Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday called for finding ways to provide the Muslim community their “due share”, saying they have made a significant contribution in all fields. Addressing an event titled 'Issues Before Indian Muslims', Pawar batted for Urdu but also stressed the importance of the "main language" of states.
"Members of the Muslim community have a feeling they are not getting their due share despite being such a large part of the country, which is actually a reality. Deliberations have to be held on how they can get their due share," he said, as quoted by PTI.
The event was held in Nagpur by the Vidarbha Muslim Intellectuals Forum.
On the issue of the high rate of unemployment among Muslims, the NCP supremo noted that unemployment was an issue across all communities in the country, but added that complaints by minorities were genuine and needs to be looked into. He asserted that the Muslim community can contribute hugely in the fields of art, poetry and writing through Urdu, adding that its members have "quality and capacity" but need "support and equal opportunity", reported PTI.
Pawar also said that the Muslim community has made the biggest contribution to the Hindi film industry in taking it to the top, and one cannot ignore it. reported news agency ANI.
{{/usCountry}}Pawar also said that the Muslim community has made the biggest contribution to the Hindi film industry in taking it to the top, and one cannot ignore it. reported news agency ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"Today, in all the fields, whether it is art, whether it is writing, or whether it is poetry, the highest contribution has come from the Minorities and has come in the Urdu language," the former Maharashtra chief minister said.
"We have Bollywood in front of us, which has contributed the most in taking it to the top, it is the Muslim minorities who have contributed the most and we cannot ignore their contribution," he added.
Pawar said Kerala has a large proportion of minorities and one needs to study how minorities in that state, which has the highest literacy rate, are giving support to the main language and what benefits are being derived from this.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)