"Is nothing Indian sacred?"

I had made a post earlier against the Muslim headcount in the Armed Forces that the Congress government had sought. Apparently, the government has backed out of such a move now.

The army stands for integrity, equality and honour in a nation that is divided by religion, bigotry and bias, and when the Con'gress tryed to hurt the one institution that this nation is proud of, I am sure it wasn't expecting such a national backlash. Despite our divide, I am proud to say, our armed forces give us a reason to be proud of them. My soldier is mine, I dont care what religion he/she is, where he/she is from and what language he/she speaks.

While the Rajinder Sachar committee that had sought such a headcount gave the reason that they could gauge clearly the economic status of the muslim population in India, and the number of muslims in the army would help in that study. The government has also initiated the creation of a ministry for minority affairs in the Cabinet. While the reasons seems very noble, knowing that it is coming from the Congress party, I have every reason to believe that they had a lot of other motives as well.

For one, the Congress wants to get back into power in the north, particularly Uttar Pradesh, i mean, Ulta Pradesh. Their latest strategy is appeasement of their old faithful, the muslim votebank, which in recent times, has been moving to other parties. Parties such as Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's Bahujan Samajwadi Party have a strong muslim vote in the state, thus eating into Congress territory. Now that the Congress is in power in the center, they have more resources at their disposal to go about wooing voters.

The case of the muslim vote is not new. Well, all of Indian politics is caste and religion based, and like many others, I feel the muslims have allowed themselves to be used by the politicians for the latter's own gains. It is tragic that even today our politicians can get votes by inciting castes against each other.

In fact, the muslim headcount issue brought up the decade old Mandal Commission back into the headlines. When VP Singh was the Prime Minister of India, he had attempted to bring about a 9% reservation for muslims in most sectors. The Congress, it seemed, was looking to do the same now.

The only one person who the media quoted as supportive of the headcount was the Shahi Imam Bukhari of the Jama Masjid in Delhi. In fact, the army was vehement in its opposition, and the government was panned left and right by all and sundry. Well, it seems it worked. In fact, a former army general petitioned the Supreme Court against it.

In Andhra Pradesh, where Congress is in power as well, they wanted to bring about a muslim reservation in all categories. In fact, the UPA government was keen on bringing about quota in the entire private sector! Fortunately better sense and increased opposition from the private sector seems to have laid that matter to rest for now.

First, let me begin by posting what the Raksha Mantri said....

No Muslim headcount in army: Pranab

"The armed forces are professional, apolitical, secular and the most disciplined force the country has today... we would not like to include [the armed forces] in such a type of survey, [but] in the case of other departments and ministries, such a study will continue," Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Rajya Sabha.

Giving clarifications to queries on his statement on the appointment of Justice Rajindra Sachar Committee to study the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community, he said, "We do not recruit on the basis of caste, religion, creed or region... we do not maintain data based on such classifications."
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Petition seeking halt to Muslim headcount filed in SC

The petitioner, former deputy chief of army staff Left Gen R S Kadiayan, urged the court to issue a directive to the Centre to keep the data collected so far in this regard as ''classified''.

The filing of the petition was mentioned before a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justice S H Kapadia and Justice C K Thakker, which asked the petitioner's counsel to file the petition in the registry and get it numbered.
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and finally, an ed-op by Swapan Dasgupta in The Pioneer, another newspaper I respect. Let there be no doubt, there is more to this headcount than just an economic committee's recommendations. He talks of a gentleman named Omar Khalidi, who I witnessed being ripped apart in the Bharat-Rakshak Forums for trying to incite religious differences there. Look at what he has to say, and we can see a new Iqbal trying to create a new state within the state.

Count Dracula

Through the President's speech the Government boasted that "we have been able to reverse a dangerous trend of intolerance... and restore pluralism, tolerance and compassion. We have been able to replace debates that sought to divide the nation with debates that matter to everyday living of the people..."

The proof of the pudding, they say, is in the eating. The second day of the Budget Session of Parliament was dominated by furore over an issue which, presumably, the Government believed was aimed at decimating those who "sought to divide the nation."

Among the measures the Committee is already deliberating is increasing Muslim recruitment to the police to make it proportionate to the Muslim population. It is another matter that the courts have already struck down such a measure in Assam.

A perusal of the Committee's website reveals that the proposal emanated from the Indian Union Muslim League. In his memorandum, IUML President GM Banatwala informed the Committee that the "percentage of Muslims has fallen to a dismal two per cent from 30 to 36 per cent at the time of Independence." That the Committee has highlighted this observation in its website is indicative of its own mindset.

That's not all. In asking the Army to provide Muslim data, the Committee wanted confirmation of charges levelled by one Omar Khalidi about anti-Muslim measures by the Army stretching back to the anti-Razakar operations in Hyderabad, 1948.

In an interview to Radiance, the Jamaat-e-Islami weekly, Khalidi gave a taste of his agenda. "We need Muslim-majority districts for three reasons. First, concentrated areas provide security. Second, they provide an environment that is conducive to our cultural independence. Third, they provide a political base through which our people can be elected." He suggested a Deccan province by merging Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Gulbarga districts, an Urdu-speaking State covering Kishanganj, Katihar and Purnea districts in Bihar. "There are regions in Bengal and UP where Muslims can be in majority. Though a large number of Muslims would still be left out, having these strongholds is important for their future."

It was the authority of such a man that was cited to pressure the armed forces into divulging data that would have been used to destroy their non-sectarian character. The implications are ominous. Under the cloak of promoting Muslim welfare, the Prime Minister is allowing his authority to be used to further an explicitly separatist agenda.

Can you imagine the jubilation in ISI headquarters if the Indian armed forces are compartmentalised along communal lines? Surely, there are some limits to craven secular cringe? Is nothing Indian sacred?