New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS): False terror cases against young Muslim boys was the main concern expressed by the minority community members who gathered here to take stock of the promises made by the UPA government.
"Muslim youth are charged with terrorism and are later acquitted. This destroys them and their families," said Mohd Shahid of Aligarh Muslim University.
He was speaking at a seminar on "UPA II and Muslim Expectations" organized by the Aligarh Movement magazine at the India Islamic Cultural Centre here Friday evening.
Agreeing that sometimes injustice is done due to the bureaucratic and police system inherited from the British, Congress leader Anees Durrani said either the youth who are framed in false terror cases or the community leaders should seek compensation from the government.
Mohammad Adeeb, MP, said: "No change has come in the mindset of police and administration. So nothing can be done till the mindset is changed."
Noting "there are many instances where Muslim youths have been wrongly framed in terror cases", journalist Ashish Khetan said: "Islamic terror too is a reality."
"There should be no politics of victimhood. There should be justice for all, the innocents who are killed in terror incidents and those who are wrongly blamed for it," said Khetan.
The meeting also took stock of the promises made by the UPA-II government.
"A lot of promises were made when UPA-II came to power in 2009 but there is little implementation of them," said Jasim Mohammad, editor of the Aligarh Movement magazine.
"The government is making joke of Muslims as we have been continuously believing in the Congress," said Farhat Ali Khan, OSD of Jamia Urdu.
The Congress should fulfill its promises, noted film director and social activist Mahesh Bhatt said.
"The core ideology of the Congress is secularism which is not its monopoly but a tradition of our forefathers," he said.
Among the other issues raised by the community leaders were jobs for youth, implementation of Sachar panel report, a bill to curb communal violence and minority institution status for Aligarh Muslim University.