for actualisation should be constitutionally imaginative; reciprocal in that a
community does not get warped through isolation; and yet adaptive without
losing a sense of integrity. Such a vision of change goes beyond Islam to
become a model for thought experiment and lived change, also relevant in other
contexts.
In this sense, Mr. Ansari’s speech is a
celebration of Islam, India and democracy — creatively done, thoughtful yet
immaculate in its arguments. It deserves to be celebrated, debated,
re-invented. India must match Hamid Ansari in creating a democracy for the
future where a conversation of religion and democracy creates new orders of
justice and creativity. Thank you Mr. Vice-President.
(Shiv Visvanathan is a professor at
Jindal School of Government and Public Policy.)
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