JEDDAH — Muslims in India are lagging behind other Indian groups in terms of social, educational and economic development, a policy expert warned a recent symposium for non-resident Indians in Riyadh. The symposium, discussing what should be the Muslim vision for India, featured the executive director of the US-India Policy Institute in Washington Dr. Abusaleh Shariff. He said: “Indian Muslims are continuously declining and prone to becoming new Dalits if timely steps are not taken.” Dr. Shariff, who was a secretary of the Indian prime minister's high level committee known as the Sachar Committee, warned that ethnic groups such as the Dalits were marching ahead of Muslims in all sectors. “It is the necessity of time to catch up with them, otherwise Muslims will become new Dalits in India.” Highlighting the importance of the US-India Policy Institute (USIPI), he said there was a strong need for a strong institutional base to influence Indian policy makers. “Both individuals and institutions are important, as every individual contributes to nation building and has the right to demand from the government, while institutions can influence policymakers. “We can influence the decision makers by understanding the community, articulating the facts about them and then communicating with the policymakers. “If institutions and think tanks approach the decision makers with these facts, they can't refuse.” Shariff said 6,545 think tanks are operating worldwide. The US and China has 1,815 and 425 think tanks respectively, he said, adding that in India there are 292 think tanks but none of them are Muslim organizations. “The USIPI was established to fill this gap. “The mission of the USIPI includes generating facts for effective public policy, articulate policy vision for economic development, diversity, equal opportunity and inclusiveness, provide a forum for debate and discourse on strengthening democracy, secular institutions and minority rights in India and US, and strive to stimulate a deep US and India relationship committed to sustainable development.” Referring to Indian Muslims as an “excluded community”, Shariff said reforms were needed for the benefit of the community, including inclusion in local governments and local level bureaucracy. “Muslims live in India with a ‘deprived' mentality and they have to overcome it. “Individual contributions can also make a difference and we need to continue these.” Rasheed Ahmed, president of the USIPI and director of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, said security, identity and development are the main challenges facing Indian Muslims. Explaining the policy cycle, he said awareness, education, lobbying, legislation, implementation and monitoring are the main components think tanks have to consider before they can think about influencing policy making. Explaining the reason why the USIPI was established out of India, Ahmed said the US offers more openness to carry out independent research work. However, ground level research and field work is also very important, he said, adding this is possible only in coordination with local offices and representatives in India. The Center for Research and Debates in Development Policy (CRDDP) was established in New Delhi for this purpose and it aims to branch out to other cities across India. Ahmed said Indian and NRI Muslims should come forward to strengthen such think tanks so that their concerns and issues are properly conveyed to the policy makers. Muzaffar Hussain Ansari, financial controller at King Faisal Foundation, said the purpose of the symposium was to make a New Year resolution to empower the Muslim community in terms of social, economic and educational development back in India.
