“Muslims And Sikhs Need Not Apply” – Manmohan Singh Can’t Have A Sikh Bodyguard
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - India’s Outlook magazine of November 13, 2006, in a front page cover story, by Saikat Datta, headlined, “Muslims And Sikhs Need Not Apply – Manmohan Singh Can’t Have A Sikh Bodyguard,” quoted a senior official as saying that, “ Sikh community continues to be on the government black list.”(> http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20061113&fname=Cover+Story&sid=3 <)Saikat Datta writes, and we quote verbatim, that “It is ironic that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, has no brethren from his own community detailed in the security cordon around him. Officials of the Special Protection Group (SPG), established in 1984 for providing security to prime ministers, have ensured that neither Sikhs or Muslims are employed as bodyguards to VVIPs. As no state organization, like the 3, 000 strong SPG (Special Protection Group) can bar persons of a particular community, the SPG does employ a few Muslims and Sikhs but they are not deployed in sensitive posts and are kept off personal security. As far as Sikhs go, Indira Gandhi’s killing and militancy in Punjab put an end to them being recruited as securitymen. Much has changed since then but the Sikh community continues to be on the blacklist.”
Saikat Datta quotes a senior official in the security set-up as saying that, “It has become an established thing. To change it, someone will have to stick his neck out. And if something goes wrong he will have to answer for it. Nobody is willing to take any chances. When it comes to VVIP security, we cannot take any chances, especially since the country has lost two of its prime ministers to brutal killings. Proximate security is the last defence, and if that is weak, how can we ensure safety of the person we’ve to protect?"
The situation is not very different in the National Security Guard (NSG) - the other force which provides security to VIPs, according to the Outlook. The NSG was set up in 1984 after Operation Bluestar when the Indian army stormed the Golden Temple and murdered thousands of innocent Sikh pilgrims. The need was felt for creating a special force to conduct counter-terrorist operations with greater efficiency. The NSG was first deployed to combat insurgency in Punjab. But it evolved into an anti-terrorist unit with operations in J&K and other parts of the country. And it does not have any Sikh or Muslim as bodyguards. Over the years, its elite Black Cat commandos have also been saddled with providing security to VVIPs, other than prime ministers (present and former) and their kin. They include political leaders like former deputy PM L.K. Advani, UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati and former Tamil Nadu CM J. Jayalalitha. But none of these Black Cats will be a Sikh or a Muslim.
In the same issue of OUTLOOK, in another article, headlined, “Muslims and Sikhs need not apply” Saikat Datta, writes that, “You can blame all of India's intelligence fiascos mainly on Hindus, as the agencies don't find Muslims or Sikhs fit to work for them.” (> http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20061113&fname=Cover+Story&sid=1&pn=1 <) Datta narrates the story of educationalist and former parliamentarian, Humayun Kabir who, “was known for being a prominent Muslim Bengali politician who did not subscribe to the Muslim League’s vision of Pakistan. Instead, he chose secular India, rose to be the education secretary. Little did Kabir know that nearly fifty years later, one of his grandsons would not be inducted into RAW, India’s external intelligence agency. Reason: he was a Muslim. The year was 2000. The NDA government was restructuring the Indian security apparatus following the Kargil war. Kabir’s grandson had been cleared for induction into the RAW’s air wing, the aviation research centre (ARC). He was found to be competent for the job and met all the required parameters. His interviewers were very impressed with him. They had no doubt that they had found their man. But hours later the decision was reversed. The members of the selection board came to the view that there was a question mark on Kabir’s suitability for the job. He was a Muslim and the unwritten code within the agency was that Muslims could not be inducted it. That code vis-a-vis Muslims (or for that matter Sikhs) is still followed. From 1969 till today—RAW’s current staff strength is about 10,000—it has avoided recruiting any Muslim officer. Neither has the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO), a crucial arm of external intelligence.
The above episodes tell the 3 million strong Sikh diaspora (who are free and prosperous) that the fate of their 22 million Sikh brothers and sisters still ‘captive’ in India, is just as bleak as the 135 million Muslim minority and the 190 million ‘Untouchables’ in India. We Sikhs can clearly see what awaits us in the future in India by looking at the state of the beleaguered Muslim minority which was once prosperous and powerful. We Sikhs should have no doubt that like the Muslim minority we too are being slowly marginalized. By a strange coincidence bits and pieces of the terrible state of the Muslim minority in India has been surfacing in the media, in the past few days of November which is a ‘wakeup call’ for us Sikhs to make us see what has been happening to us. These leaks are part of a report prepared (but not presented yet) by a high level Committee appointed by the Indian Prime minister in March 2005, (presided over by Retired Justice Rajinder Sachar of Delhi High Court) which was supposed to prepare a report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslims of India in seven states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.The Sachar Committee was given the task of examining the following questions:-1. In which states, regions, districts, and blocks of the country do Muslims mostly live? 2. What is the geographical pattern of their economic activity, i.e. what do they mostly do for a living in various states, regions and districts. 3. What are their asset base and income levels relative to other groups across various states and regions? 4.What is the level of their socio-economic development in terms of relevant indicators such as literacy rate, Dropout rate, Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) etc., and how does this compare with other communities in various states? 5.What is the Muslims' relative share in public and private sector employment and how does it vary across states, what is the pattern of such variations and is the share in employment in proportion to their population in various states and if not, what are the hurdles? 6. What is the proportion of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from the Muslim Community in the total OBC population in various States and are the Muslim OBCs listed in the comprehensive list of OBCs prepared by the National and State Backward Classes Commissions and adopted by the Central and State Governments for reservations for various purposes and what is the share of Muslim OBCs in the total public sector employment for OBCs in the various states in various years? And 7.Does the Muslim Community have access to Education Services, Health Services, Municipal Infrastructure, Bank Credit and other services provided by Government / Public Sector Entities? How does this compare with access enjoyed by other communities in various states and what is the level of social infrastructure located in areas of Muslim concentration in comparison to the general level of such infrastructure available in various states like schools, Health Centers, Anganwadi Centers and other facilities?
The Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee has not submitted its report on the educational and social status of Muslims to the Prime Minister as yet. Justice Sachar claims that he has got another extension, although this appears to have been a word of mouth agreement, reached after he was unable to get an appointment with Prime minister Manmohan Singh last month. But the report is being leaked by some one in bits and pieces to select journalists in both the print and the television media. As a result, the field has been left free for the right wing neo-Nazi BJP to play in, choosing the bits and pieces to whip up communal passions in the country through a litany of falsehoods and lies. No one in the Sachar Committee or the government will challenge these lies, but by the time the report actually comes out in its entirety — if it ever does — great damage will have been done, as a certain resistance to the recommendations will have been created amongst several sections of society.
Figures leaked from the Sachar panel suggest that the condition of Muslims in India was even worse than that of Dalits, the most deprived community among Hindus. Muslims’ contribution to government employment in the states, where they form 15.4 percent of the population, is only 6.4 percent. Utter Pradesh, with an 18.5 percent Muslim population, has just 5.1 percent Muslims in government jobs. The Indian Express newspaper has also revealed that while Muslims were under-represented in every other field, they were over-represented in prisons. According to media reports Muslims’ contribution to government employment in the most populous states, where they form 15.4 percent of the population, is only 6.4 percent. Utter Pradesh, with an 18.5 percent Muslim population, has just 5.1 percent Muslims in government jobs.
The Indian Express has revealed that while Muslims were under-represented in every other field, they were over-represented in prisons. In Gujarat, where Muslims make up 9.1pc of the population, they add up to 25.1pc in jails. In Delhi’s Tihar Jail, 5,000 of the 14,000 inmates are Muslims, which makes their representation more than 35 per cent. In Maharashtra, where the Muslim population is 10.6 percent, 27.9 percent of the prisoners in jails are Muslims. According to Vijay Helmet, an activist working for prisoners’ welfare, Muslims make up 45 percent of Mumbai’s Arther Road Jail population.
Activists believe that the over-representation of Muslims in jails is a result of their “invisible space” in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, in addition to backwardness and poverty. Surprisingly, in the Muslim majority region of Jammu and Kashmir (69%) , Muslim employees’ share in the judiciary stands at 38 per cent, while it is 1.3 percent in Delhi. Figures available suggest that in 15 states, Muslim employees in the judiciary are only 8 percent, and their ratio among district and sessions judges stands at just 2.7 percent. Same is true of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha (Lower and upper houses of parliament) where the membership of Muslim background stands at a little less than 5 % when it should be over 30%.In many of India’s states the number of jailed Muslims far exceeds their percentage of the population, The Sunday Express newspaper reported that in Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, 32.4 percent of the inmates are Muslims, who make up only 10.6 percent of the general population. In New Delhi, which has a Muslim population of 11.7 percent, 27.9 percent of prison residents are Muslim, while in Gujarat state Muslims comprise 25.1 percent of those jailed and 9.1 percent of the populace, according to the report. The report said a main factor behind the higher percentage of Muslim prisoners was greater poverty among their community, making them more vulnerable to the law and also more likely to turn to crime. Among the urban population, 44 percent of Muslims live below the poverty line, compared to 28 percent among the rest of the population, the report said.
These above OUTLOOK articles should tell us Sikhs that the fate of the 22 million Sikhs captive in India is bleak and that, for self-preservation, we should be alert in the Punjab, Haryana, Kashmir, Delhi and Rajasthan to make sure that we are not being marginalized, like the Muslims. We should agitate for proper representation where it counts. The number of Sikhs in the jail population should also be looked into. The Bhakra Beas Management Board, Railways, Police, Judiciary, Universities, Banks, Industries, Schools and the Revenue department in the above states also need to be closely watched to ensure that Sikhs have not been quietly marginalized a la the Muslim community, during the past sixty odd years of Brahmin rule. There in lies survival for the Sikhs in Brahmin ruled India till we are organized and ready to carve an independent, democratic buffer state of Khalistan located between India and Pakistan. “The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance”.