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| Principle of protection of minorities in J&K applied in the wrong way | | Directorate of Social Welfare | | Rustam
Jammu, Apr 30: Director of Social Welfare Department Jammu, on April 26, issued a notice vide No. DIP/JK0552/2012 directing students to report in the Directorate of Social Welfare Jammu, Muthi Mode, near Police Naka, by or before May 25, along with bonafide certificates and identity cards for collecting their scholarship claims. Actually, the Director released the list of 51 "minority community" students undergoing professional courses in whose favour scholarship has been sanctioned but who have not turned up to claim it for the year 2010-2011.
It became evident from the list that the Social Welfare Department in Jammu and Kashmir has applied the principle of protection of minorities in the wrong way or that it is pursuing a policy that doesn't protect the minorities against exclusion by the majority. It is not an exaggeration. It is a statement of fact. Just look at the list of students who have been asked to collect their scholarship claims and see for yourself what has been happening in this Muslim-majority State of Jammu and Kashmir. As mentioned, the list contained 51 names. 41 students out of 51 belong to the majority community (serial No. 1 to 30 & 41 to 51) and just 10 to minority community, mostly Sikhs (serial No. 31 to 40).
It needs to be underlined that the Muslim community in Jammu and Kashmir represents the largest social group. It constitutes nearly 65 per cent of the State's population and it has been at the helm of affairs since 1947. As for the minority communities, which constitute nearly 35 per cent of the State's population, include Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and so on. The fact of the matter is that Jammu and Kashmir was a Muslim majority State even during the Dogra period (1846-1947) and its character remains the same even today. No problem.
It was expected that the authorities in the State, like the authorities in all other States of the Union, would enact laws aimed at protecting the interests of the minorities as well as protecting them exclusion by the majority community. Unfortunately, it has not happened in Jammu and Kashmir. What has happened is to the contrary, notwithstanding the fact that the authorities did permit the minorities like the Sikhs to establish their own educational and professional institutions in Jammu province. Take, for example, the opening of Mahant Bachitter Singh College of Engineering and Technology and Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences. While the Mahant Bachitter Singh College is managed by the Sikh community, Acharya Shri Chander College is managed by Udasin Akhara. The authorities have not till date permitted any Muslim socio-religious organization in the State to set up any educational institution, called minority institution, because the Muslims are a majority community in the State.
It appears the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have been pursuing policies which the British Indian Government pursued in the Muslim-majority Punjab Province in and after 1909 or under the Indian Councils Act of 1909 or under the Morlay-Minto Reforms. In Punjab where the Sikhs and Hindus were in minority, the principle of protection of minorities had been applied in the wrong way. They were not treated on a footing of equality with the Muslims in the Hindu-majority provinces. For instance, of the elected seats in the Legislative Council of Punjab, three had been given to the Muslims and only one to the non-Muslims. It was a case of the majorities as it were swallowing the minorities. This is exactly what has been happening in Jammu and Kashmir.
Will the authorities do away with such rules as exclude the minorities against the majority and accord a preferential treatment to the majority community? One doesn't really share the views of National Minority Commission Chairman Wajahat Habibulah on Jammu and Kashmir but one would surely appreciate his views on the minorities in the State. He had written a letter to the Union Home Ministry asking it to entitle the minority communities in the State to all such rights as are available to the minority communities in rest of the country. |
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