الهند: المحكمة العليا تستنكر عدم وجود دراسة عن أوضاع المسلمين

- خبر من مصادر إنجليزية.

استنكرت المحكمة العليا بولاية "جوجارت" الهندية عدم قيام الحكومة الهندية بعمل دراسة مسحية عن أسباب تردي أوضاع المسلمين خلال العقدين الماضيين، وذلك بعد أن وجهت المحكمة سؤالًا للمتحدث القانوني باسم الدولة عما إذا كانت الحكومة قامت بنحو هذه الدراسات المسحية المتعلقة بأوضاع المسلمين؛ حيث كانت الإجابة بالنفي.

وجاء ذلك خلال مناقشة قضية تقديم المنح الدراسية لأبناء خمس أسر من الأقليات ومن بينهم المسلمون، وهو ما رفضته الحكومة، وأكد المتحدث باسمها أنه للقيام بدراسة مسحية يجب على الحكومة رسميًّا إعلان الوضع المتردي لمجتمع ما من المواطنين.

وقد أكد المحامي العام أن مناقشة هذه القضية في ضوء توصيات "لجنة ساشر" حول معالجة أوضاع المسلمين المتردية، لا تلزم الحكومة بشيء، وهي المسؤولة عن تحديد مدى تخلف وتردي أوضاع المجتمعات؛ المصدر: شبكة الألوكة.

يرجى الإشارة إلى المصدر عند نقل الخبر - شبكة الألوكة.

الخبر من مصدره الأصلي:

Why has Muslim backwardness not been assessed: HC

The Gujarat high court on Tuesday asked the state government if it conducted any survey to assess backwardness of Muslims in Gujarat in the last 20 years. The government replied, "No".

The full bench put the question to Advocate General Kamal Trivedi during the hearing on the legality of the Centre's scheme of pre-matriculation scholarships to students of five minority communities, to which the state government has objected.

Citing instructions in the Supreme Court's Inder Sawhney judgment, Justice V M Sahai, who presides over the five judge bench, asked the state government's legal officer, "Twenty years have passed. Have you conducted any survey of the Muslim community as a whole to know how many of them are really backward?" The AG said that the state government did not conduct any such exercise for last two decades.

The issues cropped up when the state government questioned the Centre's floating the scheme on the basis of the Justice Sachar committee's recommendations. The AG asserted that for conducting any survey, the government needs a legal declaration about the backwardness of communities. Justice Sahai again questioned him why the government did not undertake any exercise in this regard.

The judge further said that Muslims are downtrodden and live in ghettos. Narrating his own experience, Justice Sahai said, "Why do they live in ghettos? There are historical reasons, for security." He also

commented, "The state of Gujarat is fighting for Rs 4 crore (its contribution to the minority scholarship)?" The AG rebutted this by saying that it is a matter of principle. "Tomorrow, the Centre may come out with umpteen schemes, but it is subject to declaration...It's a matter of principle," he argued.

A couple of judges in the bench commented that the schemes are aimed at benefitting the downtrodden, and affirmative action by the executive should be welcomed. Justice D H Waghela questioned the state government's projection of literacy ratio, which is claimed to be higher among the minorities, and cited the dropout rate for Muslim students in higher secondary.

The court's query on the survey came after the AG submitted that the Sachar committee could come up with recommendations, but it is up to the states to determine the criteria to adjudge whether a community is backward. He questioned why the committee's report is "so sacrosanct" for the Centre. He dubbed it a "convenient committee", and said that action on basis of its conclusion "cannot be tolerated".