UNI
New Delhi, Apr 23: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government would ensure social equity, justice and fair play through the Sachar Committee report and the Ministry of Minority Affairs.Dr Singh made the statement while releasing a collection of Parliamentary speeches of Maulana Syed Asad Madani at the Fida-e-Millat Seminar here on ''Hazarat Maulana Syed Asad Madani: Life and Contribution.'' Home Minister Shivraj Patil was among those present at the function.
Speaking in Urdu, the Prime Minister observed that the Maulana was a fine product of the country's freedom struggle and composite culture.
He was deeply religious and spiritual and at the same time had a modern, secular and progressive outlook. All his activities as a private person and a public figure reflected the values he inherited from the struggle for independence and the shared heritage of our people professing diverse faiths.
"The Maulana was a staunch advocate of pluralism and secularism and dedicated his life to defend our common ethos and composite culture. His speeches in the Rajya Sabha present to us a modern mind, a patriotic and nationalist mind. Maulana Syed Asad Madani was a nation-builder.'' Dr Singh said one of the enduring lessons of the book was centered around gender equality. It was indeed educative to find that the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind during 1935 and 1936 was instrumental for securing the rights for Muslim women over their parental property.
But the rights were restricted when Muhammed Ali Jinnah moved an amendment exempting the forest and agricultural property from the scope of the Bill. It was Maulana Madani who wanted Muslim women to have rights on all kinds of ancestral property, the Prime Minister said.
"But he could not succeed. Later on he hoped that some day the rights of women on parental property would be guaranteed. It was his progressive vision that defined his personality and his outlook. We need such approaches to address the problems confronted by women in our society. Without achieving such goals we cannot truly make India a developed country.''