A Poor Hindu is a lesser human being than a poor Muslim

Below article is from "Times of India"

Minority, not Muslim, on BPL list?



Subodh Ghildiyal | TNN



New Delhi: The Centre is veering round to accept the N C Saxena committee’s methodology for identifying BPL (below poverty line) through a census but may go in for a crucial change—replace “Muslim’’ with “minority’’ for extra weightage on poverty index. The Union rural development ministry is mulling to put minorities as a whole in place of only Muslims who are to be given one point extra weightage in BPL identification. The ministry conducts a census to identify the BPL. This is now due in 2010.
Sources said a rethink on whether Muslims as a community should be retained as beneficiary of special points in BPL census started after a few states said it was not prudent. In their comments on the Saxena report, the states, learnt to be mostly the BJP-ruled ones, felt it would send out a wrong message.
Sources said the ministry is still to decide between “Muslim’’ and “minority’’ and a final view is to be taken on Saxena report’s methodology for the BPL census. The debate, however, seems interesting.
While the Sachar commission and other surveys from time to time have identified a vast section of Muslims as poor, sources said it was suggested that use of the word “minority’’ would pre-empt any misgivings that one community was being given the preference in poverty welfare. It would, while removing the possible grounds for social envy, also not disturb other minority communities who could feel let down.
Among the families to be surveyed, there is certain weightage to be given to social groups. While SC/STs would get three points, Most Backward Castes (MBCs) would secure two points. The Saxena report added that Muslims and OBCs be given one point each. Otherwise, the RD ministry feels the methodology suggested by Saxena panel for BPL census is strong, specially the method of “automatic inclusion and exclusion’’. The concept is seen as “fair and robust’’. According to the concept, certain families would not be considered for BPL category at all. They include households which own double of a district’s average irrigated landholding or have a three-wheeled or four-wheeled motor vehicle or a mechanized farm equipment or have a member who is a government employee or have a private sector employee drawing above Rs 10,000 per month salary.