New Delhi, July 22 : A group of Muslim activists, political leaders, lawyers and others have floated a civil rights group, Indian Muslims for Civil Rights (IMCR), to fight for the cause of the oppressed and the persecuted sections of the society in the degrading political situation in India.
The IMCR is the result of a programme Indian Muslim Intellectual held a meeting at Ghalib Institute in New Delhi which was attended by 450 Muslim intellectuals, activists, former bureaucrats and technocrats, lawyers, journalists, civil society members, religious scholars and politicians.
The aim of the Indian Muslims for Civil Rights (IMCR) is described as “securing our constitutional rights with the active support, cooperation, and full participation of secular; justice, freedom and liberty loving citizens of the country, strengthening democracy, freedom and human rights jointly”
Former Indian Minister and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, Aziz Quraishi, former minister and governor, former Indian minister for minority affairs and deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K Rahman Khan and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader, Farooq Abdullah were some of prominent speakers at the meet.
Former Indian Rajya Sabha member Mohammed Adeeb was the main organiser of the meet. The meet was organised “to discuss the present scenario where a segment of the society is attempting to tear away the secular fabric of the country and the Constitution, the growing hatred against the Muslim community, rampant misuse of governmental institutions and a highly communalized atmosphere amidst an alternative scenario where jobs have been lost, incomes have reduced and the country is facing challenges on several other fronts”.
In the meeting, it was suggested that an apolitical, non-religious mechanism should be evolved to address the issues discussed in the meeting. With this objective, the IMCR was formed.
The aim of the IMCR was described as “securing our constitutional rights with the active support, cooperation, and full participation of secular; justice, freedom and liberty loving citizens, strengthening democracy, freedom and human rights jointly”.
Talking to media men, Adeeb said he is currently the national coordinator of the IMCR and expanding the group by holding meetings at different places. In this regard, the first press meet was held in Mumbai on Sunday.
“We have to take this step to form the group because the situation India is facing now was never before. Muslim has never been as vulnerable in India as he is today. In this situation, all political parties as well as Muslim groups have disappointed us in some and other ways,” Adeeb lamented.
A large number of people from the majority community are spreading hatred while Muslims are only making comments sitting at their homes instead of intervening in the situation, he added.
There is a plan to form three cells to achieve the aims of the IMCR. One is the legal cell which will legally fight for those who are being persecuted and oppressed. Another is the cell to establish a media platform. And the third one is a cell to monitor the waqf properties, said Adeeb.
Talking about the IMCR at the Mumbai press meet, Salman Khurshid said this is a group formed by the Muslims, but it’s not confined to Indian Muslims. It was formed to resolve the issues of people from all sections with the participation from all communities.
“We can work with any group from any community if they agree with the fundamentals of the ICMR…We will fight for civil rights of all people. We want cooperation from all. But this is an initiative from us,” said Khurshid.