Former Vice President Hamid Ansari.
Former Vice President Hamid Ansari on Tuesday said Muslims require focused affirmative action to make ‘Sabka saath, Sabka vikas’ slogan meaningful.
Speaking at the launch of a book, ‘Working with Muslims – Beyond Burqa and Triple Talaq’, Ansari said: “Muslims are a religious minority, like other faith-based minorities… and what was insufficiently recognised till the Sachar (Committee) report of 2006, is that many among them also suffer from multiple developmental deficits and therefore require empowerment through focused affirmative action to enable them to join others and take their place at the commencement point from which ‘Sabka saath Sabka vikas’ becomes meaningful,” he said.
The book focuses on the work done by NGOs in eight states with Muslim women and their stories. According to the author, Farah Naqvi, and researchers, who worked on the book, getting NGOs to talk about their work was an arduous process.