People's Democracy

Muslims Excluded From NREGS In Gujarat

CPI(M) MP Seeks PM Intervention

The following is the text of the letter to the prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh written by Hannan Mollah, CPI(M) MP and joint secretary of the All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) on May 29, 2006 on the issue of exclusion of Muslims in Gujarat in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

I WOULD like to draw your kind attention to the unprecedented and horrible revelation by the Indian Express investigation report regarding the conscious decision of the Gujarat government to exclude the Muslim minority agricultural workers, daily wage labour, masons from the work in the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the state. Out of six districts of Gujarat where the scheme is being implemented it is reported, in three districts: Panchmahal, Sabarkantha and Banaskantha, the worst affected by last Gujarat riots, Muslim workers are not being given job card registration forms and their names are not being listed in workers’ registers. The sarpanches are giving flimsy arguments for such exclusion. But the main reason is nothing but communal. This is nothing but extension of the genocide in economic sphere of the poor Muslims in the state of communal hatred.

The reporter of Indian Express visited about 24 villages in those district and talked to the Muslim workers who were kept out the scheme reportedly “through a strategy mixing, disinformation with no information and prejudice”. From some of these villages where a large number of Muslims were killed and rest of them fled away during riots, people still are living in fear. Many of them have still not come back permanently but regularly visit their homes, but they are not given any job under NREGS projects. In other districts also this is being done.  This is a calculated effort by the communal rulers to deprive the minorities from earning their bread.

The NREGS is a central government scheme and it is the responsibility of the government to see that poor people in all parts of the country belonging to all religions, castes and creed, should get jobs under this scheme. There should not be any discrimination. But the report shows a diabolical and communal mindset is very much there in the state of Gujarat and minorities are the permanent victims of such hatred – Physically, psychologically, culturally and economically. This is totally unacceptable in a free democratic secular and civilised country.

I would request you to kindly intervene immediately by sending a high power team to get the ground level truth, make proper arrangement so that poor people belong to minorities get adequate job under the scheme and identify the agencies – political, social or administrative – and punish them properly to bring them back to the sense of humanity.

I hope you would kindly respond immediately and effectively to ensure the security of the minorities in Gujarat, in all spheres of their life. (INN)