Congress policies sparked an educational revolution among Muslim women: Shabbir Ali

Hyderabad (Same Day): Advisor to the Telangana Government and senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Tuesday credited successive Congress governments with ushering in an “educational revolution” among Muslims, particularly Muslim women, through measures such as 4% reservation, fee reimbursement, scholarships and the sanctioning of new professional colleges.

Speaking as Chief Guest at the Graduation Day ceremony of Sri Sai Vikas Degree College in Hyderabad, Mr. Shabbir Ali said that the transformation visible today was the result of deliberate policy interventions initiated during the tenure of former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. “Two decades ago, most Muslim girls discontinued their education after Class VII. Today, they are excelling in professional fields in unprecedented numbers,” he said.

He recalled the introduction of 4% Muslim reservation in 2004 as a turning point, noting that between 2004 and 2009, the Congress government sanctioned six new medical colleges, including VRK Women’s Medical College — the first and only women’s medical college in Asia. “The first batch of nearly 100 Muslim girls graduating from VRK marked the beginning of this silent revolution,” he observed.

Citing the latest figures, he said that of the 8,965 MBBS seats in Telangana for 2024-25, as many as 1,226 were secured by Muslim students, including 741 girls. “Muslim girls have outnumbered boys in both the free and management categories. This is undeniable proof that the fight for reservation has grown into a genuine movement for empowerment,” he said.

Mr. Shabbir Ali emphasised that the success stories of daughters of auto-rickshaw drivers and daily wage earners becoming doctors, engineers and professionals reflected the impact of reservations, scholarships and fee reimbursement. “I often say I planted a seed in 2004. Today, 20 years later, it has grown into a fruit-bearing tree,” he remarked.

He underlined that the Congress government also created the Minority Welfare Department, introduced scholarships and hostels, and pushed for professional education, thereby changing the destiny of thousands of families. While the transformation was visible in southern States such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, he said Muslim women in north India continued to face acute backwardness in the absence of such measures.

Calling for a change in social attitudes, Mr. Shabbir Ali urged families and communities to extend full support to girls pursuing education. “This is the real revolution we dreamt of when we fought for reservation in 2004. The success of these graduates proves that the right policies can transform entire generations,” he said.