JEDDAH, 19 April 2006 — There is an urgent need to chalk out a long-term strategy for the overall development of the Muslim community in India, K. Rahman Khan, deputy chairman of the upper house of Parliament, said here Sunday.
Rahman was in the Kingdom to perform Umrah and pray at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
“India is witnessing a phenomenal economic growth but Muslims are not reaping the benefit of this boom and are lagging behind in per capita income, education, employment and other indicators of growth and prosperity. It is high time to evaluate the reasons for this backwardness and come up with a comprehensive program for the uplift of the community,” Rahman said.
Highlighting the government’s concern about minority welfare Rahman said, “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is open to suggestions in this regard and wants to do something concrete on this front. A group of MPs headed by me has submitted to him a report related to Muslims issues. But I strongly feel that the government alone cannot do much and the community itself has to stand up and take the initiative for its betterment.”
“I feel that a nodal body should be constituted to undertake a host of activities aimed at providing education, medical facilities and economic opportunities etc. to the community. Such a body should be a statutory one under the Reserve Bank of India to provide financial security to the people involved,” he said.
Talking about the funding of such a body, he said it can be started with an initial capital of Rs. 1,000 billion. The government can be requested to give four years of Haj subsidy money, which will amount to Rs. 1,000 billion, in advance and an equal amount can be raised from NRIs as well as Middle Eastern countries on equity basis.
Rahman stressed the amount raised should be used for the construction of educational and professional centers like medical and engineering colleges to provide higher education to Muslims. Foreign investment should also be attracted for this project on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
The leader also suggested to invite investment from the Middle East, especially, for minority-related projects. “Foreign investment from the Middle East in India is negligible for various reasons. But after the recent visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India, things have started moving. And this is the right time to strike deals with the investors of this region to invest in India, particularly, in minority education and related sectors,” Rahman added.
Talking about employment situation in India Rahman said that the government alone cannot provide employment to millions of jobless and hence, people should look at other prospective employers.
He emphasized, “We should not look at the government alone for providing employment because now the government is not a big employer. The major employment providers are private players and they hire people on merit and competence. And to grab their jobs, Muslims have to be equipped professionally from head-to-toe.”
He appealed to the Muslim community not to fall in the trap laid out from time to time by divisive forces by flaring up communal issues. He said that Muslims would not benefit by “five percent reservation” only. “The community needs more than just reservation,” he said.
Rahman said that the Waqf properties should also be used for the uplift of the community. “There are about 100,000 Waqf properties in India, mostly in urban areas. They should be developed and the income should be used for providing education and employment to jobless Muslims,” he said.
