Vice President Ansari asks Muslims to seek equity, not concessions

Aligarh, Oct 18 : Vice President Hamid Ansari today asked Muslims to "seek equity, not concessions" from the government, and said that the community should introspect as a failure to participate in India's growth story will lead to its marginalisation.

Addressing a gathering of over 500 Aligarh Muslim University alumni from as many as 20 countries, Ansari said the Muslim community should adapt to changing requirements of time and pointed out the need to draw every segment including women into the sphere of education.

This, he said, was the only way out if the Muslim community is to partake in India's historic growth story.

"We as a community have failed to appreciate the need for education for all sections. Our illiteracy levels continue to remain above the national level and we continue to lag behind in ensuring education at the primary level and for women," the Vice President said.

Rejecting the growing clamour for quotas in educational institutions and jobs, Ansari said the community should "seek equity not concessions" as "seeking specific dispensation will not take us too far."

"Let us candidly admit that we have failed to conceptualise the demands of a changing environment and failed to understand that education cannot be sectional," Ansari told the first World Summit of AMU Alumni.

He said Muslims should learn to emulate other communities in adapting to changing requirements of time and utilising the opportunities and sops provided by government.

ANI