NATIONAL POLITICS

Shahabuddin, National Convener, Insaf Morcha's Statement on Milli Parliament, 1 January, 1996

The so-called Milli Parliament organized by Mr. Rashid Shaz, the self-appointed director of the Institute of Islamic Affairs Aligarh, has no permanent membership and it considers anyone who comes to its meeting as a delegate'. This is nothing more than a paper organization which serves only to bolster the ego of its founder. Had the sponsoring Institute held an annual conference to discuss the problem of the Muslim Indians, it would perhaps be useful up to a point. But to call it a Parliament' is both a joke and a tragedy.

A misconceived endeavor, it hurts the larger interest of the Muslim Indians by providing grist to the wills of anti-Muslim propaganda by the mass media and especially by the Hindu organizations. On one hand, it serves no purpose for the Muslims, on the other hand it makes them a target of hostility and suspicion.

The proclaimed purpose of the so-called Milli Parliament is to 'liberate Muslim community of India from the political slavery of the Mushrikeen (non- Muslims). This leads to a direct collision with the Constitution and political framework of our country Evch assuming that the so-called Bill to be adopted by the Milli Parliament contains a set of fair and legitimate demands of the Muslim community, why should any political party pay any heed to such a charter adopted by an organization which calls upon the Muslims to reject political guidance and seeks to challenge the legitimacy of the system? How will the Milli Parliament then achieve its objective? By waging a war and by proclaiming a Jihad against the State? Shall Mr. Shaz inform the community of his chosen method or programme?

The brochure issued by the institute questions the utility of elections and calls upon the Muslim Indians not to respect the laws of the country. It appeals to them to 'capture power to ensure their future'. The establishment of Muslim power in India is nothing more than a wild dream and a result of confused thinking and of misunderstanding the spirit of the time.

I demand that Mr. Shaz disclose the names of the permanent members of his Parliament and of his financiers and foreign patrons and associates.

I call upon the Muslim community to reject such adventurers and such carpet-tigers and pseudo- mujahideen and boycott the so-called Milli Parliament which should be exposed as an anti-Muslim and anti- Indian enterprise, financed by forces which are hostile to the country and do not care about the genuine interests of the community.

The constitution of Pakistan itself does not say that Kashmir is part of this country (Pakistan)

Dr Sher Afghan Special education and social welfare minister of Pakistan

Imam's Emoluments Editorial, The Patriot

The Centre has said at last that the Imams and Muczzins working in mosques in the country will be paid their salaries and remuneration by the State waqf boards and the Union Government would have nothing to do with it. Arrangement of funds for the purpose would be made by the waqf boards themselves under the provisions of the waqf law.There can be no justification for spending from the government treasury for meeting the financial requirements of religious shrines, irrespective of the faith they may represent.

It surely is the State's responsibility to ensure smooth functioning of the waqf boards and the Centre's efforts in this direction are welcome. If the issue had been allowed to fester for some more times, particularly when the parliamentary elections are round the corner, it would have been exploited for electoral gains. Mr. Kesri's clarification should set at rest the misgivings the ministers' previous statements on the subject had created.

Muslims and Congress in UP

The Congress has come out a cropper in its effort to win over the crucial support of the Muslim community before the Lok Sabha elections in the most important State of the Hindi heartland.

Two functions specially organized in the past six months to win over Muslim support evoked strong protests from them as they are apparently not in a mood to forgive the party for the demolition of the Babari mosque in Ayodhya. In fact Muslim leaders see a game in these efforts also. According to them the Congress was aiming to divide the Bareilvis and Deobandis to win over the support of the former, which was a large group in terms of their population.

The various conferences held in the State capital in the recent past have also seen fraying tempers of the leaders against the Congress party specially Mr. Narasimha Rao. Besides, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has rejected the proposal of giving salaries to the Imams. Some of the Muslim leaders feel that the Congress should have taken some serious measures for the economic and social welfare of Muslim community instead of depending on any religious leader.

Muslims first got alienated from the Congress in 1989 when the then Congress Government had granted permission for the shilanyas of the Ayodhya temple. Still a section of them continued to support the Congress till the demolition of Babari Mosque. In the 1991 general elections the Muslims supported the Janata Dal but after the demolition of the mosque, they turned towards SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav. From 1993 elections in UP till today they continue to support Mulayam Singh Yadav and appear to be in nod to go back to the Congress fold. The condition of the Congress in the State is also one of the reasons for alienation as they feel that the party was not in a position to defeat the BJP.

(Source: The Hindustan Times, 3 January, 1996)