JEDDAH — Communal forces in India are trying their best to polarize the nation on religious lines, but they are bound to fail, said a former legal adviser to the Uttar Pradesh state government. "The communal elements leave no stones unturned to humiliate Muslims, but Muslims have no reason to be disappointed because they are bound to fail and good days are ahead," said Syed Husain, who was additional advocate general during the Bahujan Samaj Party rule (2007-2012) in the north Indian province. An expert in constitutional matters and criminal law, Husain said, "In a democracy, political parties believe in power politics. The unity among Muslims is the need of the hour. The Muslims in India cannot be called a minority. They are the second largest majority that has overcome many difficulties and self-employment has given it a respectable place and to some extent prosperity. Now Muslims want their share in the government," he told Saudi Gazette. "Every political party has its aims and objectives. To reach their goal they try to do whatever is essential for the uplift of different communities with whom they deal. (Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) Mayawati believed in the rule of law and justice for all, especially for the weaker sections of the society. Bahujan Samaj Party is an all-India party like the Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party. But Samajwadi Party is only a regional party," Husain said. "During the BSP government, criminal, anti-social and communal elements found no haven of refuge in the state. There were no communal riots during Mayawati's rule. In the present Samajwadi Party's government, there have been 350 communal riots since 2012. The bitter experiences of the communal riots in Kosi Kalan, Mathura, Faizabad, Bareilly and Muzaffar Nagar are still fresh in the memory. Some 50,000 Muslims are still not able to return to their villages. The Jats have seized homes and properties of the poor Muslims. Maulana Arshad Madani has constructed around 200 houses for these people. The SP government's 500,000 rupees aid for the victim of Muzaffar Nagar riots had certain unacceptable conditions. Only a tiny minority of the poorest of the poor had accepted it. Many lower-middle class Muslims affected by the riots rejected this offer of help," Husain pointed out. "Muslims have been used as vote banks by different political parties. They got nothing in return. Muslims have the least representation in government services so they are trying hard to make up their loss by engaging themselves in self-employment and private sector. Keeping this in mind, BSP is giving proper political representation to Muslims in the party," he added. "In many instances, the SP government has done nothing except taking the credit for development projects that were introduced or started during the BSP rule. Some glaring examples are the Lucknow Metro project for which the Mayawati government had carried out soil testing and feasibility studies even though an agreement was yet to be reached. However, after coming to power the SP took all the credit for the Metro project," Husain said. In 1952, the UP Assembly had passed a resolution for the establishment of a Sanskrit university and another university for Arabic, Persian and Urdu, he said. The Sanskrit University was established as Doctor Sampoornanand Sanskrit Vishwa Vidyalaya and all Sanskrit schools got affiliated with it, but the dream of an Arabic, Persian and Urdu university did not come true. "We brought this to the attention of Mayawati and Kanshi Ram, and as a result the Arabic, Persian and Urdu University came into existence. When SP came to power it named the institution as Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Arabic, Persian and Urdu University. There are many more examples too, of changing the names of BSP government's development projects and using them as SP's achievements for propaganda purposes," Husain complained. "During my tenure as additional advocate general of UP, I tried to help weaker sections of the community in many ways. For example, I presented a proposal before then Chief Minister Mayawati for amending the law to enable girls to get equal rights of inheritance in their parents' agriculture land. I suggested that the Muslim girls should get a share in the agricultural land of their parents. All India Muslim Personal Board has passed resolution in this regard too but to no avail. Mayawati accepted the draft which demanded that UP Zamindari Abolition Act Section 171, Section 172, Section173, Section 174 should be amended to give girls equal right of inheritance in their parents' agricultural land for strengthening women's empowerment. The Mayawati government's decision to amend section 171 (2) and section 174 of the UP Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950, was welcomed as a right decision as it was an old demand of the All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPLB)," he said. "Some Muslim women have been used by BJP in the propaganda against Muslim Personal Law and to introduce a common civil code. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Muslim community at large should realize these evil designs against the Shariah and resist the demand for a common civil code by communal elements. Answering a question about the demand by the hardline Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for declaring India a Hindu Rashtra, Husain explained, "The majority of Indians are against declaring India as a Hindu Rashtra. BSP chief Mayawati had already cleared that she will not accept it and will not remain silent if India is declared a Hindu Rashtra, as it is against the spirit of the Indian Constitution that has guaranteed the rights of the followers of all religions. She expressed her fears that a Hindu Rashtra will hurt the interests of Dalits, aborigines, secular people and Muslims. Mayawati had even threatened to launch a campaign against the RSS demand."
