RANGANATH MISRA COMMISSION REPORT - SESSION II

 

At the second brainstorming session held by the IPF, journalists, educationists, social workers, social scientists and social reformers participated. Meenakshi Lekhi commented that reservation to Dalits was a corrective measure. For that they have been given special protection but solution to the problems of converted Muslims and Christians should not be sought at the cost of the Hindus. There is no social inequality in these religions. JK Bajaj said that converted Muslims and Christians were not included under the Scheduled Castes in the Constitution. However, Sachar Committee member Abu Salim Sharif suggested that instead of reservation to Muslims, they should be given quality education and training for jobs, loan at reasonable interest and vocational training. Senior journalist and CSDS editor Abhay Kumar Dubey said that although Muslims are getting reservation under 27 per cent reservation of OBCs, the fact remains that extremely poor Muslims are deprived of reservation, like the very poor Dalits. The issue should be how the benefits of reservation reach the poorest people of the society. Vijay Sonakar Shastry said that Dr. Ambedkar enlisted only 12 castes but the Government of India Gazette has 6,500 castes and 25,000 sub-castes. Sushil Pandit told the gathering that the Supreme Court has suggested how to reform Backward Commission. The implementation of a Uniform Civil Code has become a long-standing demand and even the Directive Principles of State Policy supports it.

 

 The Panel Members of the programme were: Shri Abhay Kumar Dubey, Editor, CSDS, Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Advocate, Shri Uday Sinha, Senior Journalist, Shri Sushil Pandit, Social Activist, Dr. Jitendra Bajaj, Shri Manmohan Sharma, Senior Journalist, Shri Ashok Tandon Senior Journalist, Director, MCRPV, Shri Kapil Kumar, Shri Umesh Upadhyay, Shri Premendra Sharma, Shri Umesh Chaturvedi, Journalist., Prof. Rakesh Sinha, Hon Director, IPF