Muslim empowerment possible only through political representation, says Shabbir Ali
Hyderabad: Congress leader and Telangana government advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir said Muslim empowerment depended solely on strong Muslim political representation in decision-making bodies.
He spoke after releasing the New Year calendar of the All Minority Employees Welfare Association on Thursday. Shabbir Ali said Muslims formed nearly 15 per cent of Telangana’s population. Therefore, he said, the community needed adequate representation, especially in politics.
He recalled that the Congress government introduced a 4 per cent reservation for socially and educationally backward Muslims in 2004. Dr Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy led the government at the time. Shabbir Ali served as a Cabinet minister then.
According to him, the policy benefited more than 22 lakh poor Muslim families across the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, including present-day Telangana. Thousands of Muslim students secured seats in MBBS and other professional courses. Muslims also received a 4 per cent share in government recruitments from 2004–05 onwards, barring brief periods affected by court cases.
Congress steps strengthened Muslim political representation
Shabbir Ali said the Congress government strengthened Muslim political representation by including Muslims under the BC-E category. This move allowed them to contest elections from seats reserved for Backward Classes.
As a result, he said, hundreds of Muslims won elections to rural and urban local bodies. These included Sarpanches, ZPTC and MPTC members, Corporators, Councillors, Ward Members, Mayors, Deputy Mayors, and Zilla Parishad Chairpersons.
He added that the government also ensured Muslim participation in cooperative societies, agriculture market committees, and other statutory bodies. Such representation, he said, gave the community a role in governance and policy execution, not just welfare access.
Recalling his ministerial tenure under former Chief Minister Vijayabhaskar Reddy, Shabbir Ali said the government created the country’s first Minority Welfare Department. That decision later led to a separate budget for minority welfare.
He urged Muslims to stand by their leaders and secure political authority through elections. Only political power, he said, enabled decisions that affected lakhs of people.
Shabbir Ali warned the community against divisive politics and alleged political traps set by the BJP. He cited recurring controversies around ‘Vande Mataram’ as deliberate distractions from governance failures.
Explaining the issue, he said the Constituent Assembly adopted ‘Vande Mataram’ as the National Song on January 24, 1950. It adopted ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as the National Anthem on the same day. He noted that both received equal respect.
He said the Congress government in Telangana, led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, continued to follow a secular and inclusive approach to governance.
