The Government of India High Power Committee headed by Dr. Gopal Singh has in its interim report submitted to the Prime Minister recommended job reservations to Muslims and Christians.
According to a report published in the Indian Express (28-5-81) from its Delhi correspondent job reservations to minorities is recommended in proportion to their population but only to those whose father is earning less than Rs. 12,000 a year. Muslims form about 15% and Christians another 2.5% of the population.
Since the Gopal Singh panel was appointed by the Prime Minister herself, we hope the recommendations would be accepted soon.
We welcome the interim report and hope that in its final report, the reservations to minorities would be extended to other spheres. Minorities who are equally poor are not having constitutional reservations like SCs and Sts The Gopal Singh Committee has done justice to the minorities upholding one of their long-pending demands.
The Gopal Singh panel has also urged 40 p.c. of the budget should be earmarked for the welfare of the minorities.
Representatives of minorities all over India should hold meetings and urge the Prime Minister to accept the recommendations as they are made by a panel appointed not by the Janata Government but the Cong. (1) itself.
Meanwhile, the Mandal Commission report, submitted to the Government of India on Dec. 31, 1980, is gathering dust. The Commission has listed 54% of the Indian population under the OBCs.
We call upon the OBCs to demand 45% reservation pending the implementation of the Mandal Commission Report.
We also call upon the different persecuted minorities, Dalits, OBCs and minorities to jointly launch a non-political struggle by holding joint meetings of these sections who together form over 80% of the Indian population.
