Letter to CM regrets: Gujarat minority population 11.5%, budget allocates 0.066%

By A Representative
Gujarat’s civil rights organization, Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) has regretted that the state government, in its budget for 2020-21, presented in the state assembly last week, has allocated just about 0.066% of the total allocation for the state’s minorities, even though their population is 11.5% in the state.
Of the total budget of Rs 2,17,000 crore, MCC said in a letter to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, there is allocation of Rs 101.35 crore for social services for minorities, Rs 1.51 crore as capital account of social service, Rs 1.50 crore as loan amount for the Gujarat Minorities Finance and Development Corporation, and apart from some other minor allocations.
Demanding that an allocation of Rs 8,320 crore should be set aside for Gujarat’s minorities, the MCC letter signed by its convener Mujahid Nafees said, this should include a fund of Rs 1,000 crore for the creation of a new minority affairs department, and Rs 250 crore for a new state commission for minorities.
Then, MCC said, Rs 1,500 crore should be allocated for the Multi-Sectorial Development Programme (MsDP) for minorities, Rs 2,000 crore for education, empowerment, skill development and livelihood and other special programmes for minorities, and Rs 1,500 crore as special financial package for the upliftment of minorities.
MCC said, Gujarat’s minority population of 11.5%, includes Muslims 9.7%, Jains 1.0%, Christians 0.5%, Buddhists 0.1% and others 0.1%, regretting, 10.18% of Muslim girls drop out at the primary level in Gujarat.
Pointing out that unemployment rate among the minorities is continuously increasing, MCC said, minorities in Gujarat are “far behind others in the field of development, they lack protection, and there is a need of concrete steps immediately for them.”

Comments

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

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.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Search This Blog