Since Independence, minorities in general and Muslims in particular relied on and trusted the Congress, hoping that being a secular-oriented party it may do all in its capacity to improve the condition of Muslims. But over the years, the party has used the Muslims as a vote bank and its approach towards Muslims has been more or less situational.
Schemes and policies meant for minorities are designed keeping in mind the political outcome and not purely to improve the overall condition of Muslims in all walks of life. The setting-up of Justice Sachar Committee was for the first time considered to be an honest attempt to improve the quality of life of Muslims but even after six years of submission of its report nothing much has changed on the ground.
In a recently held seminar in New Delhi to assess the progress made since the Sachar Committee report a paper presented by noted economist Abusaleh Shariff on “Six Years after Sachar” narrated the grim reality. According to Shariff, there has been little improvement on the ground and much more is needed to effect positive change. The paper highlighted that there was no perceptible change in the status of Muslims since Sachar made its recommendations. The rate of growth of education at all levels remained the lowest for Muslims between 2004-05 and 2009-10.
Not only this, the much talked about Communal Violence Bill is yet to become a reality and is lost in the nitty-gritty of words and its interpretations. There has been lackadaisical approach of the government on the issue of granting constitutional status to the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Profiling of innocent Muslims on the pretext of fighting against terror takes place every now and then. There has been no concrete plan to release innocent Muslims languishing in jails for no fault of their own. Even after so many arrests of Hindutva activists the needle of suspicion remains always pointed towards Muslims after every blast takes place anywhere in the country.
The Congress in its recent Chintan Shivir in Jaipur requires some serious introspection as to why the party base either on regional front or at the national level is shrinking by the day. On general note, the party response to major issues in the recent past has been defensive and not according to demand of the situation. Most of their tall leaders have evaded the burning issues or remained tight-lipped or responded lately. The party has so far failed to respond in time leaving the incident to turn into a mega event by all those trying to overshadow the party and the government in one way or the other.
Mohd Salim Engineer, Secretary Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, while talking to Radiance, said Congress since Independence has failed to address the issue of safety and security of Muslims across India. He further expressed that Congress has over the years only promised but has done little to keep the promise made to the Muslims of the country. Mohammad Ahmed, political secretary JIH, also told Radiance that the Congress has to change its approach towards Muslims and instead of organising a chintan shivir the party needs to address the core issues pertaining to the Muslims community.