'Centre can't pretend powerlessness before states'

New Delhi, June 17: The National Commission for Minorities(NCM), writing its first report on its working since its constitution about one and a half years ago, feels the Centre can play a more effective role in executing its recommendations.

The Union Government cannot pretend powerlessness in making states execute its orders and policies in fulfillment of constitutional obligations, it said.

Article 355 of the Constitution gives sweeping powers to the Centre to take action against the states if it feels that the state policies would hamper internal harmony and peace of the country, NCM Chairman Hamid Ansari told UNI.

The Article unambiguously states, "It shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and ensure that the governance is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution,'' he pointed out.

This should leave no doubt for any Central government to act against a state if provisions of the Constitution were violated in any matter, he added.

''Our Constitution has safeguarded the rights of minorities beyond any doubt, but the main problem is a lack of consciouness about minority rights in our society,'' he answered on being probed whether the Commission was satisfied with what it had achieved so far and what degree of cooperation it had recieved from the Centre.

He stressed the need for sensitising the administration and the civil society as a whole towards the rights of minorities.

A government might be willing to act for the welfare of minorities, but sometimes information was lacking to make such an action possible.

Mr Ansari said the constitution of the Sachar Panel helped in giving a comprehensive picture on the status of Muslims.

''The first step lies in recognising the existence of the problem and then to take action to find a remedy,'' Mr Ansari said.

He added the NCM had set into motion the process of appointing a panel for conducting a Sachar Committee type survey of minorities other than Muslims.

The decision to conduct such a survey was taken in the view that other minorities like Christians, Buddhists and Parsis too were facing many socio-economic problems which should be looked into.

''It is an internal process and takes sometime, but it has been set into motion. Once the proposal is cleared, we will appoint a credible agency to study the situation regarding these minorities,'' he said.

About the term of reference of such a panel, he said the job was made easier by the Sachar Committee which had gone deep into the causes of the social, educational and economic backwardness of Muslims.

''The path has been paved by the Sachar panel. Now we know about the sources to access and methods to go about it. Moreover, much of the data obtained by the panel would also be helpful in determining the relative status of other minorities,'' Mr Ansari said.

Replying to a question, he said he was of the firm view that Dalit Christians and Muslims should be given Scheduled Caste status.

''So far as that status was limited to Hindu SCs, there was no problem, but once weaker sections of other religions like Sikhs and Buddhists were given the benefit, there was no reason why Muslims and Christians of the same category should be deprived,'' he said.

He said he failed to understand why those who made so much hue and cry about giving reservation on religious grounds, brought religion of a deprived section into consideration to deprive it of benefits others were enjoying.

Mr Ansari said the Commission was now working with its full strength and hoped to function more effectively.

The Commission has been demanding more powers, especially the investigative one, to perform function required of it.

Now a bill is pending in Parliament to give the Commission constitutional status and investigative powers.

UNI