Thanks to Mr.K. Rahman Khan for putting a sensitive issue before the Congress Party as a sensitive political agenda to do justice to Muslims. Now we like to extend all possible support to him for his endeavour. Nevertheless we like to request the Congress I not to pitch for Islamic banking, but to term it as Participatory Banking to make it acceptable to all religious communities, including Muslims.
It is important to maintain secular ethics of India. The economic merits and demerits of the Participatory Banking and Finance should be exclusively discussed in the forum of Economists before including it in the electoral agenda of Congress for Lok Sabha election 2014. The Hindus and Muslims would clearly understand that Participatory Banking would be based on Shari’ah Principles; so capable of fulfilling the financial need of Muslims in the light of Islam along with maintaining secularism in Indian financial sector. Please don’t raise it in the name of religion, but put it forward as an alternative banking and finance model suitable to meet the financial needs, capable of resolving economic challenges and maintaining secular ethics of India. After all SEBI has allowed Islamic Finance without terming it as Islamic because the finance based on equity is driven from Islamic ethics. Similarly, if RBI allows equity based banking or participatory finance, it would be secular by nature equally acceptable and beneficial to all religious communities. including Muslims.
If provided an opportunity to discuss and debate among the economists, experts on Participatory Finance can help all realise the significance of Participatory Banking and Finance to reduce poverty, economic imbalances, inflation, rupee devaluation, fiscal deficit and loss in foreign reserves. This model will help India accelerate the most important task of financial inclusion, foreign direct investments, build rupee value with better economic growth and capital inflow from abroad and within the nation among different segments and sections.
If Congress introduces Participatory Banking and Finance in a secular manner, they would succeed in pleasing Muslims without creating any sense of anguish among non-Muslim voters. Hope the Congress will not spoil the issue terming it Islamic with an intention to put it back into the cold bag; rather dare to solve this sensitive issue in a secular manner so as to make it equitable, acceptable and beneficial to all religious communities, including Muslims.
It would help us revert the financial loss to Muslims due to anti-Islamic banking mechanism, correct the fiscal deficit by allowing Sukuk for infrastructure projects, allowing flow of finance from the rich to the poor with system of sharing financial risks and rewards among stakeholders; thus promoting entrepreneurship among the poor and boosting income and employment in MSME sector.
It would help India build a level playing economy for the rich and poor to gain economic advantages with sharing financial risks and rewards among the stakeholders instead of helping the capitalists to exploit the poor.
Is Congress really interested to open the gateway of economic development for the poorer section by socialising the financial sector including banking? If yes, then it would be the most appropriate reply to the slogan of development. Congress needs to prove that India is meant to provide economic justice along with maintaining secularism and socialism in the nation.