Granting temporary minority status to institutions is illegal: Siddiqui

Chennai:

Chairman of National Commission for Minorities Education Institutions Justice M S A Siddiqui on Wednesday has hit out at the state government for giving temporary minority status certificate to institutions.

Speaking during a conference on Rights and Opportunities for Minority Institutions in Tamil Nadu organized by Muslim Education Association for South India and National commission for Minority Education Institutions, Siddiqui said that it is illegal on part of the state government to issue a temporary minority status certificate to minority institutions which has to be renewed periodically.

“Despite High Court passing a order against this practise the state is still issuing temporary minority status. This is against the High Court judgement and totally illegal by a competent authority of state,” said Siddqui.

He said if the state opposes the High Court order then it should have appealed against it in Supreme Court. “They have neither filed an appeal in the apex court but continue to issue temporary minority status certificate. This is the violation of constitutional right,” said Siddiqui, a former judge of Delhi High Court said.

He said that Article 30, which gives the minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions, is not intended to create new citizenship and even Supreme Court has interpreted the article as fact of equality.

Siddiqui also said that Muslims have not fully utilized the services of the commission. “Look at Christian institutions who have fully utilized the services of the commission. There is a need to generate awareness about the commission to the Muslims,” he said.

Urging the minority institutions to get the minority status, he said it would help them come outside the purview of Right To Education act. Section 12 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act  2009 (the Act) has made it compulsory for every private unaided school to admit at least 25 per cent of its entry level class from children belonging to weaker and disadvantaged groups.

Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali said that the school dropout rate is high among the Muslims while urging for measures to stem it. He also hit out at the West and said Islam is not a religion of terrorism. “There are some misguided elements and they are in every country who want to create bloodshed. Islam is for peace,” he said. He also said that secularism is the oxygen without which India will die and hailed the role of Hindus to protect it.