Indian Muslims do not have an economic agenda

Navaid Hamid is the young face of Muslim leadership in India. In his mid forties Hamid is the general secretary of Movement for Empowerment of Muslim India, secretary, Muslim Majlis Mushawarat and a member of National Committee for Monitoring Minorities Education besides being the member of a host of other organizations. He has organized several important programmes including a very important one of managers of Muslim managed educational institutions from across the country. Early this year he organized another programme of Muslim NGOs active across the country in different fields. Khabrein.info editor Syed Ubaidur Rahman talked to him on a host of issues. Excerpts:
You have organized several successful programmes for community in different fields. Are you organizing any similar programme in the near future?
I am trying to organize a programme of Muslim artisans from across the country. More than sixty percent Muslims across the country are attached to artisanship in different fields. If attention is not paid to them then Muslims will be at risk of losing the mainstay of their economic survival. They have already lost the edge they had due to the technical development in different fields. If attention is not paid now they may end up as laborers in those trades that they used to command or they will be forced to fight for jobs in other areas. Muslims being educationally backward, it will be harder for them to get a decent job. Muslim artisanship has already seen major decline in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and UP. In Rajasthan’s precious stone industry Muslim commanded around 70 percent share of the industry. Now despite advances and all round development in the said industry they don’t command more than 20 percent share in the precious stone industry.
Muslim artisans are unable to market their products effectively. Government has started several schemes for artisans and artisanship, but these schemes have failed to reach Muslim artisans. Muslims don’t have an economic agenda and so far have not given any attention to economic issues.
This programme will give them information about channelisation of financial resources, marketing avenues, e-marketing of their products and also give them information about government schemes that they can use.
Will you involve government organizations in the programme to give people better understanding of the issues you talked about?No. We would invite them to give feedbacks, but they would not be involved beyond that.
You have organized several useful programs in the past. Do you have a long term strategy or these programmes are an end in itself?
Definitely we have a long term goal and so we are regularly trying to bring together people from different fields on one platform. It brings people together. People who attended our programmes of managers of Muslim educational institutions are organizing similar programmes in different areas of the country.
You are part f recently launched Joint Committee of Muslim Organisations for empowerment. This forum is talking of reservation for Muslim community as a whole. Do you believe that Muslim community as a whole can be given reservation?
Yes. Certainly Muslims can get reservation as a community if economic backwardness is a yardstick. Sachar Committee report has made the community’s deprivation clear. It has clearly said that Muslims are the most backward religious group in the country. Mishra Commission report has demanded that Muslims should be given reservation as a community. It has asked 10 percent reservation for Muslims of the country in jobs and educations. I have been asking the government to give Muslims reservation for the last more than a decade. I was the one who organized first conference on the issue way back in 1994.
Would you oppose reservation if it comes only for a few backward castes within the Muslim community?
We would welcome it because it would be helpful to a certain section of the community. But we would continue fighting for reservation for the whole community.