Any society is characterised as civilised after looking at the manner in which its minority communities are treated. Of late, there are very disturbing signs both at the Governmental level and the societal level in India.
Irrespective of the party in power at the Centre or in the states, the bureaucracy and those charged with implementation of welfare programmes for the minorities, must be held accountable for non- implementation of programmes meant for minorities.
The Government of India (GOI) is economical with the truth both within and without the country in this regard. GOI in its comments on the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Ms Rashida Manjoo, on 6 June 2014, stated:
“The allegation that religious minorities are excluded from accessing education, employment and adequate housing on equal terms with other citizens is totally baseless. In fact, there are special affirmative actions for such minorities who are given special attention by the Ministry of Minority Affairs as well as the Commission on Minorities. The Ministry of Minority Affairs also have undertaken various schemes and measures to improve the empowerment of women including the “leadership development of minority women with the objective to empower and instil confidence among minority women including their neighbours from other communities living in the same village/local by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with banks and other institutions at all levels.” [United Nations Human Rights Council. A/HRC/26/38/Add.4]
It would have been educative for the bureaucrats in the Ministry of External Affairs to read the 46th report of the Parliamentary standing committee on Social Justice and Empowerment released in April 2014. The report is on “Implementation of Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme” of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
It may be recalled that the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme was established in December 2005. The 15-point programme is an overarching initiative monitored by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. There is no separate budget for it, except for schemes implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
“Even if some progress has been made in the Muslim community in terms of relevant parameters, they have not been able to catch up with the rest of the population. This gives rise to the question of the efficacy and reach of the various programmes or schemes,” the committee stated.
The committee also observed that apart from lack of relevant data on the output from the ministry, a huge amount of money specially sanctioned for the minorities has not been utilised properly and with the result, goals could not be achieved.
“The committee are of the considered view that had there been concerted efforts and better synergy between the Centre and states, Muslims would have surged ahead in terms of developmental indices, as has been in the case of Christians and Sikhs, with the aid and assistance of the minority-targeted programmes and schemes involving thousands of crores year after year,” the committee said.
The committee lamented that no financial assistance had been asked for by states and no amount released during the year 2013 for appointment of Urdu teachers in schools. “The committee cannot comprehend how there is no demand for Urdu teachers across the country, especially when the Sachar Committee Report categorically emphasised the need for Urdu teachers at the primary level, which according to it, should be imparted in Urdu where it is child’s mother tongue,” the committee said.
Referring to state-wise grants sanctioned by Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) during the last three years, the committee said it is evident that the lion’s share of the grant-in-aid has gone to Uttar Pradesh, both in terms of money (Rs 1662.90 lakh) and the number of NGOs assisted (132), whereas other states with sizable population of Muslims such as Assam (6 NGOs and 86 lakh) were given a pittance. [U Anand Kumar, Parliamentary Panel Punches Holes in Minority Welfare Programme, The New Indian Express, 6 April 2014, available online at: http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Parliamentary-Panel-Punches-Holes-in-Minority-Welfare-Programme/2014/04/06/article2151868.ece last accessed: 30th July 2014]
At the societal level, Saffronisation of textbooks, glorifying Hindu past to the exclusion of other religions, reflects the current government’s lack of secular approach, and perpetuates negative stereotypes.
The Committee for Resisting Saffronisation of Textbooks (CRSTs) has expressed concern about the ‘right wing ideology’ being circulated in textbooks prepared by the present “secular” government.
Issuing a statement on behalf of the 14-member committee, convener Suresh Bhat Bakrabail said that this was “causing immeasurable damage to secular spirit in education”.
Mr. Bakrabail released a copy of the committee’s report on the textbooks for classes 7 and 10 which states that the instances of saffronisation violated the National Curriculum Framework 2005 and reflected the government’s reluctance to bring macro changes in textbooks. According to the report, the chapter on folk history in the Social Science textbook for class 10 this year blames the westerners for following the linear model of time while highlighting the Indian traditional method of Kalachakra.
The report quotes from the textbook: “History is narrated as tretayuga, dwaparayuga, etc. In such circumstances, many new incidents, events or avatars may merge.” The report explains that the non-Vedic concept of time has been ignored. The report says that the History and Civics textbooks for class 7 mentions ‘crusades’, ‘immoral behaviour of Catholic Church’, ‘invasions of Muslims’ repeatedly, the purpose of which could be none other than to permeate negative stereotypes. [Govind D. Belgaumkar, Saffronisation of textbooks is a cause for concern: panel, The Hindu, July 30 2014, available online at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/saffronisation-of-textbooks-is-a-cause-for-concern-panel/article6261946.ece, last accessed: 30 July 2014]
Among the sangh parivar are also people who have invented the most hateful, diabolical and misleading formulation in recent times, arguing that ‘all Muslims may not be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims’. [Jyotirmaya Sharma, Time for some meditation, The Hindustan Times, 23 November 2011, available online at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/comment/editorials/time-for-some-meditation/article1-353658.aspx last accessed: 30 July 2014] This is the most pernicious formulation that has been lapped up by the police and intelligence agencies to imprison, arrest and torture hundreds of innocent Muslim youth across India.
Unless, Section 197 of the CrPC is deleted from the statute book, there can be no justice. It states that no court can take cognisance of an offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant or member of the Armed Forces while “acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty” without first obtaining authorisation of the central or state government.
There can be no democratic society in India till there is mandatory monetary compensation or other restitution for all those who have suffered needlessly for crimes they did not commit. And most importantly, all intelligence agencies must be accountable to Parliament and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The accrual of rights for minorities cannot be seen as charity from the State or the majority community. Pluralism cannot be a statement of intent; it must be a statement of Fact.
[The writer is Executive Director, South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre]