Masoom Moradabadi, a senior journalist, while addressing the weekly meet organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind at its headquarters on 16 January, said that the apprehension of the people about BJP that the party will take up its hidden agenda after coming to power has turned out to be true because now they are raising controversial issues like Babri Masjid, minority character of AMU and JMI, Personal laws, Uniform Civil Code, et al one by one.
Moradabadi, in his opening remarks, said that the present government by taking up the minority character issue is trying to harm the Muslim community educationally, socially and politically. They are trying to push the community on the brink. Instead of trying to encourage them to join the mainstream, the government is further pushing them and trying to isolate them further in order to discourage their efforts and awakening towards becoming self-reliant and raise their level of standard in every sphere and in all walks of life.
By attacking AMU and JMI, he said, the Government is trying to attack the nerve of education in the minority community in order to marginalise them further from what they are right now. He questioned how Indians can remain healthy when one of its parts (Muslim Community) is weak and not healthy? To him, earlier movements for minority character of AMU, safeguarding personal law in the case of Shah Bano and the Babri Masjid movement were remarkable but towards end nothing concrete came out of it. If the governments over the years have not worked for the betterment of the Muslim community, we the Muslims are also equally responsible for the plight we are in today in various walks of life. Groupism and pulling leg of one another has also harmed the community and has been a major hindrance towards its growth and development.
In his reflection, Dr. Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, President Welfare Party of India said that it is high time that community leaders in association with AMU Alumni should try to fight it legally at all levels. He also said that the stand of other secular parties on it should also be sought. The Congress Party, which during its regime favoured the minority character of AMU, should now clarify its stand on the issue.
Towards the end, it was agreed that rather than fighting it on the streets it should be fought intellectually, legally, academically and if needed politically also in order to take this issue to its logical end.