'PREJUDICE TAKES THE DANGEROUS FORM OF EXTERNALISATION'

“Exclusion is a universal phenomenon. There is nothing extraordinary about it. However, in a stratified and hierarchical society like India, social exclusion based on discrimination and prejudice takes the dangerous form of externalisation, said eminent sociologist, Prof. T.K. Oommen, while delivering keynote address at the Inaugural session of the 3-day National Conference on Exclusionary Perspectives for Muslims and Marginalised Groups, at Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad on February 21. Prof. Oommen, who was also one of the members of Sachar Committee, said the concept of “Muslim appeasement” is nothing but a myth; otherwise, the community wouldn’t have been in such a pathetic condition. Dealing with the issue of reservation for minorities, particularly for Muslim, he said, Sachar Committee and Ranganath Mishra Commission have endorsed the pathetic conditions of the community and recommended for reservations.