Hindus can be given minority status too in 10 status; Govt to SC

New Delhi, Mar 28: Responding to Supreme Courts direction over the plea seeking minority status for Hindus, the Centre informed that SC that states can grant minority status to Hindus if they are not in a majority.

 

 

It should be noted that last year, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay filed a plea in the apex court seeking directions for framing guidelines identifying minorities at the state level, stating that the Hindu population is a minority in over 10 states of the country. In the plea, the petitioner said that the minority population of Hindus in such states is not able to get the benefits of schemes meant for minorities.

 

The petitioner Upadhyay challenged the validity of section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minority Education Institution Act(NCMEI), 2004 alleged that it gives unbridled powers to the Centre. the concerned section under the act empowers the centre to identify and notify minority communities in India.

 

Earlier, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to file a reply to the plea seeking minority benefits to Hindu communities in over 10 states.

 

 

 

Following this, the Ministry of Minority Affairs on Sunday submitted its response to that matter concerning whether the members of Hinduism, Judaism, and Baha'i can establish and administer educational institutions in the states where they are minorities. The ministry said in its response on Sunday that the state governments can also declare a religious or linguistic community as a minority within their territorial extent.

 

Citing instances where several state governments have given minority status to some communities, the ministry said, “The Maharashtra government has notified 'Jews' as a minority community within the state. Moreover, the Karnataka government has notified Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Tulu, Lamani, Hindi, Konkani, and Gujarati languages as minority languages within the state of Karnataka.”

.

.