Sachar's back

Now that the UPA is back in power, many are expecting it will start implementing the Sachar Committee recommendations. An advertisement in the The Indian Express expresses this quite openly. The advertisement, called ‘Muslims in Union Cabinet’ has been issued by the presidents of the Zakat Foundation of India and the Religious & Linguistic Minorities Association, among others. It congratulates the UPA for being able to form a new secular, democratic government and points out that there was just one Muslim minister among those sworn in during the first round. Given that there are likely to be 67 members in the Cabinet, the advertisement says, there should be at least 11 Muslim ministers. This will be in keeping, the ad says, ‘with Sachar Committee recommendation and in fulfillment of the commitment made by the UPA chairperson and the Prime Minister for a fair representation of minorities at all levels’.