Concerted effort by some to regard Muslims as 'others': Former vice president Hamid Ansari
New Delhi, Feb 10: Former vice president Hamid Ansari on Wednesday lamented there is a concerted effort by some in the country to regard Muslims as "others" and stressed that India's plural society has been the reality for centuries.
Participating in a discussion on his book "By Many a Happy Accident: Recollections of a Life", he said his Muslim-ness did not matter and his professional competence did.
"There is a concerted effort from certain quarters to regard Muslims as others. Am I a citizen or not? If I am a citizen, I have the right to be a beneficiary of all things that flow out of citizenship," he said, but did not elaborate.
"A plural society was an existential reality in India for centuries," he also noted.
Former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who was also part of the discussion, said he and Ansari are both pained as the developments of the last several years are "threatening those who are Muslims".
"They feel threatened and therefore they are withdrawing," he noted.
"Muslim identity is being deliberately targeted in India and the current dispensation is targeting them viciously," Chidambaram alleged.
Ansari said the debate on Muslim identity is "somewhat superfluous" as each one has multiple identities.
"I carry several identities all at the same time. Why should one identity be picked out simply to be ridiculed. A citizen is a citizen," he said.
Ansari said his experience as a professional diplomat for four decades did not talk about his Muslim-ness. "When I was in the UN at a difficult time my Muslim-ness did not matter. My professional competence mattered," he said.
Another Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said politics in recent years has narrowed the space for a person like Ansari in Indian public life.
He said people like Ansari in public life are a pride for every India.
"The prime minister and his people make no effort to conceal their disdain for many aspects of Islam, Muslim culture and are quite belligerent about it," Tharoor alleged, noting that there is definitely going to be a challenge for Indian Muslims because of this.
In "By Many a Happy Accident", published by Rupa Publications, Ansari talks about his days in academia, diplomacy and then in the country's second highest office for two consecutive terms (2007-2017).
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
