NEW DELHI, 16 October — Thousands of Muslims from across the country took the security agencies by surprise as they converged near Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s residence here yesterday to demand quotas in government jobs.
Raising slogans for better representation in educational institutions and legislatures, the protesters under the banner of the socio-religious group Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind unexpectedly descended on Vajpayee’s 7, Race Course residence.
Senior police officials rushed to the spot as the restless crowds squatted on the main road and blocked traffic for about an hour.
“They disrupted traffic for quite some time. We had to disperse them, but it was peaceful,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Mukesh Meena said.
The Jamiat, founded in 1918, has been organizing a protest in the capital every day since Oct. 2 during which Muslims and even some people representing socially underprivileged Dalits have been courting arrest.
“It (Sunday) was the last day of our protest. But as there was no response from the prime minister, we thought of laying siege to his residence to make him listen to us,” Jamiat Secretary N.A. Farooqui said.
The demonstrations were being held as part of a campaign demanding better representation for Muslims in all fields in proportion to their population.
Muslims, who number 140 million, constitute the largest religious minority in the Hindu-majority country of a billion people. On an average, 800 people have been participating daily in the protest. A 10-member delegation was later allowed to meet Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Vijay Goel.
“We submitted our memorandum with 13 demands. Goel assured us he would talk to the prime minister and try to get an appointment for us with Vajpayee.”
Farooqui, who was part of the delegation that met Goel for 20 minutes, said: “The problems we have raised are in national interest and which affect every individual”.
He pointed out that on the one hand, government jobs were shrinking and on the other, lower caste Hindus, tribes persons and Dalits were given quotas in every sphere, putting Muslims at a disadvantage.
The constitution does not allow job quotas on the basis of religion though it permits positive discrimination for socially underprivileged castes.
Farooqui said hundreds of thousands of Muslims feel discriminated and are concerned by the increasing influence of Hindu chauvinist outfits. The anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat this year has left many in the community insecure.
The protesters are demanding that the government ban groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
The representation of Muslims in Parliament, state legislatures, administrative services, armed forces, police and paramilitary forces, educational institutions and private and public sectors is far below the community’s proportion in the population, Jamiat leaders claim.
The percentage of Muslims in civil and foreign services is less than a quarter of their population, they contend.
