The union minister said focussed development of minorities especially Muslims and not seeing every policy through the prism of vote-bank politics are absolutely necessary.
Focussed development of minorities especially Muslims and not seeing every policy through the prism of vote-bank politics are "absolutely" necessary for the country's progress, Union minister Harish Rawat said on Saturday.
"For India to progress and become a superpower, it is absolutely necessary to work for the focussed development of minorities especially Muslims, most of whom are lagging behind in various spheres," Rawat said.
The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs was speaking at a conference on 'Minority Rights and Identities: Challenges and Prospects in an unfolding global scenario' as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of Institute of Objective Studies.
Rawat lamented the thinking that every policy towards betterment of minorities is seen as vote-bank politics and said that the desired results of any government scheme cannot be achieved until there is a focused approach towards the welfare and development of minorities.
"The schemes for minorities cannot be implemented like normal government schemes, as desired results or benefits cannot be achieved that way. There is a need to keep in mind the situation and necessities of minorities for the focussed development," he said.
"Every scheme should not be seen as vote-bank politics. There is a need for inclusive growth of minorities, with focus towards their education and economy," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Chairman Wajahat Habibullah highlighted the Commission's role in safeguarding the education, culture and rights of the minorities.
Habibullah rued the fact that there is a "knee-jerk reaction" to blame on Muslims after every terror act and said that NCM has been successful to some extent in persuading security agencies and media to desist from such things till something concrete is established.
"There should not be a knee-jerk reaction to place blame on Muslims after every terror act. We see Muslim names being flouted even before something concrete is established. NCM has asked security agencies and media to desist from doing so and has been successful in the recent past as can be seen in the cases of 26/11 Mumbai attacks and Delhi blasts," Habibullah said.
He cited the examples of Mecca Masjid and Malegaon cases where Muslims were first indicted and arrested, but as the investigations progressed it became known that they were innocent.
Saying that there is no such thing as 'Muslim terrorism', Habibullah added that there have been cases where people from other communities have been found to perpetuate terrorism.
"There have been Hindu terrorists, Sikh terrorists and Muslim terrorists, but saying that every Muslim is a terrorist is not a fact," he said.
Justice Ruma Pal, former Supreme Court judge, who was the chairperson of the session, said that the association of religion with politics is the main problem in the country and that there is an institutional prejudice in implementing laws.
"There are good laws as far as the Constitution is concerned, but as far as the implementation of those laws is concerned, there is an institutional prejudice and that must be overcome," she said.
Justice Pal said that it is the responsibility of the majority to protect minorities.
"It is for the majority in the country to ensure trust and unless majority looks after the well-being of the minority, this country will not progress.
The speakers called for according constitutional status to NCM and giving it more powers for investigation and implementation.
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