Manmohan pledges equal opportunities for Indian Muslims

NEW DELHI—Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that his Government was committed to removing “inequities” and “imbalances” faced by Muslim community which has been deprived of an equal share of development benefits.
Addressing a ‘Dalit-Minority International Conference here, Mr Singh said some minorities in India have done better than others, he said citing the example of Jains and Sikhs who have fared relatively well from the process of social and economic development. “However, other minorities, especially the Muslim community in certain parts of our country, have not had an equal share of the fruits of development, he added.
Former Prime Ministers V P Singh and I K Gujral were also present at the conference organized by Lok Janshakti Party, headed by Ram Vilas Paswan. Singh noted that the plight of Muslims has been established by data provided in the Sachar Committee report which studied the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in the country.
“It is incumbent upon any democratically elected government to redress such imbalances and eradicate such inequities. Our government is indeed committed to doing so,” he said. Equating ‘untouchability’ with apartheid, the Prime Minister also spoke of the plight of Dalits, saying they faced a “unique discrimination” in society. “Dalits have faced a unique discrimination in our society that is fundamentally different from the problems of minority groups in general. The only parallel to the practice of ‘untouchability’ was apartheid,” he said. Untouchability is not just social discrimination. It is a blot on humanity,” Singh told the two-day meet being attended by delegates from 83 countries.
Observing that even after 60 years of Constitutional and legal protection and support, there was still social discrimination against dalits in many parts of the country, he said that political, social, cultural and intellectual battle against such discrimination must continue. “Our government is deeply and sincerely committed to the equality of all sections of our society and will take all necessary steps to help in the social, educational and economic empowerment of dalits. This is our solemn commitment,” Singh said. Referring to some of the suggestions made by V P Singh for the uplift of minority communities, he said “practical ways and means needed to be explored to redress the inequities in the system” and assured to apply his mind to the issue. Acknowledging there were problems facing the SC and ST communities on account of acquisition of land, their displacement, their livelihood and forcible migration in search of job opportunities, Singh said these issues would receive the attention of his government.
The UPA government has taken several steps in the past two years to empower SC and STs both through affirmative action and reinforcing the Constitutional amendment to reservations, Singh said. Steps needed to be taken that reduce social and economic inequalities, without hurting the process of growth and without reducing the incentives for individual enterprise and creativity, Singh said.—APP