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Rise above vote bank politics

Arvind Tapkire / DNA
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 3:42 IST
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Mumbai: One is shocked that the Congress government is working overtime to make things easy for the controversial painter Maqbool Fida Husain to return to India. If he succeeds in landing in India, it will hardly provide any respite to him, as he will continue to be hounded by some elements wherever he travels in India.

It is ironical that another writer Taslima Nasreen was not allowed to live in India by the Congress due to tremendous pressure from minorities. She was forced by the Congress and Muslim fundamentalists to seek asylum in another country, due to her progressive outlook.

Conservative sections of the community have every right to hold their views close to their heart. But then shouldn't such rights be granted to other communities too. The government must realise that other groups too have an equal right to harbour and express extreme views.

It is unfortunate that only some sections are enjoying this freedom, even to the point of hurting the religious feelings of the followers of other faiths. The clergy who are a guiding force for the community must not keep their followers away from science and technology.

They must try to solve the issues plaguing the Muslim community, which is still riddled in umpteen problems like poverty, lack of education, unemployment and ghetto mentality.
However, one cannot hold the Muslims alone responsible for their miserable and sordid state.

Successive Congress governments have kept the community backward and used the community as a pawn. They want to play the minority card during elections and reap a good harvest of votes. Bad leadership and short-sighted policies of the Congress is plaguing the Muslim community.

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