by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
Asad Mirza
For their community’s benefit Muslim leaders will have to adopt a pragmatic approach and identify path-breaking alternatives for community’s progress.
Fostering a Community psyche
The Indian Muslims, as a community, do not possess a common community psyche. They are divided in many factions and no faction is ready to tolerate the other. Unity in community, in spite of factionalism is found in abundance in other minorities of the country like Sikhs and Parsis. We have to learn a lot from other minorities on how to develop a community psyche, so that each and every one considers them to be part of a larger whole, and the guiding spirit should be collectivism instead of individualism, every Muslim should be seen as contributing both physically and financially, for enhancing the community’s and lives of our brethren.
All the above is easier said than done, and the big question remains, who is going to deliver it and how? The answer lies in our religious leaders. It is a fact that a vast percentage of the Muslims, still listens to and act upon the messages conveyed to them by our clergy. But most of the time the messages conveyed are not relevant in any manner to the development and progress of the community in the light of the Islamic teachings, but on mundane issues. Instead our clerics will have to work to contextualise the message of the Holy Quran and Ahaadith to the present era, only then they’ll be effective and remembered. For this purpose the speech before the Juma Khutba can be a very important tool.
Clergy’s role
The Muslim clergy should first try to modernise it. It would be good if it could start on a path of critical and scientific thinking or Ijtihad, on issues of importance to the community. Instead of harping back to old and irrelevant texts, it would be better if it could consider each and every issue in a pragmatic fresh perspective based on the correct interpretation of the Holy Quran and Ahaadith. As the Holy Quran is a dynamic not a static book and it offers new solutions as per the new information and analytic prowess gained by its followers with every passing day.
We also bemoan the issue of lack of funding for establishing new educational institutes. Here we forget that if the Indian Muslims decide to contribute every paisa of the interest accrued in their bank accounts and the yearly Zakat to a single entity, then the fate of the community could be changed completely in the next 5 years. This sum could be utilised to establish and rejuvenate the educational institutes, orphanages, taking care of the needy and providing for medical facilities for the community and everyone else.
In addition we also have to present a modern image of the community to other faiths and countrymen. We sound hollow when we decry the increasing tide of Islamophobia in the country and elsewhere in the world. But how do we tackle the issue? In this age of information technology, many a battles are being fought and won using social media tools. The latest example in this regard is the surge in Islamophobic messages on the social media and response of the Muslim nations. Due to the overwhelming response of the Muslim countries, many social media platforms had to issue guidelines on how to manage the Islamophobic content, besides immediate remorse shown and forgiveness sought by people who engaged in posting Islamophobic content on various social media websites.
Muslims and the media
It would be better if the community should equip itself to counter the fake and biased news, first. A strong rebuttal and countering mechanism would serve the community well, as the cost for this would not be too high. The first step towards this could be to build a monitoring team, which could keep track of all anti-Muslim news, to be fed to a team of fact checkers, who with strong research and messaging capabilities should be able to counter any anti-Muslim narrative promptly and professionally.
A central team of Media Monitors based in Delhi should keep track of state monitors and should be equipped to work out quick and coherent response to every issue, charge or misrepresentation on various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Next, a group of community spokesmen should be trained in the language of the states to which they belong. They should be coached in language nuances, debating skills and how to engage in a coherent and conclusive dialogue with their competitors, viz. every aspect of conducting a successful verbal communication process.
Every state should have a small team of at least five people who could represent the community at every media opportunity. An effort should be made to constitute a panel of erudite and knowledgeable people to represent the community at various media outlets. The views espoused by this panel should be endorsed by leading clerics and social leaders before hand.
All this seems achievable and commendable, but the biggest requisite for this to succeed would be the coming together of different leaders representing various sects, outfits and schools within the Muslim community at one platform. We should have a panel of academics, researchers, ideologues, businessmen and entrepreneurs, activists and ground level workers, who should be seen as the real face of the community.
Way forward
Moreover, it would be better if the Muslim community instead of turning the current concerns into an existential one, introspects and find the areas and issues, which beleaguers it and where it has floundered,besides trying to be seen as part of the county’s mainstream. Follow it with judicious and committed planning and strategising, so that these detriments could be overcome and after the next 25 years, when we’ll be celebrating the century of our independence, we can proudly say that the community has fulfilled the aspirations of its followers and countrymen, both.
What we need is a clear-cut plan and a will to innovate and implement those programmes, which will take the community out of its slumber and apathy and take it on the path of progress. Until and unless the Muslim community as a whole decides to change its psyche and reform itself, no body can help the community survive the present onslaught.
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It becomes incumbent upon our religious leaders to forge unity amongst the Indian Muslims and lead them in their political, social, economic and religious life. And thus they’ll have to devise strategies on how to overcome obstacles in partnership with other religions also. For the current dispensation, religions like Parsis or Jews are considered as guests of India, while Christians and Muslims are considered as invaders, thus they deserve to be driven out or made second class citizens. As an enemy of your enemy could be your friend, Indian Muslims will have to forge amicable partnerships with religions like Christianity for their survival in India, and in this manner they’ll also be able to gain support of other countries, many of whom follow Christianity as state religion. Thus, Indian Muslims have to reform themselves and forge new friendships and accords, besides striving hard to co-exist in the fast changing scenario in the country.
—Ends
Asad Mirza is a political commentator based in New Delhi.
He was also associated with BBC Urdu Service and Khaleej Times of Dubai.
He writes on Muslims, educational, international affairs, interfaith and current affairs.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
Asad Mirza
Indian Muslims since 1947 have faced a continuous onslaught on the community, which have increased in recent times, but the way forward has to be found by the community itself.
It seems as if the Indian Muslims are under a collective siege from the external as well as internal forces and pressures. External pressure is being applied from the outside to weaken it psychologically, lessen the morale of its followers and instead of allowing them to focus their energies on the community’s and country’s progress, they are thrown challenges, to counter which a lot of energy and resources of the community are ill spent.
However, it would be better if the Muslim community instead of turning the issue into an existential one, introspects and analyse the factors, which are responsible for the community’s current fate and dilemmas faced by it.The strategy to tackle the issues should be a multi-pronged one, with clear and identifiable inputs, ensuring maximum tangible outcomes. The problems faced by Indian Muslims are social, political, economic and religious,thus the strategy to handle them should be a multi-pronged one.
The political developments during the last five years, and in particular since last May ‘19 in India, have forced almost all Muslims, community’sintellectuals, sympathisers, leaders and well-wishers to turn into a pessimist. They brood on many recent political developments and reaction of the Muslim religious and community leaders to the issues. However, this brooding is not accompanied by any affirmative action by them. This pessimist attitude and a feeling of despondency do not bode well for the community. Instead, what is needed at the moment is neither self-pity nor brooding, but to self-introspect sincerely. Identify and analyse the issues, which afflict the community, and seek out pragmatic solutions, which may bode well for the community and the country, both.
The answer to most of the ills faced by the community lies in introspection and analysing the issues, which have held the community despondent and backward so far, in depth and with sincerity. Thefirst step should be to prioritise the issues. Altruistically speaking, first, the community should try to present a unified image, not fraught by sectional differences.
Issues faced by Muslims
A movement should be started within the community to eschew its sectional and denominational divide, by its religious leaders. Others see the Muslims as a monolith community, not a faction ridden one. So if we are seen as one, then we should acts as one. This is easier said than done and would require a lot of efforts and tolerance amongst our clerics and their blind followers, so let’s hope for the best.
Secondly, the community should adopt a proactive approach not a reactionary one to handle issues at hand. At the political level, people who do not represent the community sincerely should not be promoted and tolerated as representing the community instead they should be excommunicated. Only sincere, committed and result-oriented individuals should be allowed to be part of the decision-making and delivery mechanism process on behalf of 14 million Muslims.
Thirdly, it should try to forge sustainable links with other minorities in the country like Parsis, Sikhs and Christians. It should try to learn from these minorities, as to how they have fared well in educational, social and economic sectors, utilising their community’s resources and guidance by their leaders. This collaboration will also help further the principles of tolerance and coexistence.
Fourthly, Muslims should engage in sincere self-introspection and try to reform the community of customs and practices, which are detrimental to the growth of the community as a whole, besides being un-Islamic, such as curbing wasteful expenditure on marriages and other religious functions.They’ll have to focus more on image building of the community by promoting cleanliness and education, two issues that have been stressed again and again in the Holy Quran.
And lastly, the message to change the community’s psyche and approach on issues facing it should be conveyed in a logical and easily understandable format to all, by a committee of elders representing all the factions and schools of thought of the community besides the political and social activists.
At the political front, Muslims should adopt a multi-dimensional strategy, strengthening the secular and democratic forces of the country, assured of the support of 63% secular and right thinking population of India.
Key to emancipation
As far as being an active player in the county’s political process is concerned, we should nurture and motivate our youngsters to involve themselves in the political activities, shoulder to shoulder with the secular forces. We seldom engage with our political representatives constructively. We should try to form a proactive relationship with the politicians, to ensure that besides raising our grievances with our representatives we are seen as part of the team, which delivers the results on their behalf in their constituency. We’ll have to build a committed cohort of leaders, who reflect the true aspirations of the community besides striving to empower it both educationally and politically.
A key factor identified for the plight of the community is the lack of education amongst Muslims. In reality during the last 25 years or so the educational consciousness amongst Muslims has increased and the community is much more educated than previously. However, we still have to focus our energies on and plan for educating the children at the lowest rung of the social and economic ladder. We need to strengthen our schools and colleges at village and district level, ensure delivery of quality education to all sections of the community, besides a zero dropout rate. This will need coordinated efforts and counselling, both. For this to be achieved, instead of looking up to the government, we should initiate our own efforts.
It’s a fact that Muslims have a school and college in every city and town of India. But most of them are not equipped to the modern standards or don’t have the faculty which could ensure delivery of quality education. The need is to chart out a comprehensive plan for making these institutes functional and productive. This could be achieved through an all-India umbrella body, which should be tasked to ensure how to impart quality education to all at the lowest cost through available infrastructure.
During the last 25 years or so a number of educational and social organisations managed by Muslims have sprung-up in every nook and corner of the country. But in reality, most of these initiatives are confined to individual self-promotion and lack enough professional attitude and commitment to perform and deliver. The task should be to bring all such organisations at a common platform, and pooling their human and financial resources, hammer out a deliverable strategy which is in tune with the current demands and aspirations of the people and which fulfil the community’s and society’s needs pragmatically.
Besides education, the proposed all-India body should also represent the Muslims at every conceivable charity work, whether be it a natural calamity or supporting the government’s various social drives or feeding the poor or providing care to the ailing. We need to emerge as a community, which should be seen at the forefront of every welfare event, helping out shoulder to shoulder with our brethren.
—Ends
Asad Mirza is a political commentator based in New Delhi.
He was also associated with BBC Urdu Service and Khaleej Times of Dubai.
He writes on Muslims, educational, international affairs, interfaith and current affairs
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate
Lakhs of individual taxpayers were left disappointed as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not announce any change in the income tax slabs in the much-awaited Budget presentation.
NEW DELHI — The Union Budget 2021-22 has garnered low approval ratings from the public who were expecting a slew of relief measures from the government after bearing the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on health and economy, as per the IANS C-Voter Budget Insta-Poll.
Lakhs of individual taxpayers were left disappointed as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not announce any change in the income tax slabs in the much-awaited Budget presentation.
As per the survey, which included a sample size of 1,200 people selected randomly across all demographics, the maximum thumbs up the Budget received was from people earning between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 per month.
On a scale of 0 to 10, the Budget received 6.39 marks from the income group between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000, which is the highest across all income groups.
Meanwhile, the lowest figures in the post-Budget poll was rated by the people who earned between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 a month. This section of people gave rated the Budget at 5.94 in a scale of 0 to 10.
The survey also stated that the Budget received similar responses from the service sector (government and private jobs), people running businesses or are self-employed, and those indulging in agricultural activities.
The private service class rated the budget at 5.15, government servicemen gave a rating of 5.37, people running businesses/self employed gave 5.30 while people associated with agriculture gave it a rating of 5.18.
Even in the varied age groups, the ratings remained somewhat similar. However, the budget gathered the least approval from the respondents aged below 25 years, Only 4.97 score was given by this group, the budget instapoll said.
Meanwhile, people aged between 46 and 55 years gave the highest rating to the Budget at 5.95.
Majority of the people in the country expressed dissatisfaction with the Union Budget on Monday, saying it will not be able to bring down inflation, according to the IANS C-Voter Budget Insta-Poll.
The poll included a sample size of 1,200 people selected randomly across all demographics.
Replying to a question “do you feel that the prices (inflation) will come down after this budget”, 46.1 per cent said not at all. Around 43.3 per cent people spoke on the same lines when they were asked the same question after last year’s Budget.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Sitharaman has scrapped income tax for senior citizens under certain conditions and said new rules will be notified for removal of double taxation for NRIs
NEW DELHI – The 2021-2022 budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday has allocated Rs 2 lakh crore for the health-care, including Rs 35,000 crore for the covid-19 vaccine, pledged numerous infrastructure projects for poll-bound states–West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu–and unfolded plans for the disinvestment of two public-sector banks and a general insurance company.
The budget is being presented at a time when the economy of the country has been undergoing a sharp slowdown since long due to the crippling lockdown, the demonetisation and other issues.
Sitharaman said the Budget proposals for this financial year rest on six pillars—health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D, and ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’.
She has scrapped income tax for senior citizens under certain conditions and said new rules will be notified for removal of double taxation for NRIs, and also announced a reduction in the time period of tax assessments, among other measures.
In the healthcare sector, a new scheme, titled PM Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana, will be launched to develop primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. Also announced were Mission POSHAN 2.0 to improve nutritional outcomes across 112 aspirational districts, operationalisation of 17 new public health units at points of entry, modernisation of existing health units at 32 airports, 15 seaports and land ports, Jal Jeevan Mission Urban aimed at better water supply nationwide besides plans for strengthening of Urban Swachh Bharat Mission.
Sitharaman announced Rs 35,000 crore for the covid-19 vaccine. “The government is committed to providing more funds. The Budget outlay for health and welfare is Rs 2,23,846 crore in the 2021-22 Budget. This is a 137 per cent increase.”
In the education sector, 100 new Sainik Schools will be set up, besides 750 Eklavya schools in tribal areas and a Central University in Ladakh.
In the infrastructure sector, highway and road works were announced for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam. A National Rail Plan will be created to bring about a future-ready Railway system by 2030. A 100% electrification of Railways will be completed by 2023. Metro services have been announced in 27 cities, plus additional allocations for Kochi Metro, Chennai Metro Phase 2, Bengaluru Metro Phase 2A and B, Nashik and Nagpur Metros. Gas pipeline project are to be set up in Jammu and Kashmir and the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (LPG scheme) will be extended to cover 1 crore more beneficiaries.
“For 2022, I propose a sharp increase in capital expenditure at 5.54 lakh crore, from Rs 4.39 lakh crore in 2021. More economic corridors are being planned to boost road infrastructure,” Sitharaman said.
The Finance Minister also announced Rs 1.10 lakh crore outlay for railways, of which Rs 1.7 lakh crore is for capital expenditure. Also, the Centre will provide Rs 18,000 crore for public buses.
In the agriculture sector, an agriculture infrastructure fund will be made available for APMCs for augmenting their infrastructure. About 1,000 more Mandis will be integrated into the E-NAM marketplace. Five major fishing hubs, including Chennai, Kochi and Paradip, will be developed. A multipurpose seaweed park will be established in Tamil Nadu.
Sitharaman proposed an increase in the agriculture credit target to Rs 16.5 lakh crore. “The MSP regime has undergone a change to assure a price that is at least 1.5 times the cost of production across all commodities. The total amount paid to paddy farmers surged to Rs 1.72 lakh crore in 2020-21.”
In the employment sector, a portal will be launched to maintain information on gig workers and construction workers. Social security will be extended to gig and platform workers. Margin capital required for loans via the Stand-up India scheme has been reduced from 25% to 15% for SCs, STs and women.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, News
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
“Farmers in the country have been agitating on the streets for their rights for more than two months now. There is nothing in this Budget for the farmers, only false promises and once again the years-old promise of doubling their incomes”
NEW DELHI – The Union Budget 2021 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday was appreciated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the ruling National Democratic Alliance.
However, Opposition parties reacted to the budget on a different note with their post-mortem of the budget marring the rosy picture presented by BJP and its allies.
The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies—the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Congress, in Maharashtra slammed the Budget as a ‘national betrayal’ and ‘letter of intent to sell off government assets’ and spoke of ‘injustice.’
While Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the budget would achieve the goals of an ‘Aatmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) India, the Maharashtra State Congress President and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said the Budget was a ‘letter of intent’ to profit by selling off top government companies in the guise of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and doling out largesse to states going to elections this year.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has termed the Union Budget as “disappointing” by saying, “The people of the country had high hopes from this General Budget which came today during the critical coronavirus pandemic crisis, but this Budget has led to a lot of disappointment among the people.”
“Farmers in the country have been agitating on the streets for their rights for more than two months now. There is nothing in this Budget for the farmers, only false promises and once again the years-old promise of doubling their incomes,” said Nath.
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, vehemently criticised the Budget calling it “anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-country budget.”
“The budget is not in favour of the farmers and poor people of the country. What kind of budget is this? It’s a fake budget. Bhekhdhari sarkar ke fakedari budget (It is a fake budget of the deceptive government,” Banerjee said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the budget had completely catered to the corporates and there was nothing for the common man in it. He said the budget was a clear reflection of the NDA’s policies of promoting neo-liberal policies, adding that this would help only the corporates and multinational firms.
Vijayan also lashed out at the Budget proposal to continue with the three farm laws, and added this had clearly proved that the meetings conducted by the government with the farmers were “hoodwinking”.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the budget as ‘favourable for selected companies’. “This budget is to provide benefits to some selected big companies. It will trigger a spike in inflation and will be a burden for common people,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia has also expressed his displeasure over the Budget by stating that due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has exposed the poor public health care system of the country, it was expected the government would substantially increase the health care allocation in this year’s Budget. He claimed that the Centre has reduced the health care budget instead.
While Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, welcomed the Budget, describing it as “balanced”, the traders in Bihar are disappointed with the budget, according to an IANS report.
Bihar’s opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also described the Budget as “visionless” and said it did not meet the expectations of the people of the country.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal in Punjab said the Budget was anti-farmer, anti-poor and anti-common man and that the sole focus of the BJP-led Central government was on selling national assets to its corporate friends.
He said it had also punished Punjabis for supporting the peaceful agitation against the three agricultural laws with nothing being earmarked for the state.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that even the vital sector of defence had not been adequately addressed despite the growing border threat from China and Pakistan.
Trashing the Centre’s claim that the health sector allotment had been increased by 35 per cent, he said in a statement that the health allocation was actually down amid the Covid-19 crisis.
The “fact was that numbers had been effectively fudged to project a hike by including Rs 35,000 crore Covid vaccine allotment and the amount set aside for sanitation and cleanliness under the health head”, he said.
