Kashmiri Pandits, Baha'is seek minority status

Groups representing the Baha'is and Kashmiri Pandits have sought minority status for the two communities.
Delegations of the two communities today met Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah with the demand that they be conferred with minority status, which has been so far given to Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Jains, an official statement said.
"Heptulla met a delegation of the Jammu & Kashmir Vichar Manch. The delegation led by Manch's president Sanjay Ganjoo met the minister seeking minority status for the Kashmiri Pandits," it said.
The Baha'i delegation comprised Nelakshi Rajkhowa and Farida Wahidi.
The government has so far accorded minority status only to minority religious communities. Pandits are officially considered Hindus while the Baha'is share some Islamic beliefs but see themselves as a separate religious group.