Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Thursday, January 02, 1997
The Editor, The Pioneer, New Delhi
This refers to your editorial ‘Malignant myopia’ (The Pioneer, ?/12). All reservations have their justification in the discrimination that any certain group faced in the past and due to that discrimination, they having suffered denial of their rights and consequent deprivation in political, social, economic, educational opportunity, reservation is considered as a remedial measure to compensate that victimised group and give them the opportunity recoup its position vis-à-vis others in the society. If the discrimination is on the basis of caste, then reservation is on the basis of caste. In the case of Muslims, this discrimination had been on the basis of religion. It then stands to reason, that any reservation for them has to be on the basis of religion. There is no compromise on state secularism involved. Your editorial, therefore tantamounts to an emotional outburst and a knee-jerk reaction to the PM’s announcement about reservations for Muslims among others. There is a limit to the persecution of 150 million Muslims on trumped up accusations of historical wrongs. No present day Muslim can be blamed for the partition, Mughal excesses or other imaginary slight to 6 percent upper-caste Varnas who feel they are the Chosen and therefore have to rule other lesser children of God. This charade has to stop.
#180
The Editor, The Pioneer, New Delhi
This refers to your editorial ‘Malignant myopia’ (The Pioneer, ?/12). All reservations have their justification in the discrimination that any certain group faced in the past and due to that discrimination, they having suffered denial of their rights and consequent deprivation in political, social, economic, educational opportunity, reservation is considered as a remedial measure to compensate that victimised group and give them the opportunity recoup its position vis-à-vis others in the society. If the discrimination is on the basis of caste, then reservation is on the basis of caste. In the case of Muslims, this discrimination had been on the basis of religion. It then stands to reason, that any reservation for them has to be on the basis of religion. There is no compromise on state secularism involved. Your editorial, therefore tantamounts to an emotional outburst and a knee-jerk reaction to the PM’s announcement about reservations for Muslims among others. There is a limit to the persecution of 150 million Muslims on trumped up accusations of historical wrongs. No present day Muslim can be blamed for the partition, Mughal excesses or other imaginary slight to 6 percent upper-caste Varnas who feel they are the Chosen and therefore have to rule other lesser children of God. This charade has to stop.
#180
