It is a bitter fact that in today’s India, Muslim lives and Muslim votes matter little. But it is also a bitter fact that the lives, property and dignity of members of other minority communities, of Dalits, of Adivasis and to some extent of all the poor and the backwards, are also under threat. Whether it is price rise or unemployment, epidemics or diseases, drought or floods, riots or violence – it is the Pasmandas of all religious communities that suffer the most. The solution, clearly, lies in the Pasmandas of all religions joining hands. Religion-based politics will destroy the nation.

“Secularism” is not merely a word that finds mention in our Constitution. Secularism is the soul, the basic foundation of the Constitution. Remove secularism and we would be staring at a theocratic State. Today, India is secular only for namesake. Muslims are being treated like second-class citizens. They are being openly targeted. Pasmandas form 80 per cent of the Muslim population of the country and their ratio among the victims of oppression and violence is also the same. Dozens of Muslims became victims of mob-lynching in the country but rare was a national leader who visited their homes to commiserate with their families. A horrific riot was orchestrated in Delhi. Dozens were killed. But no national leader rose to the defence of the Muslims? Why was it that the supremos of none of the national or regional parties deemed it fit to extend their support to the agitation against CAA and NRC? Will CAA-NRC create problems only for the Muslims? That is not so. The poor and the backwards of all communities will suffer. But barring a few statements and tweets and creating a mild commotion in Parliament, the opposition leaders did not come out openly against the twin measures.

In all public meetings, Dilip Saheb insisted that reservation should not be seen as a religious issue, in case of Pasmandas, but rather as a social means that is required for the upliftment of this socially and educationally backward community, which simply happens to be Muslims. He stressed that Pasmandas have suffered from caste marginalization. Due to the discriminatory categorization into occupational biradaries, they are restricted in economic mobility and social development. Therefore, reservation is a constitutional process and the marginalized communities should use the opportunity for social-economic upliftment. Dilip Saheb helped people to get organized, made them understand the idea of reservation, and tried to bring people to organize and agitate from a common platform. He became a medium to spread the voices that were unheard till then.