First it was Vir Sanghvi, who busted the myth of godman, Sathya Sai Baba (HT, Nov 26). Then it was Justice Rajendra Sachar Panel’s turn to prove false the claim that Muslims have more children than other communities. Here’s an excerpt from Dec 4 TT:
“Strictly speaking, there is no ‘Muslim fertility’ as such in the sense that Muslims in general cannot be identified as having a particular level of fertility,” says the panel’s report, tabled in Parliament on Thursday.
The Sachar Panel has for that matter suggested concrete steps to alleviate the poverty and other disadvantages that Indian Muslims suffer from. There is no doubt that if India as a whole has to improve and embrace the potential it has, every single component of the nation’s populace must be able to participate and contribute in the progress. There cannot be any half-baked steps that leave a significant population in the lurch while only the privileged few enjoy the fruits of progress. To that extent, the Sachar Panel’s report is an ideal reference point.
Coming back to Vir Sanghvi’s opinion about Sathya Sai Baba, it was interesting to watch We The People program on NDTV conducted by Barkha Dutt day before yesterday. It was an almost vertical split among the people who attended the program, where faith struggled against facts. However, magician PC Sarkar, who perhaps spoke in a separate televised appearance, decisively stole the show.
He opined if Sathya Sai Baba on the back of his mythical power can produce a sandesh out of thin air, why can’t he do the same to mitigate the hunger of those who cannot have a square meal a day. Vir Sanghvi said the same thing in his article in HT. One wonders why indeed can’t He do that!
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