Tell those targeting you this is your country: Anil Desai to Muslim youth

If someone targets you you must be bold enough to argue back Stand up and assert that this is your watan country and you are made from this mittirdquoThe man making this statement to a room hall full of young Muslims was neither a Muslim politician nor a secular activist but a trueblue Shiv Sainik This was Anil Desai twotime Rajya Sabha MP from the undivided Shiv Sena and current Lok Sabha candidate of the Sena UBT Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh introduced him as part of the ldquothink tankrdquo of the Shiv SenaShiv Sena UBT MP Anil Desai and Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh at the Saisa Institute Bandra on SaturdayDesai was replying to a question by a young Muslim who had expressed fears of being discriminated against in the job sphere because of his beardWould Desai give an assurance that when not ldquoifrdquo the INDIA bloc came to power such discrimination on the basis of appearance would endKulsum Khan Rabodi residentldquoDefinitelyrdquo said Desai pointing out that India was a democracy for of and by the people Those discriminating on the basis of clothes were taking the country backwards he said Everyone who was employed was contributing to the countryrsquos GDP he added and nobody should take such discrimination lying downDesai was part of an interaction with minority youth organised on Saturday by Shaikhrsquos organisation lsquoAhtesaabrsquo which runs skill development centres in Muslim areas Young Muslims had come from Govandi Bandra East Ghatkopar and Thane to ask questions of candidates of the INDIA bloc Desai from Mumbai South Central and the Congressrsquos Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai North CentralldquoI wanted to present a different image of the community to themrdquo Shaikh told midday ldquoNormally the practice is to take candidates to meet maulanasrdquoYouthrsquos aspirationsDesai and Gaikwad may have found it easier to field questions from maulanas The youth gathered at the Saisa Institute Bandra had serious concerns based on their own experiencesKulsum Khan for instance wanted to appear for the UPSC exam But she could not get over the memory of having been humiliated in her convent school in Thanersquos Rabodi area ldquoWhen I was in Std III I couldnrsquot sit for the unit test because I couldnrsquot pay my fees The teacher told me You Muslims are like this only you all say you canrsquot pay Why not go to a municipal school thenrdquoNow said Kulsum her younger sister had been told the same thing by the same schoolldquoIrsquom afraid now when I appear for the UPSC exam will I be told that we Muslims are like that onlyrsquordquo asked KulsumldquoShockingrdquo replied Desai ldquoWhich school was this Wersquoll definitely look into it Such prejudices need to be eradicated But please put this detestable incident behind you and sit for the UPSC You will be an asset to the countryrdquoTalking to midday Kulsum said her sister had been sent to the same school despite her own bitter experience because this was the only good convent school in the area Her father was a driver she added and her parents had taken loans to pay the feesGaikwad joined the interaction late Her responses however were very different when questions of discrimination were put to her The fourtime MLA asked the youth to learn from icons such as Dr Ambedkar and A P J Abdul Kalam both of whom had battled discrimination and poverty and ended up giving the country the Constitution and the space programme respectivelyldquoI myself faced heavy odds thatrsquos why I always tell students not to feel ashamed if they have to study in a small crowded house with no facilitiesrdquo she addedThe contrast in the answers of the two candidates one from a party whose trademark used to be hard Hindutva the other from a party that flaunts its secular credentials and is even accused of lsquoMuslim appeasementrsquo was an accurate reflection of the irony that dominates Maharashtra politics todayOther concerns voiced by students concerned the cancellation of minority scholarships the steep fees charged by private schools the lack of municipal schools till Std X in their areas and the difficulty in procuring OBC certificates for Muslims Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh answered these questions