By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: An attempt to corner the Muslim community was underway through a legal route, said Satish Deshpande, a sociology professor from the University of Delhi, while delivering the ninth SR Sankaran Memorial Lecture on ‘Casteism and Communalism: Friends and Enemies’ organised by the Centre for Dalit Studies (CDS), on Sunday.

"Today’s communal agenda is to overthrow the existing reality — equality of all religions. Our Constitution doesn’t recognise the difference between religions. The communal agenda is to 'correct' personal law, so that due recognition will be given to the Hindus, that is the communal agenda," he said.

The professor further said that an attempt to create a unifying national project of othering Muslims was on its way, and all other sections of the society are invited to participate in it. "If you leave aside minute differences, it is Dalitization of Muslims, where a particular group is being considered as inferior and unrescualbly other," said Deshpande.

Stating that a legal route is adopted to corner Muslims, he said, "There is an attempt to turn this into legal reality, by making set legally unequal laws." He alleged that there is an attempt to “re-enact” Manusmriti, which is de facto unequal. "The Constitution of India has no room for discrimination against religious minorities or lower castes," he added.

Recalling the work of late IAS officer SR Sankaran, Mallepalli Laxmaiah, the chairperson of CDS, said, "During his career, Sankaran had worked to eradicate bonded labour, Jogini system, and for the upliftment of the poor and downtrodden communities. He collected over 1,500 books for CDS’s library."