Page 2 - India’s Minority

SC reserves verdict on minority status of Aligarh Muslim University

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), after days of heated debate. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud heard the arguments put forth by the rival sides over eight days. The bench also comprises justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, J B Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma. The issue of AMU's minority status has been caught in a legal maze for the last several decades. The top court had on February 12, 2019 referred to a seven-judge bench the contentious issue. A similar reference was also made in 1981. A five-judge constitution bench had in the S Azeez Basha versus Union of India case in 1967 held that since AMU was a central university, it cannot be considered a minority institution. However, the fabled institution got back its minority status when Parliament passed the AMU (Amendment) Act in 1981. In January 2006, the Allahabad High Court struck down the ..

Bihar govt announces new scheme for unemployed minority community youths

The Bihar government on Monday announced the launch of 'Mukhyamantri Alpsankhyak Udyami Yojna' for unemployed youths from the minority community. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here following a proposal by the industry department. Talking to reporters, S. Siddhartha, additional chief secretary (cabinet secretariat), said, "With an aim to promote industrial development and generate employment among unemployed minority youths, the cabinet decided to launch 'Mukhyamantri Alpsankhyak (minority) Udyami Yojna (MAUY). The scheme will be implemented on almost similar lines of the existing Mukhyamantri SC/ST/EBC Udyami Yojana, Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyami Yojna (MMUY) and the Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Yojana (MYUY)." "Under this scheme, the Bihar government will provide Rs 10 lakh to an unemployed minority woman or man to start a new industry. Of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh would be subsidy, while the rest would be loan, to be returned in ...

Rajasthan elections 2023: BJP begins minority outreach initiative

BJP Minority Morcha has launched a campaign aiming to create 900 Modi Mitras across 200 constituencies, with emphasis on 40 Muslim-dominated seats

Rs 4,500 crore under PMJVK lying unused with states, claim officials

An amount of about Rs 4,500 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) of the Ministry of Minority Affairs is lying "unused" with the states, officials said on Monday. Till the state governments make use of these funds and submit "utilisation certificates", it is not possible for the Centre to make more funds available to them under the scheme, they said. The officials also said more than 58,000 "units" under infrastructure projects that were part of the PMJVK sanctioned from 2008 to 2018-2019, which the states said were unviable, have been cancelled or dropped after the Ministry of Minority Affairs spoke to the states. The officials said an amount of about Rs 12,000 crore was spent for the welfare of minorities under the UPA rule while in nine years of the Narendra Modi government, an amount of Rs 31,000 crore has been spent for the purpose. The PMJVK, a centrally-sponsored scheme, is an area development programme under which community infrastructure and basic ...

Govt displaying its anti-minority policy as 'badge of honour': Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday attacked the Centre for discontinuing the Maulana Azad National Fellowship, alleging that the government is on an "overdrive" to make life more difficult for students from minority communities. In a written reply in Lok Sabha earlier this week, Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani had said, "As the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme overlaps with various fellowship schemes for higher education, the government has decided to discontinue the MANF Scheme from 2022-23." In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said, "The government's excuse for scrapping the Maulana Azad National Fellowship and the subsidy for education loans to study abroad to minority students is grossly irrational and arbitrary." Even admitting that there are "overlapping" schemes, is the fellowship and subsidy to minority students the only schemes that overlap with another scheme, the former Union finance minister asked. "MGNREGA overlaps PM KISAN. Old age ..

Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay

While experts believe that provision for various social schemes may go up, the sector is unlikely to see any major announcements

India to grant citizenship to Pak, B'desh, Afghan minorities under 1955 Act

The Centre on Monday decided to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and currently living in two districts of Gujarat under the Citizenship Act, 1955. The move to grant citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and not the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) bears significance. The CAA also provides for granting Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, but as the rules under the Act have not been framed by the government yet, no one so far could be granted citizenship under it. According to a Union home ministry notification, those Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians residing in the districts of Anand and Mehsana in Gujarat will be allowed registration as a citizen of India under section 5 or will be granted certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the ...

RSS chief said Hindu rashtra can't be conceived without Muslims: Quraishi

"Insecurity is a major concern for the Muslims. And those who worry: What will happen in Hindutva, well, nobody need have any fears, because in Sanatan Dharma there are millions of Gods," he said

Smriti Irani takes additional charge of Ministry of Minority Affairs

Union minister Smriti Irani on Thursday took charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, a day after Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigned from the Cabinet. Naqvi, who held the portfolio of Minority Affairs, extended his wishes to Irani on taking the additional charge of the ministry. "Your energetic & dynamic leadership will further strengthen PM Shri @narendramodi Ji's commitment to 'Development with Dignity' of all sections," Naqvi said in a tweet and posted pictures with Irani taking charge at the ministry. President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Naqvi, who Rajya Sabha term ends on Thursday. Irani was assigned the charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, in addition to her existing portfolio of Minister for Women and Child Development. She had thanked Modi and said that she will fulfil the given responsibility with full devotion and will continue with her resolve to serve the country through the welfare of minorities.

Discussed sedition, terror laws and J&K issue with govt: EU representative

EU special representative for human rights Eamon Gilmore met the Indian government on Friday

No innocent person should be booked in Delhi clashes: Minorities panel

A clash between two groups erupted during a religious procession in Delhi's Jahangirpuri on April 16 that left nine people injured including eight police personnel and a civilian

Majoritarian ideas of India

Minority-baiting has become the new normal

States too can declare religious or linguistic community as minority: Govt

State governments can declare any religious or linguistic community, including Hindus, as a minority within the said state, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.

Modi's Muslim outreach at AMU: Driven perhaps by a changing global picture

Modi chose the last full week in 2020 to launch some important outreach to two sets of angry constituents: Muslims and the farmers

SC plea seeks guidelines for identifying minority groups at state level

The apex court held that the state is well within its rights to introduce a regulatory regime in the national interest to provide minority educational institutions with well-qualified teachers

The Minority Conundrum: Thought-provoking essays on minority rights

A thought-provoking set of essays examines minority rights in the light of secularism and nationalism, both of which are foundational to the vision of the Indian republic, says Chintan Girish Modi

The communal virus

Muslims should not be targeted for Tablighi Jamaat's errors

India has 'significant human rights issues', says US Congress report

Independent media were active and generally expressed a wide variety of views, the report said

SC refuses to hear plea for minority status based on state-wise population

Senior advocate Vikas Singh said that the word 'minority' needs to be defined and guidelines need to be laid for their identification at the state level

Declaration of minority on state-wise data? SC seeks AG's assistance

SC bench took note of the submissions of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi