Discrimination against Muslims have to be corrected by State: Hamid Ansari

New Delhi, Aug 31: Identity and security, education and empowerment and fair share in decision making are the principal problems confronting India's Muslims and the default in terms of exclusion and discrimination have to be corrected by the state, Vice President Hamid Ansari said today.

He also cited the official objective of "sab ke sath, sab ka vikas" (with everyone, for everyone's growth) calling it commendable and added a pre-requisite for this is "affirmative action" to ensure a common starting point and ability in all to walk at the required pace.

The Vice President was speaking at the inauguration of the All India Majlois-e-Mushawarat Golden Jubilee here.

Tracing the condition of Muslims since Independence and the work in the past decade to delineate the contours of the problem, Ansari said studies bring forth sufficient evidence to substantiate the view that "inequality traps prevent the marginalised and work in favour of the dominant groups in society".

"It is evident from the compendium of official reports that the principal problems confronting India's Muslims relate to: identity and security; education and empowerment; equitable share in the largesse of the state; and fair share in decision making.

"Each of these is a right of the citizen. The shortcomings in regard to each have been analysed threadbare.

The challenge before us today is to develop strategies and methodologies to address them.

The Vice President the default by the State or its agents in terms of deprivation, exclusion and discrimination (including failure to provide security) is to be corrected by the State; this needs to be done at the earliest and appropriate instruments developed for it.

"Political sagacity, the imperative of social peace, and public opinion play an important role in it.

Experience shows that the corrective has to be both at the policy and the implementation levels; the latter, in particular, necessitates mechanisms to ensure active cooperation of the State governments," he said.

PTI