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Communal reservations, fueled by the politics of minorityism, could lead to fragmentation of Hindu society.
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Let there be a national debate on extending quota obligations to minority education institutions.
Today is Mahavir Jayanti. I bow my head before this great prophet and extend hearty greetings to all our brethren belonging to the Jain community.
Today is also Eid Milad-un-Nabi, Prophet Mohemmed's birth anniversary. On this occasion, I convey hearty felicitations to all our Muslim brethren. I also wish to assure them about my unwavering commitment to contribute to the promotion of amity, harmony and mutual understanding between Hindus and Muslims, as an important part of strengthening India’s national integration.
Bhagwan Mahavir’s universal and eternal teachings: Bhagwan Mahavir's teachings are universal in their application and eternal in their appeal. Their relevance has reduced not a bit with the passage of millennia. On the contrary, the importance of the message of satya (truthfulness), ahimsa (non-violence towards all living beings), asteya (non-stealing) and aparigraha (Non-attachment) has grown immensely in our modern times.
At a time when the modern man is mired in excessive and unbalanced material living, and is in search of the higher meaning of life, Bhagwan Mahavir provides guidance to us with his profound words: "A living body is not merely an integration of limbs and flesh but it is the abode of the soul which potentially has perfect perception (Anant-darshana), perfect knowledge (Anant-jnana), perfect power (Anant-virya), and perfect bliss (Anant-sukha)."
I salute the Jain samaj in India which has shown how, in spite of being relatively small in number, a community can prosper in trade, commerce and various professions solely on the strength of the hard work and dedication of its members. The Jain community has always been in the forefront of philanthropic activities in education, healthcare, care of the destitute and the disabled, care of animals. It is also a model to all others in terms of national integration and social harmony.
Demand for "minority status" to Jains is flawed and fraught with peril: Lately, I have heard a few voices – marginal and not mainstream – from within the Jain community that they be declared as a minority community. The principal reasons behind this demand are two-fold:
Firstly, those who raise this demand think that, with the Congress party and some other parties announcing religion-based reservations for minorities, securing a "minority" status for the Jain community would enable its members to enjoy the benefit of quotas in education and jobs.
Secondly, since minority education institutions are exempted from the obligation of reserving seats for SCs, STs and OBCs, and as they also enjoy other administrative benefits and legal protections, there is a clamour among some Jains who run educational institutions that having a "minority status" would entitle them to the same exemptions, benefits and protections. Similar logic had earlier prompted the Ramakrishna Mission and Arya Samaj (both run a large number of educational institutions) to declare themselves non-Hindu and seek "minority" status for themselves.
If this trend continues, there is the real danger of more and more sections of Hindu society wanting the "minority" tag since belonging to the majority community seems to attract discrimination and handicap. This extraordinary situation, where many segments of the broader Hindu society consider it a burden to be a part of the Hindu society, where the majority feels disadvantaged in the constitutional scheme of minority rights, is a perversion of what the Constitution-makers had in mind.
In all humility, and with the greatest respect for the Jain Samaj, I wish to appeal for the immediate abandonment of this flawed demand. I have spoken to many prominent religious, social and cultural leaders of the Jain community, and all of them have expressed their disapproval for this demand. I have also had several meetings with Acharya Mahapragya, whom I regard as one of the greatest living saints in the world today. He too has categorically expressed himself against the idea of the Jains being declared as a "minority" community and thus being separated from the larger Hindu family.
Why the Constituent Assembly rejected communal reservations: In the immediate aftermath of India's Partition in 1947 on communal grounds, some people demanded religion-based reservations for minorities, on the basis of their population, in education, employment, security forces and also in Parliament and state legislatures. This proposal was considered thoroughly by the Constituent Assembly's Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities, Tribal and Excluded Areas headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The committee had a galaxy of leaders as its members - Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Maulana Azad, Dr. S.P. Mookerjee, Dr. K.M. Munshi, Purushottamdas Tandon, Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant and Gopinath Bordoloi. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a special invitee. Its final report stated: "The Committee are satisfied that the minorities are themselves feel that in their own interests, no less than in the interests of the country as a whole, the statutory reservation of seats for religious minorities should be abolished."
Commending the report to the Constituent Assembly, Sardar Patel said: "In the long run, it would be in the interest of all to forget that there is anything like a majority or a minority in this country and that in India there is only community - of Indians."
Pandit Nehru hailed the acceptance of this report by the Constituent Assembly as "a historic turn in India's destiny".
BJP will stoutly oppose communal quotas: It is unfortunate that the Congress party and its allies, who are today pushing for religion-based reservations, have completely forgotten this important debate in the Constituent Assembly. They are doing so in spite of court after court rejecting religion-based reservations. Their politics of "minorityism" is guided not by concern for the welfare of minorities, but solely by the desire to consolidate the minority vote-bank.
Communal reservations, fueled by the politics of minorityism, are harmful for three reasons: They are not in the interest of minorities themselves. They are detrimental to national integration. Thirdly, they have the potential to fragment Hindu society, with more and more sections demanding "minority" status for themselves. Therefore, the BJP will continue to oppose them with all the force at our command.
Need for a national debate on extending quota obligations to minority educational institutions: In this context, I also feel that there should be a national debate on why both existing and future minority educational institutions should also carry the obligation of statutory reservations for SCs and STs. This is a national obligation, borne out of the Nation’s collective determination to achieve the social, economic and educational empowerment of the SCs and STs. Besides, in many states like Kerala, the number of minority educational institutions is growing rapidly vis-a-vis non-minority educational institutions. This growth cannot be justified on the grounds that Christians or Muslims in Kerala are educationally, socially or economically backward. Hence, there is no reason why only non-minority educational institutions should have the obligation of reservations for SCs and STs.
Communal reservations, fueled by the politics of minorityism, could lead to fragmentation of Hindu society.
*
Let there be a national debate on extending quota obligations to minority education institutions.
Today is Mahavir Jayanti. I bow my head before this great prophet and extend hearty greetings to all our brethren belonging to the Jain community.
Today is also Eid Milad-un-Nabi, Prophet Mohemmed's birth anniversary. On this occasion, I convey hearty felicitations to all our Muslim brethren. I also wish to assure them about my unwavering commitment to contribute to the promotion of amity, harmony and mutual understanding between Hindus and Muslims, as an important part of strengthening India’s national integration.
Bhagwan Mahavir’s universal and eternal teachings: Bhagwan Mahavir's teachings are universal in their application and eternal in their appeal. Their relevance has reduced not a bit with the passage of millennia. On the contrary, the importance of the message of satya (truthfulness), ahimsa (non-violence towards all living beings), asteya (non-stealing) and aparigraha (Non-attachment) has grown immensely in our modern times.
At a time when the modern man is mired in excessive and unbalanced material living, and is in search of the higher meaning of life, Bhagwan Mahavir provides guidance to us with his profound words: "A living body is not merely an integration of limbs and flesh but it is the abode of the soul which potentially has perfect perception (Anant-darshana), perfect knowledge (Anant-jnana), perfect power (Anant-virya), and perfect bliss (Anant-sukha)."
I salute the Jain samaj in India which has shown how, in spite of being relatively small in number, a community can prosper in trade, commerce and various professions solely on the strength of the hard work and dedication of its members. The Jain community has always been in the forefront of philanthropic activities in education, healthcare, care of the destitute and the disabled, care of animals. It is also a model to all others in terms of national integration and social harmony.
Demand for "minority status" to Jains is flawed and fraught with peril: Lately, I have heard a few voices – marginal and not mainstream – from within the Jain community that they be declared as a minority community. The principal reasons behind this demand are two-fold:
Firstly, those who raise this demand think that, with the Congress party and some other parties announcing religion-based reservations for minorities, securing a "minority" status for the Jain community would enable its members to enjoy the benefit of quotas in education and jobs.
Secondly, since minority education institutions are exempted from the obligation of reserving seats for SCs, STs and OBCs, and as they also enjoy other administrative benefits and legal protections, there is a clamour among some Jains who run educational institutions that having a "minority status" would entitle them to the same exemptions, benefits and protections. Similar logic had earlier prompted the Ramakrishna Mission and Arya Samaj (both run a large number of educational institutions) to declare themselves non-Hindu and seek "minority" status for themselves.
If this trend continues, there is the real danger of more and more sections of Hindu society wanting the "minority" tag since belonging to the majority community seems to attract discrimination and handicap. This extraordinary situation, where many segments of the broader Hindu society consider it a burden to be a part of the Hindu society, where the majority feels disadvantaged in the constitutional scheme of minority rights, is a perversion of what the Constitution-makers had in mind.
In all humility, and with the greatest respect for the Jain Samaj, I wish to appeal for the immediate abandonment of this flawed demand. I have spoken to many prominent religious, social and cultural leaders of the Jain community, and all of them have expressed their disapproval for this demand. I have also had several meetings with Acharya Mahapragya, whom I regard as one of the greatest living saints in the world today. He too has categorically expressed himself against the idea of the Jains being declared as a "minority" community and thus being separated from the larger Hindu family.
Why the Constituent Assembly rejected communal reservations: In the immediate aftermath of India's Partition in 1947 on communal grounds, some people demanded religion-based reservations for minorities, on the basis of their population, in education, employment, security forces and also in Parliament and state legislatures. This proposal was considered thoroughly by the Constituent Assembly's Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities, Tribal and Excluded Areas headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The committee had a galaxy of leaders as its members - Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Maulana Azad, Dr. S.P. Mookerjee, Dr. K.M. Munshi, Purushottamdas Tandon, Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant and Gopinath Bordoloi. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a special invitee. Its final report stated: "The Committee are satisfied that the minorities are themselves feel that in their own interests, no less than in the interests of the country as a whole, the statutory reservation of seats for religious minorities should be abolished."
Commending the report to the Constituent Assembly, Sardar Patel said: "In the long run, it would be in the interest of all to forget that there is anything like a majority or a minority in this country and that in India there is only community - of Indians."
Pandit Nehru hailed the acceptance of this report by the Constituent Assembly as "a historic turn in India's destiny".
BJP will stoutly oppose communal quotas: It is unfortunate that the Congress party and its allies, who are today pushing for religion-based reservations, have completely forgotten this important debate in the Constituent Assembly. They are doing so in spite of court after court rejecting religion-based reservations. Their politics of "minorityism" is guided not by concern for the welfare of minorities, but solely by the desire to consolidate the minority vote-bank.
Communal reservations, fueled by the politics of minorityism, are harmful for three reasons: They are not in the interest of minorities themselves. They are detrimental to national integration. Thirdly, they have the potential to fragment Hindu society, with more and more sections demanding "minority" status for themselves. Therefore, the BJP will continue to oppose them with all the force at our command.
Need for a national debate on extending quota obligations to minority educational institutions: In this context, I also feel that there should be a national debate on why both existing and future minority educational institutions should also carry the obligation of statutory reservations for SCs and STs. This is a national obligation, borne out of the Nation’s collective determination to achieve the social, economic and educational empowerment of the SCs and STs. Besides, in many states like Kerala, the number of minority educational institutions is growing rapidly vis-a-vis non-minority educational institutions. This growth cannot be justified on the grounds that Christians or Muslims in Kerala are educationally, socially or economically backward. Hence, there is no reason why only non-minority educational institutions should have the obligation of reservations for SCs and STs.
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