Minority Status For Jains Suggested

The National Minorities Commission has asked the government to grant minority status to the Jain community in addition to the five national religious minorities. The existing ones are Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians.

Commission chairman Tahir Mahmood yesterday said that it was a long-standing demand of the Jain community, and it was found to be justified after considerable deliberations in the newly-constituted seven-member commission.

He said that he favoured the Buddhists being given a majority say in the management of the Bodh Gaya temple. He endorsed their demand and stated that the commission will forward its recommendation to the government. At present, the management of the temple is in the hands of Hindus, and Buddhists have been agitating against this.

Stating that the current status of the commission needed to be changed, Mehmood said that the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, should be revised. He that said it had very limited powers, while its referential role needs to be enhanced.

The commission has appointed a two-member committee to review the 1992 Act, and it has been asked to submit the report by January 15. Another committee has been formed to examine problems relating to status, powers and functions of the state and regional minorities commission.

Mehmood supported the demand of Dalit Christians that they should be recognised as scheduled caste. Religion should not be the criterion in this respect, he said. To obtain counsel and feedback, the commission has set up two informal advisory panels on problems of the minority educational institutions.

, their recruitment in public and private sectors and projection in the media.

He said the commission had identified 142 districts compared to the existing 41, having minority concentration, and which needed special attention for launching various welfare schemes and programmes.

The commission proposed to use its judicial powers to provide relief on institutional and individual complaints on religion based discrimination.

The chairman, who visited Meerut and Bahraich recently, said there was widespread discontentment among minorities in these areas, not only among Muslims but among Sikhs as well.

The commission has planned an official organ, Minorities India, focussing on the problems faced by minorities.