Last week, the Manmohan Singh Government made history of sorts in appeasing the Muslims by earmarking 15 per cent of Government funds for minorities only under Central Government Schemes in 11th Five-Year Plan.

The National Development Council passed the document. The Prime Minister categorised the special attention to minorities under the garb of 'true meaning of inclusiveness' and to maintain social fabric of the country. This is an outright, open and deliberate effort to communalise the Budget and the Five-Year Plan.

Earlier also, Manmohan Singh had claimed that the minorities had the first right to the nation's resources. This is very dangerous and goes against the oneness of our social fabric. It is also violates the constitutional provision. If Article 266 1and 3 are read together with Article 51 A-1and 3, no amount can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India for communal budgeting. But then, who cares for the constitutional provisions. Not the Congress.

One must recall what the Congress did with the IMDT Act which virtually protected crores of Bangladeshi infiltrators. The Supreme Court, too, termed this Act as unconstitutional. But the provisions of this Act are applicable even today. Andhra Pradesh Government's decision on reservations of jobs for Muslims was struck down by the Supreme Court. Nevertheless the AP Government went on mandalising the Muslim castes. Providing minority status to Aligarh Muslim University and increased quota of Muslim students was stuck down by Allahabad High Court. During Rajiv Gandhi regime, the Supreme Court gave its ruling on Shah Bano's case which was not liked by the fundamentalists. What did he do? He amended the Constitution.

I would not go into the details as to how many times Rajiv Gandhi Government crossed the limits. During the Emergency, every time the Congress violated the letter and the spirit of the Constitution, a part of this Constitution was rendered redundant thereby curtailing the democracy itself.

The Muslim appeasement went on increasing and this time it has affected the 11th Five-Year Plan and the budgetary allocation. Yes, it is inclusiveness but it separates Muslims. One may recall Maulana Azad's speech. He told a vast gathering of Muslims at Red Fort in Delhi, just after the partition, the damage they have caused to themselves by supporting the demand of Pakistan. He made fervent appeal to Muslims of India exhorting them to join the main stream. The partition caused blood-bath and India inherited hordes of problems which are bogging down India -- be it terrorism, infiltration, wars India fought, economic burden and many more. These are fruits of appeasement of pre-partition period. The Congress has learnt no lessons from its blunders.

Favouring minority at the cost of majority is acrimonious. It breeds jealously and animosity. It is anti-national. Singh Government has done it, aiming at the consolidation of Muslim vote-bank. The 2004 General Election did not deliver a majority party. The BJP and the Congress got nearly the same number of Lok Sabha seats. Congress came to power by rag-tag coalition and the outside support of the Left. From the beginning it started scheming for regaining Muslim votes. With this objective in mind it planned scores of appeasement doses.

Another important step was by appointing Sachar Commission. The commission came out with contradictory and controversial report pleading special preference to Muslims including reservation, demarcating new Muslim-majority areas, grant of Rs 500 crore for Wakf Boards and other steps which were anti-national.

Turkey abolished Wakf Boards in its country. Long back France abolished these boards in their colonies. Singh has based his communal dose on the basis of recommendations of the commission report. The report looks like compilation of complaints and demands of Muslims from Sir Syed's time to 1947 which lead to partition of the country. What comes out of appeasement policy -- fear of rebellious actions, blood-bath of direct action programme and communal riots --Congress succumbed to it and surrendered part of India to Muslim separatist forces.

Singh has evoked emotions of pity by using poverty among Muslims. In fact the commission said that in AP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, MP, Orissa, Gujarat, Kerala and Puducherry Muslims are better educated. They account for more than 50 per cent of the total Muslim population in India. The commission also certified Muslim backwardness ignoring the fact that they are much better off than the SC/ST.

In States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, Karnataka and Kerala they are better placed. But the Congress opted for appeasement just to consolidate its vote-bank and ward off its shrinking political base.

Courtesy: www.dailypioneer.com, December 23, 2007