Dr Javed Jamil, the author of “Muslim Vision of India: Destination & Roadmap” called for a Comprehensive approach by Muslims for their all round development. He said that Muslims need not only socioeconomic empowerment but also ideological empowerment so that they can come out of the inferiority complex in which they are being perpetually kept by both friends and foes. He was delivering the inaugural lecture of the lecture series to be organised by All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat at its New Delhi office.
Introducing the speaker, Dr Zafarul Islam Khan, President AIMMM and Editor Milli Gazette described Dr Jamil as a physician who is now more known as a social scientist. He said Dr Jamil’s “Muslim Vision of India” document has already attracted attention of the Muslims all over the world and it is high time the implementation of the document should be taken in all its earnestness.
Dr Jamil spoke at length about the current status of Muslims in India and why Muslims should focus on their own efforts in making themselves a vibrant and dynamic community that can influence the direction of the national policies rather than simple holding the begging bowl.
He said it is unfortunate that even in finding out their issues and the ways to correct the situation they depend on the reports and recommendations given by others, which more often than not ignore the Muslim ideological perceptions and perspectives. He said Muslims are not just a constitutional minority but also the second largest ideological bloc and part of the deprived majority of the country.
Dr Jamil said India has about 17 pc off the world population and Muslims are about 15 pc of India’s population. They are also about 9 pc of the world’s Muslim population. India is an emerging economy with more than 8 pc growth rate, which though has gone down in recent months. They are therefore in a unique position where they can play a meaningful role in influencing the direction of the economic policies. He said that the economic disparity and commercialisation of human weaknesses are issues that need urgent Muslim attention because they are having a disastrous impact on the masses including Muslims. He told that even if just one fifth of the total wealth of 1000 richest Indians is distributed in the rest of the country, every single Indian family can become a lakhpati.
Dr Jamil said that no short term and part measures in tits and bits will do. An 18 croe population is a country within country and they require a government within government to run their affairs. They need a big national plan and a big national level mechanism to implement it. A comprehensive plan is to be implemented on all fronts with simultaneity, coordination and cohesiveness being the key words. He stressed that apart from education, the emphasis must now be on economic empowerment. He said that 70 % of economy is related to consumer market, and Muslims must not simply be consumers but also the producers, distributors and traders.
He said that Muslims must endeavour for large scale participation in all scales of businesses including the corporate sector and small scale industry. There are a large number of sectors where the successes of any Muslim endeavour are guaranteed. These include Food and Catering, Tourism including religious tourism, Garments, leather products, construction sector, oral care products, and many more. He said he has proposed the formation of National Muslim Chamber of Commerce which will mobilise Muslim entrepreneurs to form companies and take marketing and exports in their own hands.
Dr Jamil said if the pressure on the government regarding Islamic finances is sustained, he can visualise introduction of Islamic finances in India in not too distant a future.
Dr Jamil also spoke at length about the need of introducing Applied Islamics in Madrasas and modern institutions. We need to study the application of Islam in all the fields including health, laws, politics, social dynamics, international politics, natural sciences and economics. We need to gather information, statistics and make survey on the impact of current policies on human life. This will lead to an ideological empowerment of Muslims, which is the key to their regaining the lost confidence and lost glory. If they are ideologically empowered and understand the dynamics of the current world systems, they will be in a better position to challenge the exploitative and damaging policies and programmes of the so-called New World Order. They must now challenge every single ideological position, policy, programme, definition and index and parameter that the forces of economic fundamentalism have been pursuing for their own interests and hegemony. Freedom of Choices has to be replaced with Freedom of good choices, Human Rights should be replaced by Human security, Democracy should be replaced by theo-merito-democracy.
Dr Jamil said Democracy is falsely regarded as “Government of the people, for the people and by the people” and is in truth the “Corporatocracy, which can be defined as the Government of the corporate, run by the minions of the corporate and for the corporate”. The policies, laws and programmes are formulated in the big corporate houses and the Prime Minster, Ministers and MPs merely pass them.
Dr Jamil also spoke on the importance of NGOs and called for the allocation of 20% of all government funds meant for NGOs to be given to Muslim NGOs. He proposed opening of Islamic Counselling Centres in every city which will engage in De-addiction, Career and marriage counselling, Rehabilitation of beggars and prostitutes. There is also a need for Muslim NGOs in the field of Health and Education.
Mr Mujtaba Farooque, President of Welfare Party presided over the function. In his presidential address, he promised total support to Dr Jamil’s Muslim Vision. He said there is no denying the fact that the release of the document is a historical development in itself as nothing like this has been produced before. He said it covers almost every aspect of the situation and all the solutions have been presented in true Islamic spirit. He agreed that the role of corporates has become too exploitative to be tolerated any more. “What to speak of Indian Prime Minister, even America’s President can’t move an inch without the nod of the bosses of the international corporate world.” Mr Farooque lamented that even Muslim MPs seem to fear their part bosses more than Allah. He proposed that Mushawarat must play an active role in mobilising support for the implementation of “Muslim Vision” and must organise workshops and discussions with influential personalities to initiate the process of implementing it. He indicated that such an exercise can begin right in the month of Ramadhan or immediately after Eid.
Thanking the audience, Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan reiterated his support to the implementation of “Muslim Vision”.