Hyderabad , Telangana :

In what is known as a “passing out parade” of constables held at the police academy recently, more than 70 graduates were from the stable of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM). But what is interesting is that of this number, more than half are Hindu, Dalit and Sikhs while only 29 are Muslim candidates.

“As a part of the MIM initiative, we had trained around 200 people over a period of three months for the physical fitness and written tests. Also, of the 10 girls selected, only two are Muslims and the rest are Hindus. It is pertinent to point out that two of the selected youth are Mahesh Yadav and Vijay Kumar from Begum Bazaar. Those selected also belong to the Reddy community and other backward classes. Another two are Sikh recruits,” said Manzoor Ali Khan, in-charge of the constable recruitment training programme.

While the MIM has been vocal about its intentions of forging a Muslim-Dalit political alliance – which has gained momentum with the slogan Jai Bheem, Jai Meem – the move indicates that the party is keen to reach out to members of the majority community as well. The party in addition has proposed initiatives for training youth for employment.

“The top leadership wants an inclusive approach in all things we do. Therefore, we intend to train youth regardless of religion, caste, creed and sex. We are now waiting for the next constable recruitment notification to be issued,” Manzoor said. The number of Hindu recruits trained by the MIM has increased substantially this year, he claimed.

Meanwhile, the Millat Fund, a philanthropic arm of the Siasat Urdu Daily, too has had its share of success in sending candidates from its training rooms. According to the managing editor Zaheeruddin Ali Khan of the daily, around 170 cadets from a batch of around 300 was selected were a part of the parade held last week.

“Since 2003, most of those who have been selected are men and we have tried our best to train women as well. Of the 20 girls who sought training from us this year belong to the majority community. We are encouraging the participation of candidates from all religions,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Syed Mohammed, TNN / December 13th, 2014