AAP and the Indian Muslims

 

 

By Humra Quraishi 

21 March, 2014

Arvind Kejriwal's decision to fight Narendra Modi has added to AAP's connectivity with the Musalman of Hindustan. In fact, this connectivity took off right from the juncture when Kejriwal moved away from the Right - Wing tilted Anna Hazare. Another crucial factor was the very timing of the emergence of the AAP party - last autumn's communal rioting in Muzaffarnagar and the aftermath paved way for disillusionment with the two main political parties- the Congress and the Samajwadi Party - which had in the previous years grabbed the Muslim vote.

And though anger against the Congress wasn't as severe as with the Samajwadi party but that feeling of being let down persists. Though there could have been some level of support for Rahul Gandhi but the aggrieved Muslims have been left asking - What good has the Congress done for the Muslims? Beyond promises there seems nothing at all! The Congress party could have intervened when the rioting peaked in Muzaffarnagar and when hapless Muslims ran here and there, as refugees in their own land. Disillusionment with the Congress has been on for several years. In fact, right from the early 90s, with the destruction of the Babri Masjid. The white washing the Congress tried indulging in by setting up of the Sachar Committee started paling because of the 'nothingness' at the implementation stage. Leaving the community not just disgusted but left asking - whether that entire exercise was a mere teaser! The facts stand out, baring the stark reality - the Muslim community has been lagging on all fronts yet the government of the day has done nothing substantial to help improve any of the prevailing conditions.

In that political vacuum, AAP's connect with the Muslim community took off rather too spontaneously, the minute Arvind Kejriwal called Narendra Modi a communal politician... Said so in that stark way, rather too bluntly. Now taking him on at Varanasi.

Together with Kejriwal's anti - Modi stand, the fact that he is talking of the Bijli - Paani - Sadak issues has helped build the connect. For let’s not overlook the fact that a great majority of the Muslim population of this country survives in under - developed Bastis and Mohallas and ghettos. He is talking of relevant issues which affect their daily lives.

And if one could highlight that one glaring negative in the AAP format - not one well known Muslim as an AAP leader - there's this rejoinder that one hears - ' In a democracy it isn't necessary to have a Hindu or Muslim or Christian leader. The leader can be from any community, he or she has to be honest and sincere and secular and the rest follows.'

Focus On Women Who Are Trying To Bring About A Change - Dr. Shabistan Gaffar.

My interview with Dr. Shabistan Gaffar - Chairperson -Committee on Girls Education (National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions- NCMEI, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India )

Q1 - Are there madrasas for girls? How are you upgrading them towards mainstream education? Are you also trying to introduce vocational training schemes to benefit many more from economically challenged backgrounds?

Ans 1 -Yes, there are madrasas for girls too. There are two specific schemes for the development of all madrasas (boys and girls madrasas): Scheme for Promotion of Quality Education in Madrasas (SPQEM) and also Institutions for Development of Madrasas and Minority Institutions (IDMI).Though here it is important to add that there are only few institutions for girls imparting them madrasa based education beyond the Maktab Level. Some of these institutions also provide education in modern subjects and girls can switch over to modern education after elementary education…Vocational skill is what the educationally backward minorities need the most for retention, It is important for girls of educational backward minorities to acquire some skill simultaneously or on cessation of their education to learn something which could help them in adding to the family income.

Q2 - Comment on the slants thrown in by vested political interests on the very concept of madrasa education, linking it to fundamentalism and terrorism.

Ans 2 - Those comments are political in nature and also arise because of communication gaps. All that I can is that those who comment along these lines are either ill informed or are not interested in knowing the reality. The reality is that the madrasas have always and even today play a very significant in educating hundreds of our children; they impart education along the traditional cum modern format.

Q3 - Comment on this grim reality too - there are several within the Muslim community who are challenging Muslim women's rights, such as the move to ban women worshippers from the sanctums of Sufi shrines etc.

Ans 3 - We, our Commission, is trying to reach out in trying to bring about awareness and we trying to do so through the teachings of the Prophet and the Quran where great emphasis is laid on girls' education and on the very fact that there should be no discrimination between the girls ' education …they ought to be encouraged to take up different challenging vocations. Here let me also point out that already there is a change in the existing attitude and this holds especially true in the South of the country, where these prejudices and narrow outlook does not exist.

Q4 - Justice Sachar Committee had come up with a dismal picture of Muslim community lagging behind on the education front. What steps is this Commission taking to get more Muslims towards the educational sphere.

Ans 4 - The National commission for minority education institution (NCMEI) has been set up under an act of parliament to safe guard the educational rights of minority enshrined an article 30(1) of the constitution setting up of instilled confidence in minorities in general and Muslims in particular. The Commission has generated awareness amongst the Muslims community about the importance of quality education as a result whereof 1, 04, 75,000. Children’s of Muslim community were enrolled in primary school 2009-2010, out of which 49%were girl child. …one of the major breakthroughs came about with the Commission persuading the Muslim community of Murshidabad (West Bengal) for establishment of schools; with that 621 primary school were established in that region alone …And to achieve the objective of women empowerment through women education, the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) constituted a committee for girls education in 2007.

Q5 - It is said Muslim community's educational backwardness in the country is linked to the vote bank politics and lack of political will. Comment

Ans 5 - Yes, till date suitable educational institutions are not available to all sections of Muslim community to participate in higher education. With that there are less numbers/lower percentage of Muslims going in for higher education and, perhaps, that could be one of those basic factors that are not able to participate political sphere.

Q6 - Comment on this vital observation - in riot stricken areas of the country, Muslims pull out their children from regular schools for fear and that deep sense of insecurity. What does your commission do in such situations? Does your Commission has teeth to counter this?

Ans 6- Directly we cannot do much legally in this sphere, we do not have teeth to counter this … But recently our Commission launched a special programme in the riot stricken parts of Assam In fact, from September 2012 onwards we organized meets and seminars to focus on the 'educational rehabilitation of strife affected students'. There were at least 2,000 such students who had to be adopted for their educational rehabilitation, under three broad categories - those studying in primary schools, those studying in higher educational institutions, and the girl students. And we appealed to educational institutions to adopt these affected children… Some of the minority professional institutions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala have offered to reserve a few seats in medical colleges, dental colleges, engineering colleges and other similar professional colleges for the students affected by the strife. Also, its been proposed that two CBSE affiliated schools shall be established at Guwahati or in the strife affected areas to cater to the needs of the students affected. This project shall be funded by some Muslim philanthropists… And as the stake holders were keen to take the adoption process to its logical conclusion at the earliest, a Task Force was constituted to oversee the adoption process and also to ensure expeditious decisions on various issues consequent to the adoption of the students by the institutions concerned for their educational rehabilitation and also to oversee the establishment process of the aforesaid two schools. The Task Force will coordinate between different educational institutions involved in the said scheme of adoption. The adoption process will involve multiplicity of Government authorities. The Task Force shall be chaired by the Chairperson of the Committee.

Q7- In your opinion what is the condition of Muslim women in the country?

Ans 7 - It differs from State to State but generally speaking it is not good... I have observed that in States like Kerala and also in the Kashmir Valley, the condition of Muslim women is comparatively better than in other States. And this is because of the higher literacy levels and this in itself improves their day to day living conditions and gives them that confidence and with that they feel empowered socially and economically.

Q8 - Who is responsible for Muslim women's backwardness - the society or government?

Ans 8 - There are several factors for this and the crux lies in 2 major factors - a sense of insecurity hitting the community and also lack of education and educational facilities. And i think this deep feeling of insecurity definitely comes in way. At times fathers and brothers are apprehensive of sending the girls of the family for higher education simply because of this insecurity factor.

Q9 - Why there are no Muslim women as national level leaders?

Ans 9 - Without literacy levels going high and spreading out, how can you expect Muslim women to be politically aware and politically inclined and strong?

Q10 - Comment on this sad trend - TV debates get reduced to whether a Muslim woman ought to wear a Hijab or a Burqa.

Ans 10 - Again I would say that with the present condition. State of affairs there are less Muslim women scholars, and so less numbers of those who can enter into meaningful debates and talk of the actual ground realities and also project facts and figures in the correct, realistic way.

Q11- It is a known fact that Kashmiri students who come from the Valley to study in our cities like Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore face not just bias but even harassment by the local police. Comment

Ans 11 - We realized this and Chairman of our Commission, Justice M.S.A Siddiqui, had earlier written to the HRD ministry to bring along reservation seats and special schemes for Kashmiri students in the minority institutions of the country. This special scheme will provide them not just schooling and boarding cum lodging but also safety and security.

Humra Quraishi is a freelance columnist based in Delhi and is currently a visiting Professor in the Academy of Third World Studies in Jamia Milia University

Source: http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=30170

URL: https://newageislam.com/interview/aap-indian-muslims/d/66230