Opposition mum on Modi's blow to minority welfare

Does the anti-BJP and anti-Modi grouping in the country really care about the minorities whose cause it speaks so eloquently every day to attack the Centre? If it is really so, why did not it take up the budgetary conning of the minorities by the government to raise heat on the government? The allocation of the Ministry of Minority Affairs has been cut by 38 per cent in the 2023-24 budget. For the year 2022-23, it was Rs 5,020.50 crore but this year the Budget showed only Rs 3,097 crore (38 per cent slash). Where does this fall affect the minorities more? This fall is in the budget allocation for education and skill development of minorities.

Except in a few cases, most of the minority students in the country come from the margins; more so, when it comes to higher studies. The pre-matric scholarships faced a cut of Rs 900 crore this year in the Budget. The support for those who clear the UPSC, SSC the Service Commissions of the States is totally withdrawn now. At least last year, it was Rs 8 crore. Experts have pointed out that the fall in skill development and livelihood support amounted to an 86.8 per cent cut from Rs 491 crore to Rs 64.4 crore. The allocation for educational schemes for madrasas and minorities was cut by 93 per cent. Above all, the Maulana Azad National fellowship (MANF) which used to provide financial support to research scholars from among the minority communities was totally discontinued. The last mentioned one is pertinent here because those depending on this scholarship will be left in limbo now.

What does the government aim to pursue by these budgetary slashes? What are these students supposed to do? There are many brilliant scholars among them who are dependent on the scholarship amounts. Above all, it is lack of education and illiteracy that keep people away from thinking right. A majority of the Muslim minorities who live below the poverty line would never be encouraged to pursue their education even if they seek to or dream about it. What is the use in claiming that a section of the minorities is veering around fundamentalism or extremism? Such consequences are a fallout of backwardisation and poverty.

An idle man's brain is a devil's workshop, it is said. Do we want to push them towards such evil? The National Scholarship Portal says that in 2021-22, Muslims were the largest beneficiaries at 71 per cent of these scholarships while Christians stood second at 9.8 per cent and Hindus, 9.2 per cent. Girl students bagged a higher share of scholarships in the pre and post Matric scholarships. This gender issue should not be forgotten as a girl child in a Muslim family could be the more oppressed compared to her counterparts in the country. Even among these, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 8.27,248 students availing the scholarships while Maharashtra came second and Kerala was the third place.

Even if it is for political considerations, don't you think that there are more chances of an educated Muslim girl or boy to vote for the BJP if it hikes the scholarships further to engage the youth in fruitful pursuits in future? Even if the Centre did it, where was the Opposition? Or does it prefer more illiteracy among the minorities so that they keep voting for them hailing from a blind spot?