Incredible Kashmir Visit: An Experience shared by Santhosh Prabhu

Incredible Kashmir Visit: An Experience shared by Santhosh Prabhu
Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Karnataka

An Experience shared by Santhosh Prabhu, Bangalore on his visit to Jammu-Kashmir recently.

Recently I visited Kashmir Valley and got the opportunity to spend time and interact with Kashmiris   staying in a remote village called Larnoo as well as few days in Srinagar city. It gave me a good insight into  the Kashmir imbroglio and  challenges that we as Indians have in front of us as a Nation which has its roots in plurality, diversity, democracy and mutual acceptance. My previous visit to Kashmir valley was in 2010, when the Separatist movement was at its peak with large scale violence, stone pelting, and firing happening almost every day in different parts of the Valley.  This time there was relative peace all over, though few days ago, 8 Army men were killed in an ambush by terrorists near Srinagar.

One of the main purpose of the visit was to attend my friend Sandeep Bhat’s wedding in Anantnag.  It was a great occasion meeting my friend after so many years. Sandeep Bhats family like hundreds of other Kashmiri Hindu families were forced to leave Kashmir Valley in 1989-1990, when separatists selectively targeted Kashmiri Hindus and created an atmosphere in which they had no option other than to leave the valley.  But still there are few Hindu families in Kashmir Valley who did not leave during that time. And Sandeeps wedding happening in Kashmir is a welcome sign and an indication that there is a strong urge in hundreds of Kashmiri Hindu families who are right now settled in Jammu and Delhi to return back to their homes in Kashmir Valley.  I was glad to attend the wedding and meet all his family members.

At around 5:30 in the evening, Mohammed Faizal, a School teacher, came to receive me in Anantnag. We both boarded a Sumo (the most used vehicle for public transport in Kashmir Valley) to Larnoo. Larnoo is a small village which is a one and half hour drive from Anantnag. The journey was very scenic and soothing with mountains, valleys, rivers, and streams on the way.  I then started thinking about the turbulence that Kashmir has been going through the past few decades. But I felt that all these beautiful mountains and rivers were in peace with itself, unaffected by any external disturbance created by human interference.  We reached Larnoo at around 7:30 and from there we had to go further up in the mountains to reach Lessoo. We reached the residence of Faizal at around 8 in the night.  After having some refreshing Kashmiri tea (majority of Kashmiris drink salty tea) and snacks, I sat informally with all the family members of Faizal.  There were 14 members who were staying in the house and were very glad to have me as their guest and every one of them made sure that I was feeling comfortable.   After an hour or so we had our dinner. Like majority of south India and states such as Orissa, Bengal, and Assam, rice is the staple food in Kashmir.  Chicken, Mutton, Paneer, Rajma are the major constituents of Kashmiri Cuisine.  After dinner I spent some time with Faizal and discussed about the present situation in Kashmir and went to bed since we both were tired after the journey.

After having out tea and Kashmiri rotis (made of corn) the next morning,   we went up to explore the mountains and valleys.  It was an amazing feeling to walk through the valleys, and Faizal told me that at the peak of militancy all those places used to be the hideouts of terrorists. The terrorists moved freely in those areas as was a sign of bravery to be a militant.  Faizal said his own uncle

had gone to Pakistan and  received training in a Terrorist training camp during the 90s.  While talking to Faizal, I felt a strong feeling of alienation exists amongst Kashmiri Muslims, they are really fed up of Militancy. Pro-Pakistan  and Separatist rhetoric have reached to a critical point where they feel that their future lies with India. Even the villagers say that in all these 23 years we have lost everything as part of these agitations for Azaadi and we have gained nothing. One generation has gone without proper education because of which now we are suffering. They feel left behind when they go to places such as Jammu and Delhi.  Many villagers also said that when their children go to other cities in India they are viewed with suspicion. School teachers feel they don’t even have access to information about the options that they have for higher education.  While talking to them, it became clear to me that because of the misinformation campaign and lack of exposure to other cultures, there are a lot of stereotypes and bias against India and Hindus.  Before I stayed and ate with them, they felt that as a Hindu it was not possible for me to do these things.

When we reached the top of the mountain, we had our tea which we had carried in a flask. There was no need to carry water bottles since there were several streams flowing through the mountain. Faizal told me that the name Anantnag has its origin from ’spring’. “Nag” in Kashmiri means ’spring’ and so Anantnag is “Endless Springs”.  After spending some time in the mountains during the day in the evening we went to the banks of the river Brangi.  It was serene, calm and peaceful.  Faizals friend Zahoor also joined us and while walking we met 8-10 villagers who invited us for tea when they realized that I am Faizals guest.  Kashmiri is the local language and not everyone speaks Hindi. Kashmiri is written in Arabic script, though I was told that there is an effort going on to re-embrace the original Kashmiri script.  I also realized that many Kashmiri Muslims are also proud of their Hindu ancestry and personalities such as King Lalitaditya and Avantiverman, who ruled Kashmir, and historians such as Kalhana the author of “Rajatarangini” written in the 12th Century which gives a historical chronicle of Kashmir.  Though I could see strong strains of Islamic fundamentalism in the youth, a sense of openness and eagerness for more exposure also existed.  For instance, Faizal did not have any problem in me doing Surya Namaskar and Yogasan beside him while he did Namaaz;he also learnt few aasanas and pranayam from me later.  In the villages, I found majority of women wearing traditional Kashmiri dress without burqa.  We returned home in the night, after having dinner and an hour long chit-chat with other members of the family, and I went to bed.

The next morning  Faisal and I visited Martand, a place near Anantnag where an ancient sun temple is situated.  We reached Anantnag town at around 10 in the morning and took a bus to Mattan (the ancient name is Martand) and reached the Martand temple at around 11. The ancient Sun temple of Martand was built by King Lalitaditya in 500 AD. This temple was destroyed by the Islamic invader Sikander Butshikan and it is said that it took one whole year for him to destroy this temple completely. There is also a Gurudwara adjacent  to the mandir and it is believed that Guru Nanak Dev had visited that site when he was returning from Tibet. Since that particular day was the birthday of Guru Hargobind, 6th Guru of Sikhs, there was a procession where hundreds of Sikhs were present. There is a spring nearby where water flows continuously to the pond in front of the Mandir, in the middle of which is a Shiv ling. After having darshan and spending some time in Mattan,  we went to Nagdandi, another small town near Anantnag where there is an Ashram run by Vivekananda Kendra. I had visited this Ashram three years ago and I wanted to meet the Swamiji over there as he is not keeping well health wise.  After meeting Swamiji, we had our lunch over there and spent some time in the Ashram. Several Kashmiri Hindu families have very strong ties with this Ashram, and during festivals and special occasions,  hundreds of people come and stay over here. Swamiji of this Ashram has also developed good relationships with all the Muslim families of the Village. During my previous visit it was Nag Panchami  day and there was Hawan, Pooja which was also attended by hundreds of Muslims of the locality. In this Ashram, there is a small temple dedicated to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa at the foot of wooded hills and Samadhi of Swami Ashokananda  (A Yogi who lived in this area 40 years ago) is also within the precincts of the Ashram.

We returned to Larnoo by 4 in the evening that day, and rest of the day I tried to capture the beauty of the village, mountains, and rivers in my camera.  Also while talking to local Kashmiri youth and elders about the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, it became clear to me that they sincerely believe the Separatist propaganda that the then Governor Jagmohan who asked Kashmiri Hindus to stay away from the Kashmir Valley, so that he can wipe out Kashmiri Muslims without any difficulty. We all now know that there was no element of truth in that statement. But when I asked them whether they would like to see Kashmiri Hindus back in Kashmir, they all replied in affirmative.

 The next day morning I started for Srinagar from Larnoo and reached Srinagar at around 2 in the afternoon. Shri  B.L. Khan and his son Zaheer had come to receive me at Lal Chowk.  Lal Chowk is the place where separatists hold their anti-India and pro-Pakistan rally every year when they try to show their strength hoisting Pakistani flag and burning Indian tri color. This is the same place where Murali Manohar Joshi of BJP had hoisted the tricolor in 1992.  We reached B.L. Khan’s home at around 3.  B.L. Khan is a well known and influential person in Srinagar, who was working previously in Civil Secretariat and was also actively involved in Trade Union. A staunch nationalist, B.L. Khan has always been a strong proponent of complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.  It was a great experience listening to B.L. Khan who is born and brought up in Srinagar and has witnessed all the major events in Kashmir firsthand . Khan explained to me how vested interests, including international forces, are working in Kashmir, and want to keep this issue alive for their own benefits.  He further added that all the main stream political parties in Kashmir like National Conference,  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress are working as semi-separatists trying their best to keep Kashmir burning and doing nothing towards integration of Kashmir with the rest of India.  Khan also talked about his past background when he used to work for the Communist Party and the reason for which he left Communism. He told me that in the early 90s a meeting was convened by the Communist Party, presided by Comrade Surjeet, which primarily focused on Kashmiri Muslims. In that meeting, Surjeet asked all Kashmiri Muslims to join hands with Militants and reiterated  that the Communist Party stands for Self Determination of Jammu and Kashmir.  Hearing this  B.L. Khan got agitated and walked out from the meeting. After that incident, I came to know about the true colors of Communists, Khan added. That day I took some rest as I had sprained my leg the previous day. I also spent some time talking with Zaheer, who has just completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Kashmir University. Zaheer shared his experience in the University where classes getting suspended is  a usual norm because of the whole unrest and how education of thousands of Kashmiris is getting affected.  University students are also lost because of lack of exposure and employment as there are hardly any companies in Kashmir Valley who can offer jobs to graduates.  Because of all these factors, there is high level of frustration amongst youth. After having lengthy discussions on this topic with Zaheer, I went to bed that day night as my leg was still paining because of the sprain.

 After breakfast the next morning, Zaheer and I went to Karan Nagar in Srinagar where Ramkrishna Mission Ashram is located.  I had emailed Swami ji  who is in charge of the Ashram,  and had requested for his time. Swamiji was very happy to receive us, and when I introduced myself and Zaheer, he was pleasantly surprised and puzzled on how come a Sangh Pracharak has come along with a Muslim youth, that too in Kashmir Valley. Swami ji is native of Kerala, and is stationed in Srinagar center since last 5 years. He explained about the Dispensary and Coaching classes run by the Mission for the local people there.  I also updated Swamiji about our Sangh activity, which is happening all over the country including Jammu and Kashmir.  After having tea and spending some time with Swamiji,  we returned back home.  On our way back Zaheer took me to Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area in Srinagar, where Mirwaiz Umar Farooq , Leader of Hurriyat Conference (M) gives his sermons every week after Friday prayers.

 In the afternoon B. L. Khan, Zaheer and I went to have darshan at Mata Kheer Bhavani temple in Tula Mula, 25 kms north of Srinagar in Ganderbal District. Kheer Bhavani Mandir is a very important holy site for Kashmiri Hindus. It is called as  Ksheer (which means milk) or Kheer Bhawani because thousands of devotees who come there offer milk and kheer (rice pudding)  to the sacred spring on which the deity is worshipped.  The legend associated with the temple goes that Lord Rama worshipped Ragnya Devi during his exile. After the exile period, Rama asked Hanuman to shift the seat of goddess . The seat of the goddess was brought by  Hanuman first to Shadipora and later to the site where the temple is situated today.  It is believed that it was the wish of mother Ragnya that her seat be placed in Kheer Bhavani Mandir in Kashmir.  Another interesting thing I came to know was it is said that color of the spring goes on changing and if it becomes black, it is an indication of inauspicious time for Kashmir.

 After having darshan at Kheer Bhavani, , we also visited Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar city which is the holiest Muslim shrine in Kashmir.  It contains a relic which is believed by Muslims in Kashmir as hair of Mohammed, founder of Islam.  This is the same masjid where terrorists were hiding in 1993, making it as their base.  The Army cordoned off the whole area, but unfortunately all the terrorists who were hiding inside were given free passage by Congress Party led  Central Government at that time.  In the evening while having our tea, I asked B.L. Khan about the alleged Human Rights violations and excesses in Kashmir by Indian Armed forces.  His replied back saying that such cases happen very rarely, but it is reported out of proportion and is used as a propaganda material by Separatists. He also added that when terrorists in civilian dress attack armed forces,  public property, and plant bombs, strong action is required by the Army so that the situation is under control.  That evening Zaheer and I went on his motor bike to enjoy the beauty of Srinagar City and Dal lake in the night.  Shankaracharya mandir was standing majestically on the top of the hill, as if it was conveying a message of cultural unity of whole of India from Kerala to Kashmir, which is challenged by the  terrorist and separatist forces.  After enjoying the night ride we returned back home by 10.

 The next morning we went to Dal lake to meet Sangh Karyakartas from Punjab who had come to Kashmir for sightseeing. After spending some time with them, we met Jayesh Kapoor, who owns a Cloth store in Srinagar. Jayesh  is Swayamsevak from Punjab and was really glad to see us. In the afternoon I spent time with B.L. Khan.  Spending time with Khan was indeed an enriching experience for me as many of my questions and doubts about Kashmir got cleared, and I also got a nationalist perspective of things happening in Kashmir. After bidding good bye to Khan, I went to Rajesh Kouls home.  Rajesh, a Kashmiri Hindu from Shopian, is working in Civil Secretariat in Srinagar. Rajesh’s  family had to move out of Kashmir Valley in the early 90s during the rise of Militancy and they are settled in Jammu now.  Rajesh narrated his experiences in Kashmir on his perspective on how the Kashmir issue can be addressed. One incident he mentioned, was last year as he was returning from Anantnag to Kashmir along with his wife and daughter. There was a shutdown call that day by Separatists and on the way, his car was stopped by a mob. As they forced him to say slogans such as ” Naree Taqbir- Allaho Akbar” and ” hum kya chahte hain, azaadi”   the tension was building up.His wife and daughter asked him to say the slogan, but he refused. But somehow he was allowed to go, though his windows got damaged as they threw stones at the car.

The next day morning was my flight from Srinagar.  The previous day night, I was contemplating on my experience that I had in Kashmir,  and I felt that one possible solution to this problem is people through people interaction and relationship. If Kashmiris get more and more exposure with the rest of India, like having education in other cities and meeting people of different backgrounds, this can widen their horizons and remove the negative notions and biases that they have about the rest of India and Indians. At the same time, people of rest of India also have a big role to play such as finding ways to build relationships with families in Kashmir and  spending time interacting and living together, instead of just visiting as tourists.  Unfortunately mainstream political parties are not doing this and in addition to that they are adding fuel to the fire.  Similarly our Armed forces  have a role to play, and they are doing an exemplary job by maintaining peace and countering terrorism in the Valley. But this person-to-person interaction, I feel, can address the issue of separatism, alienation as well as strengthen the nationalist forces in the Kashmir valley which will help in the complete integration of whole of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India.

Here I remember the quote of Ronald Reagan  ”I’ve always believed that a lot of troubles in the world would disappear if we were talking to each other instead of about each other .”  Many NGOs like Sewa Bharati, Ekal Viyalaya, Ramkrishna Mission, Vivekananda Kendra are doing an excellent work in Jammu and Kashmir by carrying out service activities and running schools serving the people of the State and it became very clear from my experience that Majority of people in Majority areas of Jammu and Kashmir are strongly with India, and the question is about that part of Jammu and Kashmir which is under  the illegal occupation of Pakistan ( Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzzafarabad) and China ( Aksai Chin ).  Also it is a fact that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir became an integral part of India, when Raja Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession on October 26th, 1947 and India as a nation has the strength to defeat the nefarious designs of Pakistan and Separatist forces.

Divisive communal votebank politics of CONgress

Chasing that bank of votes again
By Arun Shourie, Indian Express

13 May 2004: The Congress Government with Y S Reddy as Chief Minister is sworn-in as the new Government of Andhra Pradesh.

2 June 2004: The Chief Secretary holds a meeting. Secretaries of various departments attend. The Chief Secretary announces that the Government has decided to provide reservations for Muslims.

4 June 2004: So as to include them in the list of Other Backward Classes and thereby give them reservations in educational institutions and public employment under Articles 15(4) and 16(4), the Andhra Government issues an order directing a department of its own, the Commissionerate of Minority Welfare to submit a report recording the social, economic and educational backwardness of Muslims.

5 July 2004: The Commissionerate duly submits the report that the Government has asked for. It recommends that Muslims be given 5 per cent reservations in both educational institutions and public employment.

7 July 2004: The Government issues an order—5 per cent reservations are granted to the Muslim community.

The Government’s order is challenged in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The challenge is heard by a Bench of five judges. The Court strikes down the Government Order as wholly unconstitutional. The Court comes to this conclusion on several grounds.

Before a group can be accorded reservations in educational institutions under Article 15, it has to be established that the group is ‘socially and educationally backward.’ And before the group can be granted reservations in public employment under Article 16(4), the authorities have to establish both — that the group is ‘backward’ and that it is inadequately represented in governmental employment. The Government has decreed reservations for the entire Muslim community, but the Muslims are not a homogenous group: there are caste-like stratifications among them, the High Court noted, observing:

Non-Hindu religions like Islam, Christianity, and Sikh, do not recognize caste as such, but the existence of caste like social stratification among the Muslims is well recognized that in spite of egalitarian philosophy of Islam, which opposes all kinds of discriminations, almost all types of caste groups have emerged in the Muslims. The Muslims have developed different caste-groups at different places, but they call themselves as Jamat or Biradari and do not use the term Jat or caste e.g. Nadaf or Mansoori Jamat or Biradari, but in actual practice, they possess practically all the traits of caste structure such as endogamy, stratification, occupational monopoly, dress-code and their own different Mosques.’

Therefore, there can be a case for identifying specific groups from among the Muslims as being backward and thereby according reservations for them, the High Court said. But what has the Government and its Commissionerate done? This is how the High Court sets out what it finds:

The process of identification of Muslims as a group as socially backward by the Commissionerate of Minorities Welfare is totally vitiated since it did not determine any specific criteria for the purposes of identifying the Backward Classes and applied the same in order to find out as to whether the Muslims qualify to categorise them as socially backward and as well as backward for the purposes of Articles 15(4) and 16(4). The Commissionerate acted in undue haste. The Commissionerate failed to undertake any serious investigation and enquiry as is required before identifying the Muslim Community as a socially Backward Class. In the absence of laying down the criteria for ascertaining the backwardness, the entire report is to be treated as an exercise in futility. The approach adopted by the authority is improper and invalid. In the absence of any such finding as to the social backwardness, the Muslims cannot be classified as Backward Classes either for the purposes of Article 15(4) or Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India.

When, in the face of differentia within a religious community, the required investigation is not undertaken, and the entire community is proclaimed to be backward and reservations are decreed for that religious community, two fatal consequences follow:

* Unequals — the socially, educationally and economically advanced sections among Muslims, and those among them who are backward — get treated as equals. And equals—say, the advanced sections among non-Muslims and those among Muslims — get treated unequally: the advanced among non-Muslims do not get reservations and those among Muslims do. This strikes at the very root of the fundamental principle enshrined in Articles 14, 15(1) and 16(1), the principle of equality which, the Supreme Court has held times without number, is an essential ingredient of the Basic Structure of the Constitution.

* As no effort has been made to take account of differentiations within the Muslim community and as reservations have been made available to the entire community as such, the decision — of giving reservations to an entire religious community when in fact there is inequality between groups of adherents — is clearly based on religion per se, and this is expressly prohibited by the Constitution under Articles 15(1) and 16(2).

To not exclude the better off in a religious group, the ‘creamy layer’ as the Supreme Court had characterized them in Indra Sawhney, has the same effect that not doing so has in the case of a caste, and, in the light of judgments of the Supreme Court, is ‘totally illegal’, the High Court observes. ‘Such an illegality offending the root of the Constitution cannot be allowed to be perpetuated even by constitutional amendment.’

Next, under the A.P. Commission for Backward Classes Act, which has been on the statute book since 1993, the Government can add a group to or take away a group from the list of Backward Classes only after the case for doing so has been examined by the state’s Backward Classes Commission constituted under that Act. It turned out that the state had not sought the advice of the Commission at all in regard to the backwardness or otherwise of Muslims. Nor had the Commission examined the matter at all. Two earlier Commissions—the Anantaraman Commission and the Murlidhara Rao Commission—had examined the issue, and had come to the conclusion that as a class, Muslims are not socially and educationally backward, and that, except for a few sects, the other sects of Muslims enjoy equal status with followers of other religions. Those few sects that did suffer from social and educational backwardness—Dudekula, Mehtar, etc.—the Commissions had said should be included in the list of Backward Classes, and given reservations. This had been done.

The decision of the Government is ‘entirely based’ on the report of its own department, the Commissionerate, the High Court noted. And what kind of a report had this Commissionerate produced? This what the High Court found on examination:

* ‘The report on hand, to say the least, is somewhat peculiar . . . The Commissionerate report does not contain the details of any investigation or enquiry as regards the social backwardness of Muslim Community,’ the High Court noted. ‘There is no finding recorded by the Commissionerate as to the social backwardness of the community.’

* ‘The report, in our considered opinion,’ the High Court held, ‘is vitiated for the reason of not taking relevant factors into consideration. It is also vitiated for the reason of non-application of mind. This Court cannot help but observe that the Commissionerate acted in undue haste in submitting the report. The Commissionerate failed to realise the complex nature of investigation and enquiry that was required to be made. No scientific or reasoned investigation or enquiry has been made. In the absence of laying down the criteria for ascertaining the backwardness, the entire report is to be treated as an exercise in futility. The approach adopted by the authority is improper and invalid.’

The Government, as we just noted, was also duty-bound under Article 16(4) to determine that the Muslims as a community are inadequately represented in governmental services. This fact also cannot be ascertained mechanically for the expression that has been used in Article 16 is not ‘proportional representation’ but ‘inadequate representation’. Hence, one cannot just look up the proportion that a group forms of the total population and compare that with the proportion of posts that its members have in governmental services. On this aspect also, the High Court concluded, the Government had been totally remiss in what it was required to do by the Constitution and the relevant judgments of the Supreme Court:

* ‘In the instant case, there is no material that was available with the Government to form its opinion, which may be a purely subjective process to arrive at any conclusion that the Muslim Community is not adequately represented in the services of the State. The data collected from Kurnool District [just one of 23 districts in the state] and incorporated in the report in no manner reveals inadequate representation of Muslim Community in the services of the state. There were no material and circumstances on which the Government could have formed the opinion as to the adequacy of representation of Muslim Community in the services of the state. In fact, the impugned G.O. [Government Order] does not reflect any formation of opinion as to the adequacy of representation. The G.O., is therefore, vitiated on the ground of non-application of mind.’

Finally, the High Court noted that reservations under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) in Andhra already totaled 46 per cent. With another 5 per cent now being reserved for Muslims, the ceiling of 50 per cent was being breached. The state has not been able to explain the compelling reasons on account of which this ceiling should be allowed to be breached, the High Court concluded.

The response

As resounding a slap on the face of the Government as one could imagine. And how did the Government respond? It was headed by a committed secularist, remember, by a Chief Minister who was even then known as a go-getter—a reputation that would get reinforced in more ways than one in the ensuing years.

The High Court had given its judgment in Muralidhar Rao on 21 September 2004. On 18 November 2004, the Government wrote to the Andhra Pradesh Backward Classes Commission to examine the question of the backwardness of the Muslim community for assessing their eligibility for being given reservations in educational institutions and public employment. The Commission gave its report—we shall soon learn what kind of a report this was—on 14 June 2005. Within the week, on 20 June 2005, the Congress Government issued an Ordinance—again reserving 5 per cent seats in educational institutions and governmental jobs for Muslims.

The Ordinance was challenged in the Andhra High Court. When the judges gathered in Court to deliver their judgment, they were told that the Ordinance on which they had been hearing arguments and on which they were about to pronounce judgment had lapsed. It had been replaced by an Act. The Court saw that there was no material change in the provisions, and merely noted in its judgment that wherever the word ‘Ordinance’ occurs, it shall be taken to refer to the Act. Delivered by a five judge Bench, the second judgment of the High Court—in B. Archana Reddy v State of Andhra Pradesh—was an even tighter slap than the first one. The Ordinance/Act was struck down as unconstitutional and violative of Articles 15(4) and 16(4), the two Articles under which it had ostensibly made the reservations.

An even tighter slap

The first feature that made the Ordinance and the Act wholly unconstitutional was precisely the one that had made them so attractive to a Government so eager to pander to a vote-bank—the boon that it was conferring was based wholly and solely on religion! From the title of the Act—A.P. Reservation of Seats in the Educational Institutions and of Appointments or posts in the Public Services under the State to Muslim Community Act, 2005—to its Preamble, down to individual provisions, every bit of the text was designed to leave no doubt that it was intended for giving reservations to the Muslims as a religious community solely because it was the Muslim community. The classification of those who would get the reservations that were being provided and those who would not was based only on religion—something that is explicitly prohibited by Articles 14, 15(1), 15(2), as well as 16(1) and 16(2).

In any event, this single feature—of basing the discrimination, in this case between Muslims and non-Muslims, only on the ground of religion—was the one on which the High Court judges came down first.

The Ordinance is ‘religion specific’, the judges noted. It ‘imposes illegitimate, discriminatory and grossly burdensome impact on citizens, on those belonging to the existing notified Backward Classes and on those who are not members of Backward Classes, as well,’ they noted. ‘The inference is therefore compelling that the entirety of the state action manifested in the provisions of the Ordinance, is a crude camouflage to shield what is clearly a naked and exclusively religion based programme of reservation in educational institutions and public employment,’ they observed. The classification—of those who will get reservations and those who would not—is based exclusively on religion, they held.

In this round, the Government had indeed referred the question to the Backward Classes Commission for examination. But the Commission had just done a pro forma job. The Commission’s report ought to have been of the standard of a commanding performance, the Court observed quoting the petitioners with approval, rather than a performance on command. This was made manifest by several facts.

The Commission had not published in advance the criteria on which it would be assessing backwardness—this alone would have given those who had objections or suggestions a chance to assist the Commission with their views. ‘The prior non-publication of criteria and data collected by the B.C. Commission renders the report of the B.C. Commission illegal and contrary to provisions of B.C. Commission Act and principles of fairness.’

In fact, whereas ‘an expert body like the Backward Classes Commission has to necessarily evolve absolutely relevant criteria for the purpose of caste test, occupation test and means test,’ in the case at hand, ‘the B.C. Commission did not evolve any criteria for identifying social backwardness and did not apply the three tests in a scientific and objective manner.’

And such criteria as it used, and such data-gathering as it did were inappropriate and worse. So that it may determine whether a group is eligible for reservations, the Commission had to identify those groups among Muslims who were socially, educationally and economically backward—only such groups can be given benefit of reservations. As had been the case with the Commissionerate in the first round, in this round the Backward Classes Commission too had ‘totally ignored the existence of castes and communities and proceeded as if the entire Muslim community is a homogenous group without any visible divisions among the community. The entire approach therefore suffers from a fundamental flaw.’ Treating Muslims of Andhra as a homogenous group thereby papering over the internal differentia among them, ‘constitutes a fatal flaw in the conceptual foundation, adopted methodology and social survey of the Commission’s exercise and introduces an irremediable infirmity to its conclusions and recommendations.’

And the Court gave a telling analogy to pronounce what the Commission had done as ‘grotesque and unconstitutional’. It noted,

‘Classes of Muslims already recognized and identified as backward classes constitute a dissimilar and distinct class from those Muslims who have not been so identified. Conceptually treating such dissimilar classes as one violates the established principle of classification, a doctrine underwriting the equality injunctions mandated by Articles 14-16 of Constitution. The equivalence of the Commission's endeavour and exercise, in the Hindu context, would be to take the entire Hindu collectivity including the several castes, groups and classes including the notified Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes, and including the indisputable forward castes among the Hindus, like say the Brahmins, proceeding to survey, collect data, apply the criteria to such data and thereafter characterize the entire Hindu population including Brahmins as a backward class. Such an exercise would compellingly require to be characterized as grotesque and unconstitutional. This is what the exercise of the Commission is, but for the difference that the Commission's exercise involved the entirety of the Muslim collective.’

The consequence is fatal, the High Court noted: ‘In treating the identified Backward Classes of Muslims in the State of Andhra Pradesh and the other Muslims as an integral homogeneous social class, as the basis for its entire exercise, the Commission was led into a fatal error from which there is no redemption. As a consequence its exercise is rendered an exercise in futility. For this error its report including the Recommendations therein must perish as must the Ordinance based exclusively on the Recommendations of the Commission.’

Several of the so-called criteria that the Commission had deployed—occupation, extent of poverty, access to medical services, low life expectancy, etc.—the High Court held, were neither germane to nor peculiar to the Muslims. Nor had the Commission made any effort to establish any causal relationship between these traits and belief in Islam or of belonging to the Muslim community. As such, the criteria that the Commission had used were ‘defective, unscientific, unreasonable and absurd.’

In regard to several other indices and data that the Commission had brandished, examination showed that its conclusions in instance after instance were ‘based on no relevant evidence or material,’ that for them ‘there is neither data nor details of the survey, incorporated on record,’ that ‘the Commission had no basis, in concept or fact to support the conclusion that Muslims are socially backward,’ that ‘the Commission’s conclusions based on a composition of erroneous assumptions, are therefore unsustainable...’

The Commission had not just pronounced all Muslims of Andhra to be backward, it had also declared that none of the existing backward classes have attained levels of advancement that warrant any revision of the existing reservations—this it had done manifestly so as to make out the case for exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling. ‘This conclusion,’ the Court said of this business of no backward group having advanced, is ‘extravagant and unfounded,’ it is based on no reference, no evidence, is perverse, invalid and is accordingly declared.

In fact, the situation had been worse. Far from identifying and differentiating those groups among Muslims in Andhra who really were backward, in the reliance it placed on some data, the Commission had not even differentiated Muslims in Andhra from Muslims in the rest of the country! For instance, to show that a proportion of Muslims in Andhra were unemployed, the Commission had deployed what turned out to be aggregate National Sample Survey data for the country as a whole!

And in other instances, the Commission had deliberately shut its eyes to data that could be seen from a mile to be intrinsic to the question it was examining. To show that Muslims as a whole were educationally backward, it had used data regarding enrollment in only the general educational institutions—it had totally shut out data about students enrolled in minority institutions, when these are legion in the state!

‘From the text and texture of the report of the Commission,’ the High Court was compelled to conclude, ‘it is apparent that the Commission considered that it had to record a conclusion regardless of whether time and organizational constraints permit a degree of exercise relevant to the goal obligated by the Constitution and the provisions of the 1993 Act.’

Such was the ‘performance on command’ that the backward Classes Commission of the state had turned in—and the state had justified its decision solely by the report of this Commission. But, the Court noted, the Government had gone one better!

While the Commission recommended 5% of reservation to all Muslims including those distinct classes/ groups of Muslims already included as Backward Classes (Laddaf, Dudekula etc), the Ordinance provided 5% reservation only in favour of Muslims excluding those already included in the list of Backward Classes. The existing Groups of Backward Classes A, B, C and D remain undisturbed.

As a result, Muslims would get reservations for more than the 5 per cent that the Ordinance/Act had provided!!

For these, and other reasons of the kind we encountered in the case of the first round, the 5-judge Bench of the High Court struck down the Ordinance/Act as wholly violative of the Constitution and wholly contrary to what the Supreme Court had laid down in its decisions.

The High Court handed down this stinging rebuke on 7 November 2005. The Government requested that it be given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. Leave was granted.

That leave petition remains pending to this day. But how could that mere fact come in the way of that go-getter’s Government?

The third slap

17 April 2007: The Andhra Government asked the Backward Classes Commission to do the exercise again, and, this time, identify the socially and educationally backward groups among Muslims. Incidentally, in making that request the Government quoted the wrong section of the relevant Act!

18 May 2007: Even as the Commission was ostensibly carrying out the exercise, the Government appointed a retired IAS officer, P.S. Krishnan as Advisor and asked him to identify the backwards among Muslims.

11 June 2007: A month had not passed, and Krishnan submitted his report to the Government.

11 June 2007: The same day, the Government sent Krishnan’s report to the Backward Classes Commission.

23 to 26 June 2007: The Commission declared that it would conduct its own state-wide survey during these—all of three—days. Even on its own telling, this state-wide survey was to be done in—the easily accessible areas, chiefly towns—of just six of the state’s 23 districts.

29 June 2007: The Commission completed ‘the collection of the data, compilation of the survey material and discussion on the collected material.’

2 July 2007: That is, within two days of completing the collection, compilation and discussion of the data, the Commission handed its 204-page report to the Government!

6 July 2007: The Government issued an Ordinance—once again decreeing 5 per cent reservations for Muslims in educational institutions and in government services.

13 August 2007: The Andhra legislature passed the corresponding Act—The Andhra Pradesh Reservation in favour of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Muslims Act, 2007.

There was one manifest improvement! While the title of the 2005 Act had stated that the reservations were being made for the ‘Muslim Community,’ the 2007 Act maintained these were for ‘Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Muslims’!

The Act was challenged in the High Court. The case was heard by a seven judge Bench. By a majority judgment, the Court struck down the Act as ‘unsustainable’. Apart from the other reasons which the Court set out in detail, and which traversed the grounds that we have already encountered, there were others. Among these was the basic one: the Act had proceeded to classify beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in an unconstitutional way—that is, on the basis of religion only. To take just two instances, examination showed that the identification of backward classes among Muslims was both irrational and unsustainable, and thereby ‘exclusively religion specific’; and, second, in a give-away, the Act had prescribed benefits for ‘other Muslim groups’.

Apart from the fact that the Act was unconstitutional for this basic reason, the High Court drew attention to another consequence of this religion-specific identification of beneficiaries. The point is best considered by reading what the Court itself said:

If a person, who is not a Muslim and who belongs to a forward caste embraces Islam, then the question would arise as to in which group he would fall. If he does not belong to any of the groups specifically narrated in the Schedule appended to the impugned Act, he would be included in ‘other Muslim groups’ i.e. he would be in Item No. 15; but as he would not be in groups which have already been referred to in Item No. 15 (i.e. the excluded communities), he would be a member of ‘other Muslim groups’ and would be eligible for the reservation provided he is not a member of a creamy layer. In such an event, in our opinion, anyone can avail of the benefit of reservation under the impugned Act and that would be against the spirit of secularism and in equal measure subversive of the purposes for which the 2007 Act has been enacted as well. This is a significant aspect which has not been considered at all while enacting the impugned Act and this would have disastrous consequences. Not only unscrupulous persons embracing Islam would get the benefit of reservations, but that would result in depletion of opportunities of enjoying reservations by those Muslim groups who are otherwise entitled to the benefit of reservation in pursuance of the impugned enactment.

The other reason on account of which the judgment declared the Act to be unsustainable was that it was based exclusively on the report of the Backward Classes Commission, and this report, it turned out, was even more of a farce than the previous so-called reports on which the Government had ostensibly based its largesse.

To begin with, even the Advocate General admitted that ‘in certain cases there was perhaps no justification for including certain Muslim groups in the list of Backward Classes, except for the reason that their Hindu counterparts were already included as SEBCs, and for this reason, the Commission, without any survey to ascertain their way of living, level of education and economic condition, had recommended certain groups to be included in the list of Backward Classes.’

And what of the cases in which the Commission had actually conducted a survey?

The Court found, to begin with, that in the overwhelming proportion of cases, the Commission had in fact not conducted any survey at all. It had just reproduced passages and narrative from the study by the Anthropological Survey of India and that report of P.S. Krishnan! And even in doing so, it had both mis-stated facts, and worse.

In regard to a group—‘Atchukatlavandlu (Muslims)’—the Commission stated that it had conducted a survey in Kadapa and Adilabad districts of the state. But the Anthropological Survey study on which it was relying contained no discussion about this group of Muslims! What the latter had described was the Hindu counterparts of this group!

In regard to another group—‘Faqir/Fhakir Budbudki’—the Commission had stated that they reside in certain areas, which it had listed, of the Rayalseema Region. But the staff of the Commission had conducted their survey of this group in the Telangana Region! And that survey, did not establish backwardness to boot.

As regards another group—‘Siddi’—the only justification that the Commission could come up with for their being included in the list of backwards was that a group with the same name in Gujarat was recognized as a Scheduled Tribe, and one in Karnataka of that same name had been included in that state’s list of backwards!

In regard to another group—‘Garadi’—the Commission had indeed conducted a survey. It had surveyed all of seven households comprising 40 persons in one district, Medak! And, surprise of surprises, ‘Of those who had been surveyed, 100 per cent of them had stated that they were not given any discriminatory treatment by the society and they were also not in their traditional occupation. Moreover, they had all submitted that they were treated as normal social beings by the other members of the society.’ ‘In spite of the above facts gathered by the Commission,’ the High Court observed, ‘it had recommended that “Garadi” community be treated as socially and educationally backward.’ ‘It is also pertinent to note,’ the High Court continued, ‘that the total population of the Garadi community was not known...’

In regard to the ‘Gosangi’ community which too the Commission had anointed as backward, ‘data from only one family had been gathered by the Commission in Nizamabad district...’

Similarly, the Commission had recommended the inclusion of ‘Chakketakare community’ among backwards on the strength of having surveyed six households comprising 29 persons in one district.

As for the ‘Guddi Eluguvallu’ whom also the Commission declared should be recognized as backward, ‘no survey whatsoever had been conducted and no data had been collected by the Commission.’

‘Likewise,’ the High Court noted in conclusion, ‘with regard to other communities also, we find that the Commission had not conducted the survey objectively to justify its recommendations.’ The Commission just could not have conducted a survey in the extremely short time between its being asked to examine the matter, and the date on which it submitted its report, the High Court noted. As already pointed out, the records of the Commission themselves showed that some of the so-called data had been gathered by it on 28 and 29 June 2007. And within two days the Commission had not just analyzed the data, and had discussions on it. The Commission had completed and submitted a written report covering 204 pages!

After a detailed analysis of the so-called survey that the Commission had claimed to have conducted, the judges concluded that the Commission had failed to evolve and spell out proper and relevant criteria for identifying those who were socially and educationally backward, and for those who were inadequately represented in public employment; that it had failed to obtain even the figures of total population of the groups it was ostensibly identifying; that it had failed to utilize any scientific and statistically rational method of sampling the groups—the size of the sample, the locations where it would be conducted, etc.; that it had failed to apply uniformly such criteria or even standards as it had alighted upon; and that, instead, it had relied on the study of the Anthropological Survey of India which ‘had no relevance or nexus with the affirmation action/reservation under Articles 15(4) and 16(4); that ‘no material’ had been placed before the Court to prove that the classifications on which the Act was based had any nexus with the policy and objectives that had to be achieved; that, in the absence of such material, the state Government ‘has utterly failed to discharge its onus of proof to establish that the reservations are for socially and educationally Backward Classes of citizens and that the enactment is based on sufficient material to support the classification . . .’ And hence that the investigation carried out by the Commission ‘is not sufficient, and the report submitted by it is not based on real facts, data or analysis and is without any proper survey...’, and, therefore, that the report should be held to be mechanical, and perfunctory in nature and to have been prepared without application of mind . . .

A portent

Incidentally, before we move on we have to note one feature of the judgments in this case as it presages what is to come. In a case such as this, they were bound to examine the basis on which the legislature and the Government had acted, the judges pointed out. They had to subject the provisions of the law and the basis on which benefits under it had been assigned to ‘rigorous’ or ‘strict’ scrutiny, they pointed out, citing a number of Supreme Court judgments and even weightier reasons. One judge demurred. Such scrutiny is not warranted, he maintained. When the legislature passes an Act, we must proceed on the presumption of constitutional validity of the enactment. The others pointed out that ‘All the judgments touching upon reservations consistently applied exacting scrutiny. In Indra Sawhney’s case... the Hon’ble Supreme Court analysed the Mandal Report minutely, which, in our view, exemplifies application of rigorous and exacting standard of scrutiny.’ They agreed that, yes, in the normal course, there should be a presumption of constitutionality, ‘However, such a presumption of constitutionality of a statute is not available if it can be shown that facially [sic.] the law or the surrounding circumstances on which the classification is based did not warrant such a classification and the statute made an invidious discrimination among citizens similarly situated . . .’ And when the constitutionality is challenged and a prima facie case is made out regarding the defectiveness of the statute, the burden of establishing constitutionality shifts to the state . . .

Both the fact that the classification in the Act was based on religion only, as well as the cavernous lacunae in the survey on which the list of backwards had been drawn up established the infirmity of the Act prima facie. But that judge’s response was astonishing.

As for the identification of groups being religion-specific—something that is expressly forbidden by the Constitution—the judge held, that is no flaw, in fact it is justice being done at last! Here is how he put his conclusion:

When the state of A.P., holds the view that coverage under Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution in respect of certain social groups among Muslims have [sic.] been missed until the impugned Act even while the same coverage in respect of other religious communities have [sic.] been in existence since long time, the Court cannot accept any challenge to the Act on the ground that it is religion-specific. On the contrary, the impugned Act is an act of delayed rectification of injustice done to them all along and extending justice to the now included social groups who have been identified not on the basis of their religion but on the parameters of social and educational backwardness...

And as for the gross infirmities in the ‘survey’, as for the Commission having relied—to the extent of having reproduced verbatim—reports that had no nexus with the question it had to examine and the identification it had to carry out, the judge was equally large-hearted! He declared,

Irrespective of any inadequacies or deficiencies in the APCBC [Andhra Pradesh Commission for Backward Classes] report and other materials

In the light of what we have seen were the facts regarding the report of the Commission and its ‘survey’, how tender are the words the judge had chosen, ‘inadequacies or deficiencies’!

once a legislation is enacted the judiciary has to take into account the principle of presumption of constitutional validity of any legislation under the Indian Constitution and set it aside only if there is anything in the legislation which strikes the conscience and strikes the eye as totally unreasonable. This is not the position in the present case.

If only such large-hearted judges were an exception.

The second, and even more ominous portent came from the way the matter moved in the Supreme Court itself.

The Andhra Pradesh Government had accepted the judgment of the High Court in the first round. In the second round, when the High Court struck the Ordinance and Act down as unconstitutional, it sought leave to appeal. As we noted above, the appeal was granted.

The Government went to the Supreme Court and asked that the judgment be reviewed and in the interim its operation be stayed. A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice, directed that, in view of the substantial questions of public importance that are involved, the matter be placed before a Constitution Bench. It turned down the Andhra Government's request to stay the operation of the judgment of the High Court. From the order of the Supreme Court, you will see the sort of specious arguments that are advanced.

The Government said, in effect, identification of social and educational backwardness is a precondition only when it comes to giving reservations in educational institutions under Article 15(4). Article 16(4) allows us to make reservations in public employment for classes that are not adequately represented. So, we should be allowed to proceed at least with the latter, and the High Court judgment should be stayed.

Of course, Article 16(4) lays down two conditions: not just that the classes for whom reservations are being made in government services are inadequately represented but also that they are `backward'. Hence, determination that the classes for whom reservations are being made are backward is as essential in the context of Article 16(4) as it is in regard to reservations being made under Article 15(4). The Supreme Court focused on another telling point. The Ordinance which was in question itself stated the objective for which the reservations were being made. In doing so it referred to “social, educational and economic backwardness” of the members of the Muslim community residing in Andhra. Hence, identification of the groups that are actually backward was of the very essence of the exercise in this instance also.

“Having heard the learned counsel and having perused the Constitutional provisions and the report [of the Andhra Pradesh Commission for Backward Classes] as also the impugned judgment, we are not inclined to stay the operation of the impugned judgment and make operational a law which has been invalidated by the High Court, as an interim measure.”

That was the second round -- the appeal of the Andhra Government has remained where it was, pending before the Supreme Court for the last five years.

It is the third round in which the portentous thing happened. As we have seen, the High Court had again struck down the 2007 Act as unsustainable and unconstitutional. The Andhra Government went to the Supreme Court in appeal-it requested that the High Court judgment be reviewed, and that pending the review, it be stayed. The Bench headed by the then Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, did the opposite of what the Bench headed by the then Chief Justice of the same Supreme Court had done earlier. It referred the case to a Constitution Bench all right, but, even as it did so-that is, even as it concluded that the constitutionality of the Act had to be determined and “several constitutional issues are involved” -- it stayed the judgment of the High Court: thereby, to use the words of the earlier Bench, making operational a law which the High Court had found to be wholly unconstitutional. “As an interim measure,” it said, the 4 per cent reservations that have been given to Muslims listed in the Schedule of the Act shall continue-save that they shall not be extended to “Other Muslim groups.” “This is a temporary measure,” it said, “till the matter is decided.'

The order of the Supreme Court concluded with the words, “These matters are referred to the Constitution Bench to be listed in the 2nd week of August 2010 along with C.A. 7513/2005 for appropriate directions.”

We are in January 2012 as I write this -- hence, a two-year-long foot-in-the-door! And the argument will be that, reservations having been available to Muslims now for over two years and their having got accustomed to availing of them, reversing course now will inflict great injustice and lead to massive resentment and backlash...

For the present, it will be enough to bear two points in mind.

First, The prohibition against basing largesse and classification on religion alone is so stern and so patent, it has been reiterated by the courts so very often that one is left wondering as to what the Andhra Government was doing, and that too repeatedly. Was it just being audacious and proud—‘I am the State. Who can come in the way of what I decree?’ Or was it being cleverer than we imagine? Was it the case that it did not really care whether or not it lived up to its promise of giving reservations to Muslims and, therefore, did not care that it was going about the matter in a way that was certain to be struck down by the courts?

Second, the same question arises with the new announcements that have been made on behalf of the Congress now. The occasion speaks volumes: elections in U.P. are round the corner, and the Congress is wooing the Muslims again. Similarly, while the largesse will be camouflaged in the well-known ways, the fact is under the promise the Congress has made nine per cent reservations are to be set aside for the Muslims. That is clearly based on religion—something explicitly prohibited by the Constitution. Is the Party again counting on amenable judges? Or is cynicism in command again? Who cares if the courts strike down the promise later? By that time those who have to be fooled, would have been fooled; what is to be won, would have been won.

(Extracted from the expanded edition of Arun Shourie’s FALLING OVER BACKWARDS, that is being published by HarperCollins in April, 2012)

=====================================

Andhra Pradesh High Court spikes CONgress led UPA’s Muslim illegal reservation quota
Pioneer News Service

Five months after the Congress-led UPA Government rolled out 4.5 per cent reservation benefit for minorities in central admissions and jobs, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday called its bluff on the “casual” policy terming it as based on religious grounds having no justification.

The HC bench of Chief Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Sanjay Kumar struck down the office memorandum (OM) and resolution adopted by Cabinet in this regard on December 22, 2011 terming it as being unconstitutional.

In a stinging criticism of the Centre’s lack of preparedness in designing this welfare scheme, the bench said the very use of the words “belonging to minorities” or “for minorities” indicates that the sub-quota has been carved out only on religious lines and not on any other intelligible basis.

“We must express our anguish at the rather casual manner in which the entire issue has been taken up by the Central Government,” it stated.

The decision came as a huge blow to the Congress which harped on the benefits available under this policy to Muslims. The Centre had come out with it just before the UP Assembly polls and the likes of Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid wooed Muslims by doling out this sub-quota bait. The Election Commission too had subsequently intervened and put on hold the decision.

The 4.5 per cent minority reservation was carved out of the existing 27 per cent OBC quota that had earlier received Supreme Court nod. A PIL filed by R Krishnaiah, backward caste leader from AP, questioned its constitutional validity since it pandered to appeasement of a particular religion.

The bench found substance in the petition as the judgement said, “No evidence has been shown to us by the learned Assistant Solicitor General to justify the classification of these religious minorities as a homogeneous group or as more backward classes deserving some special treatment.”

With the judicial pronouncement coming just before Assembly election in Gujarat later this year, the Centre’s credibility to pursue the deal as an affirmative action for the minorities, rather than a short-term policy designed to benefit the party during polls, has come under cloud.

Court had earlier shot down Muslim quota

New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order striking down a Central law providing 4.5 per cent reservation to minorities as a whole comes just in time when a similar decision passed by the same court on February 8, 2010 striking down a four per cent Muslim quota brought in by the State Government is under Supreme Court scrutiny.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court is yet to decide the validity of the AP High Court decision passed by a majority verdict of 5:2. In March 2010, an apex bench headed by then CJI KG Balakrishnan had lifted the stay on the HC ruling on the ground that the set of 15 Muslim groups sought to be benefited under this law should not be deprived till the time a final decision from the court is pronounced.

The controversial legislation titled — The Andhra Pradesh Reservation in Favour of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Muslims Act, 2007 — had proposed to allocate four per cent seats in State-run educational institutions and public jobs to the 15 Muslim groups identified as backward by an Expert Commission in 2007.

In AP, Muslims constitute 9.2 per cent of the total population, of which the State claimed that majority was found to be socially and educationally backward.

Vindicated, says BJP

The Congress remained tightlipped on the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order quashing the Centre’s decision to carve out a 4.5 per cent minority sub-quota within the OBC reservation while the BJP described the order as a “good development”.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the party would react only after studying the judgement. Incidentally, the party had unsuccessfully used minority sub-quota to woo the Muslims in the recent UP Assembly polls.

BJP, which had earlier opposed the Government’s move, maintained its stand had been vindicated with the order. BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “When these reservations were announced we had clearly said it is against the Constitution.”

However, National Commission for Backward Classes Shakeel Ansari termed the court verdict unfortunate and urged the Centre to take up the matter in the court in an effective manner so that the final decision was favourable.

Does India Needs Secularism? - Tapan Ghosh

Does India Needs Secularism?

A passionate but logical speech delivered by Shri Tapan Ghosh of Hindu Samhati, Kolkata.

Shri Tapan Ghosh cogently argues that since Bharat was divided in 1947 on the basis of two nation theory how come Hindus are still being insulted and treated like second class citizens in their own country and Muslims are pampered by the Government of India.

Shri Tapan Ghosh firmly believes and cautions Hindus that Secularism as practiced in India will obliterate Hinduism from Indian soil and will pave the way for Islamization of Bharat.

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi at Holy City Ayodhya - Prayagraj Allahbad High Court Verdict

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi Ayodhya Verdict Part 1 of 14

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi Ayodhya Verdict Part 2 of 14

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi Ayodhya Verdict Part 3 of 14

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi Ayodhya Verdict Part 4 of 14

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi Ayodhya Verdict Part 5 of 14

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi Ayodhya Verdict Part 6 of 14

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi Ayodhya Verdict Part 7 of 14

Shri Ram Janam Bhoomi Ayodhya Verdict Part 8 of 14

Source: Official website of Prayagraj High Court's verdict on Holy city Ayodhya

Would Harvard now stop giving courses in Islamic theology?

===========Forwarded Message===========
To,
Faculty & Staff,
Harvard University

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am absolutely appalled and would like to register my protest against your injudicious and illadvised decision to remove Economics Professor Dr. Subramanian Swamy from teaching roster. (http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/12/7/faculty-final-meeting/) Dr. Swamy is not some unknown new figure at Harvard rather a respected faculty member, whose so far proud association with the University goes back at least 4 decades. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IteO05kaY-8) I do not find any merit in your argument to classify his article "How to wipe out Islamic terror" as hate speech. Bold and alternative political speech may be, but far from hate speech. (http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/how-to-wipe-out-islamic-terror-dr-subramaniam-swamy/) He was merely exercising his basic human right of Right to Free Speech guaranteed under our First Amendment, which even protects, as it should, worst of the worse hate speeches. With all due respect, your unwise decision smacks of clear ideological and selection biases, and decision process influenced by emotions and various cognitive traps such as anchoring and confirming evidence.

Expression of Free Speech especially alternative Political & Religious viewpoints are basic human needs and these should not be denied to anyone. Political and Hate Speech are both protected under First Amendment as they are subjective. Because who is to decide what is hate speech and what is not? You, me or other Harvard faculty? Just because I don't agree with what some other person said in his personal capacity, I have no Right to discriminate against him because of his political or religious views. It is very unfortunate that some of the Harvard faculty members have allegedly let their personal ideology and religious biases affect their professional decision making process. It a matter of shame and grave concern that Harvard has reprimanded Dr. Swamy for his protected political speech, which he gave in a different country on a topic which is completely unrelated to what he teaches at Harvard in the US.

Dr. Swamy is an Economics professor and Harvard administration has a right to judge his subject knowledge merits and teaching history only. Certainly not on the basis of what religious or political ideology he ascribes to or on grounds of his protected political speech. It is an alleged case of discrimination based on political ideology and civil liberties violated. This is a very bad precedence unwittingly set by Harvard which may have a chilling effect on the campus as student and faculty will now be scared to freely share and speak alternative viewpoints. Best way to deal with hate speech is either debate it or ignore it. Harvard allegedly did neither in case of Dr. Swamy. If the faculty found his views distasteful, why didn't they challenge him for an open debate to publicly present and defend his views rather than unilaterally punishing him for speaking his mind in personal capacity? This may set an unhealthy precedence as per which every Harvard faculty member may now be held accountable and may face excoriation, at the whims of Harvard's few biased faculty members, for anything he or she may say anywhere in world, without being given any fair chance to defend himself or herself. Should all those anti-Swamy faculty members who spearheaded this allegedly prejudicial campaign against Dr. Swamy's free speech be now held accountable in India for what these people say, write or print in the US? Reprehensible. Correct, Dean Pfister?

What is even more ridiculous is that those who decided and coerced other faculty members to drop Dr. Swamy's courses are not even related to his subject of expertise. Could Harvard please explain to us how and why is a History Professor Sugata Bose, known for his far-Left political ideology, deciding if Dr. Swamy should continue to teach Economics? That too when Dr. Swamy wasn't even present there to defend himself. What Economics subject credentials does Prof Bose have to decide Dr. Swamy's courses fate? How Dr. Swamy's personal viewpoints on how to deal with terrorism in India can be used as a yardstick to censor him in the US and throw out his economics courses? How can Dr. Swamy's protected political speech on dealing with terrorism in India influence his capabilities to teach Economics in US? There is no bridge between these two acts then how can he be reprimanded for it? This is essentially Heckler's Veto to curb Dr. Swamy's civil liberties. Will Harvard now reprimand anyone whose political and religious views doesn't align with few of its faculty's political leaning?

It is sad to see that Philosophy Department Chair Sean Kelly got "persuaded" to be part of those who like to censor others protected political speech.

Let us consider the faculty's justification to censor Dr. Swamy. Is the faculty claiming that there is no Islamic terror in the world? As per terrorism research experts, there have been over 18000 Islamic terrorist attacks (small to big events classified by number of people murdered) in the world since 9/11. Just because main stream media doesn't cover all them doesn't mean these attacks aren't happening. I am sure all you learned people have heard of Schrödinger's cat experiment. India has been suffering at the hands of Muslim extremists for over 25 years. Third anniversary of brutal 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai just passed a few days ago. Do you expect Dr. Swamy and other Indians to simply ignore these facts because Harvard faculty is just too uncomfortable and sensitive to face the truth? Political correctness cannot be an excuse for poltroonery and censorship.

Until a few decades ago, it was mostly Pakistan sponsored terrorists attacking India. Since past decade, various domestic terrorist groups like Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Popular Front of India (PFI), Indian Mujahideen, etc. have also started committing terrorist attacks in India. Now it is clear that US citizens are involved in worldwide terrorist activities also. As exposed by PBS Frontline-ProPublica (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/david-headley/), American-born Dawood Gilani aka David Coleman Headley was one of the main co-conspirators of 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks. He was trained and indoctrinated in Islamic theology by Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. Then there is Faisal Shazad (Times Square bomber), Major Nidal Hassan (Fort Hood), Anwar Al-Awaki, Underwear bomber, et.al. Unfortunately they are all self-proclaimed Islamic terrorists. You cannot just brush these facts under the carpet.

It is not Dr. Swamy who is calling Muslim terrorists as Islamic terrorists, rather it is these terrorists themselves who are proudly proclaiming themselves to be Mujahideen i.e. Islamic warriors fighting for Allah. Then why is Harvard allegedly punishing Dr. Swamy for speaking against these self-proclaimed Islamic warriors? Why is Harvard allegedly shooting the messenger? There is no line, let me say it again, there is no line in that article where Dr. Swamy has "demonized an entire religious community" as terrorists. I am sorry to say but Professor Diana Eck is wrong and her inference is grossly exaggerated. There is no way all of the decision making faculty members could have construed Dr. Swamy's argument as a call for destruction of religious places. This shows a clear case of selection bias and anchoring. Dr. Swamy said the following (an excerpt from the article),

In a brilliant research paper published by Robert Trager and Dessislava Zagorcheva this year (‘Deterring Terrorism’ International Security, vol 30, No 3, Winter 2005/06, pp 87-123) has provided the general principles to structure such a strategy.

Goal-strategy

Applying these principles, I advocate the following strategy to negate the political goals of Islamic terrorism in India, provided the Muslim community fail to condemn these goals and call them un-Islamic:

Goal 2: Blast our temples and kill Hindu devotees.

Strategy: Remove the masjid in Kashi Vishwanath temple complex, and 300 others in other sites as a tit-for-tat.

Dr. Swamy has not proposed that Hindus or Government of India should proactively remove Mosques (aka masjid) rather as a consequence of an unfortunate event (tit-for-tat). As per his proposal, if Islamic terrorists continue to blast Hindu temples and devotees then instead of cowing down, remove their controversial Mosques from encroached land. For those who may not know, Kashi aka Varanasi is the holiest site in the world for Hindus just like Kabba is for Muslims and Wailing wall is for Jews. About 600 years ago a Muslim bandit ruler ordered destruction of Holy Hindu temple of Kashi Vishwanathji and built a Mosque on top of it, compare it to Dome of Rock controversy. Not only at Kashi but Muslim Mughal bandit rulers did the same to prime Hindu temples at other holy sites such as Ayodhya, Mathura, Somnath, etc. Can you see a pattern? Prof Diana Eck is a professor of comparative religious studies, she ought to know better. Rather than thinking rationally, some faculty decision makers seem to have taken an extreme position influenced by an emotional reaction to a rational viewpoint (based on well thought out research).

For the sake of argument let us agree for a moment with the standards that Harvard faculty has applied to misconstrue Dr. Swamy's free speech as hate speech. Then the same standards should be applied to the following,

Quran (2:190-193) - "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]... but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah."

Bukhari (2:28) - Women comprise the majority of Hell's occupants.

Quran (9:73) - O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is the destination

Quran (4:56) - Those who disbelieve Our revelations, We shall expose them to the Fire. As often as their skins are consumed We shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment Lo! Allah is ever Mighty, Wise

Quran (56:92-94) - But if he is of the rejecters, the erring, then the welcome will be boiling water and roasting at hell-fire

Quran (5:60) - Say: "Shall I point out to you something much worse than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received from Allah? those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil;- these are (many times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!"

Bukhari (59:727) - Allah's Apostle [said]... "Allah's curse be on the Jews and the Christians"

Verse 59:727 was spoken on Mohamed's death bed, and was one of the last things that he ever said. Isn't Mohamed preaching annihilation of non-Muslims? Hasn't Mohamed crossed the line by demonizing an entire non-Muslim religious community and calling for violence against their sacred places? So would the esteemed faculty at Harvard now call for censorship of Quran, Hadith, Sira and other Islamic texts and publicly reprimand Mohamed for hate speech? Would Harvard now stop giving courses in Islamic theology? Would Harvard now cancel classes by Professors who euoligize Mohamed and teach such hate speech? Would Harvard now throw out students who emulate Mohamed? If no then isn't it hypocrisy on part of the same decision making faculty and Harvard administration? Standards set and enforced by the faculty in Dr. Swamy's case should be unambiguously applied in this case also.

Since Harvard is willing to overlook Dr. Swamy's professional accumen and rather use his personal views as a yardstick to decide if he should continue, let us analyze this fallacy also. Dr. Swamy has already publicly clarrified in this interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3lv71xEBs0 that he doesn't have any problem with Muslims. He is one of the most pluralist public figure I have ever known of. He is a Hindu who is married to a Parsi (Zorashtrian) and one of his daughter is married to a Muslim. Cannot get more Secular than that.

Now lest I am accused of being some fringe Right winger, let me prove my Centrist credentials by giving another rational argument that will sound tune to the Leftist gallery. For those who may not know, Dr. Swamy, as a lawyer, has been spearheading a massive anti-graft lawsuit against some of the most corrupt and powerful politicians and corporates in the world who have allegedly committed at least $50 Billion scam during the distribution 2G spectrum in India. Think of it as the Occupy Wall Street but this one actually works, and has a clear direction and goals. The anti-corruption movement has a leader in Dr. Swamy, who has already fell many politicians, bureaucrats and corporate heads, and there are some big fishes yet to be brought to book. One of the alleged corrupt big fish is ironically a Harvard alumni. Now since Harvard disassociated itself from Dr. Swamy's political viewpoints on terrorism, hence, by applying its faculty's logic as a corollary we can inference that Harvard would not agree with Dr. Swamy's political position on bringing corrupt individuals including the alleged person who is also a Harvard alumni to justice. Therefore, it may be concluded that Harvard supports corruption in Politics and Business. Sounds weird right? Doesn't make sense as this sounds like a far-fetched conclusion. Harvard would never support corruption. So now you can see how some of your biased faculty's emotional argument, that there is a connection between a political speech on the menace of theologically sanctioned terror and teaching economics, sounds-like to a rational mind.

In the end I would like to thank you for reading my protest letter and I hope some sanity will prevail in Harvard administration. I hope that you will promptly apologize to Dr. Subramanian Swamy, reinstate his popular courses without prejudice, and invite him back with all due courtesy. Please null and void this reprehensible precedence set by Harvard, before it is too late. My respects where due as I mean no malice to anyone. Just speaking against the injustice done.

Best Regards,
Seema