The new Indian state of Telangana is reserving 12 percent of its education jobs for Muslims, a visiting politician from the region’s government said here recently.

Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali, who is in the Kingdom to perform Haj, revealed this information at a function here organized by the Ahmeduddin Owaisi-led Bazm-e-Ittehad and over a dozen socio-welfare associations of non-resident Indians from the state.

Mahmood Ali said that Telangana would soon form an NRI ministry along the lines of the Kerala model to look after the affairs of those working overseas.

He said that his government would soon reserve 12 percent of the state’s jobs in education for Muslims. The state would also ensure that Muslims face less legal hurdles when applying for employment in general. The move came in for instant praise from the assembled expats.

Mahmood Ali said that his government had allotted a yearly budget of 10 billion Indian rupees (SR610 million) for the welfare of Muslims. The government order has already been signed by the chief minister and now 40,000 Muslim girls every year would receive marriage assistance of 51,000 rupees (SR3,112) each. Senior citizens and widows would get a monthly allowance of 1,000 rupees (SR61) each and people with physical disabilities 1,500 rupees (SR91), he said.

Mahmood Ali appealed to the Saudi government, Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Saudi businesspeople to invest in Telangana, which he said has a skilled work force, favorable location and investor-friendly business environment with advanced information technology opportunities and infrastructure.

He assured the audience that no police officers from other Indian states would be allowed to arrest a Telangana state citizen without the consent of the local authorities. In the past, the police, especially from Gujarat, arrested Muslim youths, who were kept in captivity for years, and then released by the courts without finding them guilty of any crime, he claimed.

He dubbed Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao as a Mahatma Gandhi-type figure and benefactor of Telangana, who is committed to the secular Ganga-Jamuni view, which refers to the culture in various Indian regions of Muslims and Hindus living together harmoniously. He said his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party has good relations with Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

“We want to make Telangana a welfare state, a golden state where every citizen gets his due right, especially in the fields of education and health care,” he said.

Ahmeduddin Owaisi thanked Mahmood Ali for his efforts in the state, particularly the plans to empower Muslims.

Syed Ali Mahmood, convener and the chief patron of Bazm-e-Ittehad, welcomed and felicitated Mahmood Ali. On NRI issues, he said that many Indians living here are not well off. He said there was a growing gap between rich and poor families, and educated and uneducated children of Indian expatriates.

The function started with Mohammad Noor reading verses from the holy Qur’an, followed by a “naat” by Mohammad Yousufuddin Amjad. Syed Khaja Viqaruddin conducted the proceedings.

Mirza Qudrath Nawaz Baig, N.A. Basith and Abdul Qayyum, general secretary of Bazm-e-Ittehad, were congratulated for organizing the function.

Prominent among the participants were Ubaidur Rahman, Aleem Khan Falaki, Shamim Kausar, Jamal Quadri, Siadath Ali Khan, Aijaz Ahmed Khan, Ahmed Abdul Hakeem, Fareed Khaja, Abdul Razzak Mohiuddin, Azmath Emraan, Moazzam Ali Ifteqar, Mohammed Ibrahim, Qadeer Khaled, Mohammed Zaheeruddin, Mohammed Jabbar and Naveed Afroz.