Left hums saffron tunes on Muslims

NEW DELHI: Muslims own marginally more land than Hindus in Rajasthan and Gujarat — the Sachar Committee skipped this, but the CPM revealed it while trying to dodge the panel’s findings on the status of the minority community in West Bengal.

Claiming that Muslims have been beneficiaries of land reforms in the Left Front-ruled state, the CPM said the gap between average landholdings of Hindus and Muslims was among the lowest in West Bengal.

According to a table published in a recent issue of the CPM mouthpiece ‘People’s Democracy’, the average size of landholdings is 3.33 hectares for Muslims in Rajasthan against 2.73 hectares for Hindus in the state, while in Gujarat it is 1.46 hectares against 1.41 hectares, respectively.
In West Bengal, Muslims own 0.30 ha against 0.46 ha for Hindus. In Kerala, Muslims and Hindus own almost the same amount of land, while in Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the gap between the average size of landholdings of the two communities is very small.

In Jammu & Kashmir, which has the highest percentage of Muslims in the country, the average landholding of the community is just 0.59 hectares in comparison to 1.52 hectares held by Hindus. The gap is also high in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

“Redistribution of ceiling surplus has not only reduced asset inequalities in the rural areas, it has also reduced the gap between the Hindus and the Muslims, as far as land ownership is concerned. The gap between the average landholding of Hindus and Muslims is among the lowest in West Bengal among all Indian states. Unfortunately, this crucial aspect of socio-economic development has not been considered by the Sachar Committee,” the article by Moinul Hassan read.

In its efforts to counter the attack on the status of Muslims in the state following the findings of the Sachar Committee, the CPM has blamed the situation on history — colonial legacy, partition and immigration.

The Sachar Committee report on the education and socio-economic status of Muslims said that in West Bengal, along with Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Assam the situation is “particularly grave”.

West Bengal, which has a 25.2% Muslim population, figures among states that fall at the bottom of the ladder in Muslim employment. The share of Muslims in government jobs is 4.2% against a population of 25.2% in the state, expenditure by Muslims is less than that of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, Muslims in judicial services in the state is merely 5% and there are no Muslims in higher positions in state public sector undertaking units.

The CPM, which came out with its wish list for “positive affirmative action” from the UPA government, has demanded 15% of all government plan expenditures earmarked for improving the welfare of minorities.

West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has raised the issue with the Planning Commission during discussions on the 11th Plan. At the state level, the state government has formally decided through a cabinet resolution to formulate and implement such a sub-plan.