Former civil servant, Member of Parliament, member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, AIMPLB, Syed Shahabuddin has written an extensive piece on Khabrein titled "Muslim Strategy for General Elections in 2009".
The piece stands out for 2 reasons. It is vivid in its expose of how Muslim Appeasement practised by Communal Socialists across the board. It is also unapologetic for putting the issue of Muslim Reservations back on the table.
While there is no denying the economic backwardness of significant sections within the Muslim Community it is stunning that Mr. Shahabuddin wants other Muslims in Urban and Semi-Urban India to vote against their economic interests by joining the clamour for Reservations.
Some of the finest arguments against Muslim Reservations were made by Muslim members of the Constituent Assembly and it is worth reproducing them here as a rejoinder to Mr. Shahabuddin's call and to also pose the question to middle class Muslims in Urban and semi-Urban India on
Why would they be so foolish to vote against their economic interests and aspirations by voting for Communal Socialists who only appease and pander ?
The Constituent Assembly debated the issue of Minority Rights during the month of August 1947 right after Independence. One of the contentious issues was having separate seats for minorities. Maulana Hasrat Mohani makes some very thought provoking remarks .
I refuse to accept Muslims to be a minority
How is it that when you talk of minorities you mean Muslims only and when you talk of reservation you refer to Muslims only ?:
The Muslims refuse to be called a minority if parties are formed on political line.
It must be noted that when the Advisory Committee on Minority Rights lead by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel made its recommendations it set a 10 year limit on all kinds of reservations for any community.
Ananthasayanam Ayyangar once again makes some thought provoking arguments.
We are going too far and are trying to placate them in every possible way. I have got here the treaty entered into by Turkey regarding the protection of its minorities on 24th July 1923 at Geneva. I ask any of the protagonists of this amendment, to show me a single. instance where in any part of the country, in any part of the world a political right has been conceded in the manner in which it has been conceded here.
It cannot be said that there is a greater nation in recent years standing for the rights of Muslims in the world than Turkey. Let us see what rights they have given no the other minorities in Turkey and what rights they have insisted upon for for their nationals in other countries.
they are entitled to stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the community,to stand for any seat anywhere without being trammelled, without being ineligible for any particular post or office
I am not prepared to call a single individual a minority. I do not like the word 'minority' at all.
The issue of Reservations for Minorities crops up again in November of 1948. By this time the draft Constitution underwent many changes with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar introducing the re-drafted Constitution Bill. Directly elected Governors were discarded and the present system of nominated Governors made its way. The issue of Reservations is once again raised by Kazi Syed Karimuddin.
Joint electorates with reservation of seats is absolutely of no consequence to the minorities. It would do them positive disservice.
If the two resolutions regarding the continuation of separate electorate or joint electorate with reservation of seats with a fixed percentage of votes of the community to which the candidate belongs which were rejected last time are not acceptable to the House, the minorities should forego this reservation of seats under joint electorates this is going to create permanent statutory minorities in the country
It would be to the great disadvantage and detriment of the Muslim community or any other minority community which claims reservations
reservation of seats will create more bitterness, more jealousies, more communal hatred and Muslim disintegration
We must be left to our own fate and we are quite prepared to face the future.
Once again the Kazi makes the case for a strong executive.
Without any sacrifice of the democratic principles the minorities can be protected.
The rights of the minorities can be protected in another way and that is by the establishment of a non-parliamentary executive in this country.
If you introduce non-parliamentary executive, the members of the executive would not be afraid because they are not liable to be removed by their supporters
in parliamentary executive the Government is naturally weak, and vacillating because the ministers have to depend for their continuance on communally minded supporters
A digression from the subject of reservations. The Constituent Assembly while debating Ambedkar's Constitution Bill also took up the question of the Preamble. Ambedkar makes a strong argument against the current situation of having Socialism ingrained in the Preamble and requiring every political party to express faith in it.
What should be the policy of the State, how the Society should be organised in its social and economic side are matters which must be decided by the people themselves according to time and circumstances.
It cannot be laid down in the Constitution itself, because that is destroying democracy altogether. If you state in the Constitution that the social organisation of the State shall take a particular form, you are, in my judgment, taking away the liberty of the people to decide what should be the social organisation in which they wish to live.
It is perfectly possible today, for the majority people to hold that the socialist organisation of society is better than the capitalist organisation of society.
But it would be perfectly possible for thinking people to devise some other form of social organisation which might be better than the socialist organisation of today or of tomorrow.
I do not see therefore why the Constitution should tie down the people to live in a particular form and not leave it to the people themselves to decide it for themselves.
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