Muslim Political Representation Key To Empowerment
- Muslim political leadership stressed at Hyderabad event
- Shabbir Ali cites reservations and governance role in Telangana
Muslim empowerment is possible only through strong political representation, Congress leader and Advisor to the Telangana Government Mohammed Ali Shabbir said while addressing a programme in Hyderabad. He stressed that without adequate participation in decision making bodies, the community cannot secure lasting social and economic progress.
Speaking after releasing the New Year calendar of the All Minority Employees Welfare Association, Shabbir Ali said Muslims form nearly 15 per cent of Telangana’s population. Therefore, he said, representation was needed in every sector, especially in politics. He explained that political power alone allows communities to influence policy, implementation, and governance outcomes in a meaningful way.
Shabbir Ali recalled that the four per cent reservation for socially and educationally backward Muslims in education and jobs was introduced in 2004. He said the policy was implemented during the previous Congress government led by Dr Y S Rajashekhara Reddy, when he was a Cabinet Minister.
According to him, the reservation benefited more than 22 lakh poor Muslim families across the then united Andhra Pradesh, including present day Telangana. He added that thousands of Muslim students secured MBBS and other professional course admissions, while Muslims also received a four per cent share in government recruitments since 2004–05, except during periods affected by legal hurdles.
He further said the Congress government focused on political empowerment by including Muslims in the BC E category. This step, he said, enabled Muslims to contest elections from Backward Class reserved seats. As a result, hundreds of Muslims were elected as Sarpanches, ZPTC and MPTC members, Corporators, Councillors, Ward Members, as well as Mayors, Deputy Mayors, and Zilla Parishad Chairpersons across urban and rural areas.
Shabbir Ali said Muslim representation was also ensured in cooperative societies, agriculture market committees, and other statutory bodies. Therefore, the community gained a role not only in welfare benefits but also in policy execution and local administration.
Recalling his ministerial tenure under former Chief Minister Vijayabhaskar Reddy, he said the country’s first Minority Welfare Department was created during that period, later leading to a separate minority welfare budget.
He cautioned Muslims against divisive politics and warned against what he described as political traps. He cited renewed debates on ‘Vande Mataram’ and urged the community not to react impulsively. He also referred to its adoption as the National Song on January 24, 1950, alongside ‘Jana Gana Mana’, and said the issue was being politicised again in recent parliamentary discussions.
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