NGO posts 1 lakh postcards to Gujarat CM, submits plea to 33 district collectors to set up state minorities dept

A minority ghetto in Ahmedabad

By A Representative
A minority rights civil society organization has asked the Gujarat government to set up an independent minorities’ welfare department. Currently, all minority-related activities fall under the social justice and empowerment department of the state government, one reason why, the NGO, Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), feels there is no focused approach to ameliorate their plight.
In a memorandum addressed to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, submitted to 33 district collectors, MCC has also demanded setting up a state minorities’ commission and providing it with a constitutional set up by passing a law in the state assembly. Currently, all major states, except for Gujarat, Odisha and Jammu & Kashmir, have minorities commission.

In a list of eight of eight demands, the MCC also asked the state government to set up higher secondary schools up to standard 12 in minority-dominated areas, providing madarsa schools certificate the status of Gujarat state board certificate, setting aside a special economic package for the minorities, and implementation of the 15-point prwogramme for minority welfare, begun by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The memorandum has been submitted to each of the district collector’s office of Gujarat following the NGO’s month-long campaign, which included public meetings, seminars and signature campaigns. About one lakh post cards were sent to the Gujarat chief minster listing the eight demands. However, Gujarat officials have so far not responded to any of these campaigns.

MCC convener Mujahid Nafees, who lives in Juhapura, said to India’s largest Muslim ghetto, told me, “There is a sinister move of the Gujarat government to identify minorities only with Muslims. We take a larger view by including in in the definition not just religious minorities, but also Dalits and other social groups which face social exclusion.”
In that sense, he suggests, MCC follows the well-known Minority Rights Group International (MRGI), one of those objectives has been to work for “the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide.” Especially focusing on “religious and ethnic persecution, forced migration, persistent inequality and environmental degradation” in India one of the MRGI’s interests includes focus on Dalit rights.

Formed on December 18, 2016, MCC believes, minorities in Gujarat are “more vulnerable than other states”, and examines, as part of its advocacy thrust, how the state government has been treating minorities in Gujarat.
One of its recent analyses, based on official data, says, though a big proportion of minorities live in urban areas, there has not been any effort to “flow” funds to help the poorer sections living in cities/towns which have “a substantial minority population”.
To substantiate, it says, despite an allocation of a whopping Rs 2,033.08 crore in 2014-15 in the state budget for the poor urban minorities, the Gujarat government did not spend the money for their welfare.

Pointing out that there are eight minority concentrated blocks Kutch, Rajkot district and Bharuch districts of Gujarat, and 10 minority-concentrated towns are in Kutch, Junagadh, Panchmahals, Bharuch, Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Junagardh, Anand in Borsad districts, the analysis says, though the Government of India has set the target of providing assistance to 670 minority beneficiaries for setting up of individual and group micro-enterprises in 2014-15, the state government did nothing in that direction.
According to the analysis, 4,424 minority beneficiaries in self-help groups were to be helped, but not one beneficiary benefited. Also, stat government did not extend any special help to upgrade the skill of minority beneficiaries, though the target was to training 5,535 persons.
The analysis further reveals that the Gujarat government did not construct any primary or upper schools in 2006-07 under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in districts with substantial minority population under the Prime Minister’s 15 point programme to alleviate the plight of the minorities; nothing was done to implement the National Rural Drinking Water Programme in minority areas; and so on.

Comments

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Kolkata dialogue flags policy and finance deficit in wetland sustainability

By A Representative Wetlands were the focus of India–Germany climate talks in Kolkata, where experts from government, business, and civil society stressed both their ecological importance and the urgent need for stronger conservation frameworks.

Beyond Lata: How Asha Bhosle redefined the female voice with her underrated versatility

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The news of iconic Asha Bhosle’s ‘untimely’ demise has shocked music lovers across the country. Asha Tai was 92 years young. Normally, people celebrate a passing at this age, but Asha Bhosle—much like another legend, Dev Anand—never made us feel she was growing old. She was perhaps the most versatile artist in Bombay cinema. Hailing from a family devoted to music, Asha’s journey to success and fame was not easy. Her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, had already become the voice of women in cinema, and most contemporaries like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, and Noor Jehan had slowly faded into oblivion. Frankly, there was no second or third to Lata Mangeshkar; she became the first—and perhaps the only—choice for music directors and all those who mattered in filmmaking. Asha started her musical journey at age 10 with a Marathi film, but her first break in Hindustani cinema came with the film "Chunariya" (1948). Though she was not the first choice of ...

Maoist activity in India: Weakening structures, 'shifts' in leadership, strategy and ideology

By Harsh Thakor* Recent statements by government representatives have suggested that Maoism in India has been effectively eliminated, citing the weakening of central leadership and intensified security operations. These claims follow sustained counterinsurgency efforts across key regions, including central and eastern India. However, available information from security agencies and independent observers indicates that while the organizational structure of the CPI (Maoist) has been significantly disrupted, elements of the movement remain active. Reports acknowledge the continued presence of cadres in certain forested regions such as Bastar and parts of Dandakaranya, alongside smaller, decentralized units adapting their operational strategies.

'Fraudulent': Ex-civil servants urge President to halt Odisha tribal land dispossession

By A Representative A collective of 81 retired civil servants from the Constitutional Conduct Group has written to the President of India expressing alarm over what they describe as the wrongful dispossession of tribal lands in Odisha’s Rayagada district. The letter, dated April 19, 2026, highlights violent clashes in Kantamal village where police personnel reportedly injured over 70 tribal residents attempting to protect their community rights.

From Manesar to Noida: Workers take to streets for bread, media looks away

By Sunil Kumar* Across several states in India, a workers’ movement is gathering momentum. This is not a movement born of luxury or ambition, nor a demand for power-sharing within the state. At its core lies a stark and basic plea: the right to survive with dignity—adequate food, and wages sufficient to afford it.

Dhandhuka violence: Gujarat minority group seeks judicial action, cites targeted arson

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has written to the Director General of Police seeking judicial action in connection with recent violence in Dhandhuka town of Ahmedabad district, alleging targeted attacks on properties belonging to members of the Muslim community following a fatal altercation between two bike riders on April 18.

Midnight weeping: The sociology of tragic vision in Badri Narayan’s poetry

By Ravi Ranjan* Badri Narayan, a distinguished Hindi poet and social scientist, occupies a unique position in contemporary Indian intellectual life by bridging the worlds of creative literature and critical social inquiry. His poetic journey began significantly with the 1993 collection 'Saca Sune Hue Kaï Dina Hue' (Truth Heard Many Days Ago). As a social historian and cultural anthropologist, Narayan pioneered a methodological shift away from elite archives toward the oral traditions and folk myths of marginalized communities. He eventually legitimized "folk-ethnography" as a rigorous academic discipline during his tenure as Director of the G.B. Pant Social Science Institute.

Why link women’s reservation to delimitation? The unspoken political calculus

By Vikas Meshram* April 16, 2026, is likely to be recorded as a special day in the history of Indian democracy. In a three-day special session of Parliament, the central government is set to introduce a comprehensive package of three historic bills: the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026; the Delimitation Bill, 2026; and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The stated purpose of all three is the same: to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Constitutional Amendment) passed in 2023. However, the political intent concealed behind these measures — and their impact on the federal balance — is far more profound. It is absolutely essential to understand this.

Counterview

Search This Blog