It shouldnt be surprising if I said that the state of the bengali
muslim in west bengal was worse in the matter of employment than
their hindu counterparts in bangladesh.
No equality of employment for West Bengal Muslims
By Mohammad Ashfaque, Calcutta
Article 15 of the Constitution of India prohibits `discrimination on
grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of
them.' Article 16 of the Constitution guarantees `equality of
opportunity in matters of employment.' Article 30 of our Constitution
confers `Right of minorities to establish and administer educational
institutions of their choice.'
Though our Constitution has laid down a general rule that there shall
be an equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to
employment or appointments to any office under the State, these
fundamental principles have literally remained mere pious
declarations and are being flagrantly violated. Muslim job seekers,
who have registered their names in the employment exchanges in West
Bengal, have for more than two decades, suffered from continuous
discrimination and unfavorable bias in the matter of submission of
names to the employers by the employment exchanges. They are denied
even the opportunity of being properly considered by the employers
for placement against existing vacancies.
During the tenure of the last Congress Government in West Bengal
(1972-77), led by the then Chief Minister, Shri Siddhartha Shankar
Ray, some positive steps were initiated to solve the unemployment
problem of the state and to ensure equality of opportunity to all
citizens including members of the Muslim community in matters of
recruitment in government jobs.
Apart from taking steps for adequate representation of all
communities in state services Shri Siddhartha Shankar Ray had ensured
that at least one Muslim police officer was posted in each and every
Police Station in West Bengal. Prior to this the members of Muslim
Community were very poorly represented in services under Calcutta and
West Bengal Police Forces. The steps taken by Ray, had created
confidence among the minorities and inspired them to take a bright
and hopeful view of things to come and to expect that things would
improve and they would no longer be kept isolated from the national
mainstream.
Immediately after coming to power, by an executive order, the CPI(M)
dominated Left Front government decided to process all recruitment
through the employment exchanges. The annual reports of the
Government of West Bengal - 'Labour in West Bengal' - published
annually by the Labour Department of the state government present a
dismal picture of the poor performances of the employment exchanges
and the State Directorate of Employment, West Bengal.
During the last ten years (1990 to 1999) the number of registered
unemployed on the live registers in West Bengal increased from
48,20,331 at the end of 1990 to 55,55,952 by the end of 1999. During
these ten years 47,66,176 new job seekers had registered their names
with the Employment Exchanges in the State. Names of 21,09,560 (40 %
of the average number of job seekers on the live register) were
submitted during this period to the employers for consideration
against vacancies.
During the same period (1990 to 1999) 291,768 Muslims had come
forward to register themselves but the names of only 70,945 Muslims
(10.58 % of the average number of Muslims on the live register) were
submitted to the employers for consideration in connection with
appointments.
The average number of job seekers on the live register of employment
exchanges in West Bengal, during the last ten years, was 52,72,997.
The average number of Muslims on the live registers during this
period was 6,70,443 (12.71 % of the total on the live register). Out
of this total average of 52,72,997, the average number of submission
during this period was 2,10,956 (4 % of the total job seekers of all
categories on the live registers) per annum. In the case of Muslims
out of the average number of 6,70,443 (12.71 %) Muslim Job Seekers on
the live registers the average submission was only 7,095 (1 % of the
total names of Muslim Job Seekers on the live registers) per annum.
Despite the fact that about 12.71 % of the registered job seekers,
available on the live register of employment exchanges were Muslims
the total 21,09,560 names submitted during these ten years (1990-99)
to the employers for consideration against vacancies included the
names of only 70,945 Muslims (3.36 % of the total submissions).
During these ten years (1990-99) out of the 93,156 registered
unemployed persons placed in employment through the employment
exchanges only 4,232 (4.54 %) were Muslims. Out of the total
21,09,560 submissions made by the employment exchanges during the ten
year period 93,156 persons (4%) had succeeded in getting placements
in Jobs. In the case of Muslims out of the 70,945 names of registered
Muslim job seekers, whose names were submitted to the employers
during these ten years, 4,232 (6 %) were successful in getting jobs
through the employment exchanges.
Success rate in the case of Muslims (4,232 out of 70,945) i.e. 6 % of
the total Muslim names submitted for consideration by the employers)
was, therefore, higher than the average success rates in all
categories (93156 out of 21,09,560 i.e. 4 % of the total
submissions ).
This shows that the Muslim job seekers are not in any way inferior to
others. Muslims of West Bengal do not lag behind others in meeting
the criteria for being selected for jobs but still they are denied
equality in employment opportunity. They are placed in a
disadvantageous position simply because of bias and prejudice in
matters of submission of names. The concerned authorities of the
state government are not doing proper justice with the registered
Muslim job seekers in the matter of submission and are submitting
very few names of Muslim job seekers for consideration by the
employers. This discrimination has been going on for a long time. For
the Muslims in West Bengal the Constitutional guarantees of equality
in employment opportunity have, therefore, proved to be false
promises. This has given rise to serious resentment and frustration
among the unemployed Muslims of West Bengal. Their confidence in the
Employment Exchanges and the Employment Policy of the State
Government has been badly shaken. This is evident from the fact that
over the years the number of unemployed Muslims coming forward to
register their names in the Employment Exchanges has fallen from
47,908 in 1990 to an average of 27,096 per year during 1991-99.
During this period more than 1,60,000 frustrated Muslim job seekers
did not renew their registrations or had got their names cancelled
from the live register of employment exchanges.
According to the Census reports, population of Muslims in West
Bengal, at the time of 1991 census, was 1,60,75,836 (17 % of the
total 9,52,22,853 Muslim population of India).
So far as concentration of Muslim population is concerned West Bengal
is second only to Uttar Pradesh, which has a Muslim population of
2,41,09,684 (25% of the total Muslim population of India).
1,60,75,836 Muslims in West Bengal constituted 24 % of the total
population of the State. Scheduled Castes account for 24 % and
Scheduled Tribes for 6 % of the population of the State in 1991. The
population of Other Backward Classes in West Bengal is estimated to
be about 10 % of the total population of the State. Under the
Government orders, 37 % of the jobs in the West Bengal State services
are reserved for Scheduled Castes (22 % ), Scheduled Tribes (6%) and
Other Backward Classes (9 %).
Though Muslims are inadequately represented in the State services
there is no provision for any reservation for them in West Bengal.
Some other States like Kerala have provided statutory reservations
for Muslims in jobs and admissions in educational institutions.
Muslims account for 23% of the population of Kerala. Provisions for
reservation have been made for them by the Government of Kerala under
Articles 15 (4) and 16 (4) of the Constitution of India and there has
been no legal hurdle to such reservations.
Muslims, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward
Classes account for approx. 64 % of the total population of West
Bengal. Others (excluding Muslims, SC, ST, & OBC) account for only 36
% of the total population of the State. This 36 % population has
received the benefit of 62.81 % of the submission of names by the
employment exchanges for consideration by the employers and 62.43 %
of the placements in jobs made through the employment exchanges in
West Bengal during 1999. Muslims constituting 24 % of the population
of the State and accounting for 13 % of the live register of
employment exchanges received the benefit of only 4.18 % of the
submissions and 4.95 % of the placements made during 1999 through the
Employment Exchanges in West Bengal. 2,49,769 names were submitted to
the above employers by the employment exchanges during 1999 which
included the names of only 10,458 (4 % Muslims). No wonder the
Muslims got only 717 (4.95 %) placements during 1999.
A pertinent question agitating the minds of the Muslims of West
Bengal is whether the fundamental rights and constitutional
guarantees embodied in our Constitution are mere illusion.
Apart from denial of equality of opportunities in matters of
employment, Muslims of West Bengal are further aggrieved because they
find that even the constitutional rights 'to establish and administer
educational institutions of their own choice', guaranteed under
Article 30 of the Constitution , is denied to them by the state
government. The case of Milli Al Amin College is an example of the
arbitrariness of the state government. This College has been built in
Calcutta as a 'Minority Institution' with donations received from
munificent Muslims and assistance from the Al Amin Educational Trust,
Bangalore. The state government has not contributed anything.
The College was built in 1992 but the state government has refused to
recognize Milli Al Amin College as a Minority Institution. On the
other hand the state government has been trying to impose such
conditions which tend to deprive the Muslim community of the
substance of their rights guaranteed under Article 30 (1) of the
Constitution.
The above factual analysis dispel the myth that the Left Front
Government is friendly with the minorities. It does not auger well
that while we have 'solemnly resolved to constitute India into a
Sovereign, Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and pledged 'to
secure to all citizens justice and equality of status and of
opportunity' the religious minority in West Bengal is left to feel
that it is not only inadequately represented in the services under
the State but is also being denied equality of opportunity in
employment and education. The members of the Muslim community in West
Bengal have well grounded reasons to be aggrieved and to feel that
proper justice is not being done with them by the State. The matter
should receive serious attention and consideration by all concerned.
The following is a 1992 statistic:-
It is from a website known as cultural survival. Interestingly they
have convieniently ignored the employment of hindus in the Bangladesh
central bank or their role in the jewellery industry in Bangladesh.
Minority Hiring in Bangladesh
Administration (officers) 5%
Administration (lower rank) 3-5%
Administration (secretaries) 0%
Customs and excise 0%
Income-tax officials 1.5%
Military officers 1.5%
Military soldiers 0%
Border security 0%
Police, officers 6%
Police rank and file 2.5%
Major bank managers 0%
Embassy & Consulate staff 0%
Foreign assignments 0%
Home Ministry 0%
Judiciary 0%
Ministry of Defense 0%
Industry managers 1%
Industry laborers 3-4%
Recent bank loans 1%
Article copyright Cultural Survival, Inc.
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