JMI's Minority Status: Student Body Condemns Centre's Retraction
New Delhi:
According to reports emerged in some sections of media today, central university Jamia Millia Islamia will no longer be a minority institution. The centre government is set to inform the Delhi High Court that it never intended for Jamia to be a minority institution and has decided to withdraw its earlier stand on the central university's minority status. Responding to the latest developments, Nahas Mala, president of Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) of India has stated that the controversy regarding Jamia Millia Islamia's minority status is ill founded and wrongly taken.
According to Indian Express, the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry will file a fresh affidavit in the writ petitions pending with Delhi High Court stating that its earlier support for the order of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, declaring Jamia Millia Islamia a religious minority institution, "was an error in its understanding of the legal position".
According to SIO, NCMEI has adjudicated and held that "Jamia was founded by Muslims for the benefit of Muslims and it never lost its identity as a Muslim minority educational institution", and was, therefore, "covered under Article 30(1)... read with Section 2(g) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act".
Therefore, SIO demanded entitlement of the community to "establish" and "administer" educational institutions of its choice under Article 30 of constitution.
"The retraction of central government from its earlier stand on the Minority status of JMI amounts to the denial of historical facts. It went further to make similar remarks regarding the character of JMI tantamount to denying its minority status," said a statement from SIO.
The statement also said that SIO firmly believes and asserts that the character of JMI cannot be determined unless the specific historical context of their establishment is taken into consideration.
Further Nahas Mala added that, SIO has complete faith in the judiciary and hope that the Apex court will adjudicate the matter taking into consideration the right of minorities guaranteed under chapter 30 of our constitution and the specific historical context of the establishment of these institutions.
On January 2016, eight Opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Left joined hands to corner the government over its alleged "sinister" move to "strip" Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) of their minority status and slammed Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi on the issue.
Read also: Please Don't Touch AMU's Minority Status
The Attorney General (AG) had told the government that Delhi-based Jamia Millia Islamia is not a minority institution as it was created by an Act of Parliament, days after he told the Supreme Court that the legislature never intended the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to be a minority institution.
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According to Indian Express, the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry will file a fresh affidavit in the writ petitions pending with Delhi High Court stating that its earlier support for the order of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, declaring Jamia Millia Islamia a religious minority institution, "was an error in its understanding of the legal position".
According to SIO, NCMEI has adjudicated and held that "Jamia was founded by Muslims for the benefit of Muslims and it never lost its identity as a Muslim minority educational institution", and was, therefore, "covered under Article 30(1)... read with Section 2(g) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act".
Therefore, SIO demanded entitlement of the community to "establish" and "administer" educational institutions of its choice under Article 30 of constitution.
"The retraction of central government from its earlier stand on the Minority status of JMI amounts to the denial of historical facts. It went further to make similar remarks regarding the character of JMI tantamount to denying its minority status," said a statement from SIO.
The statement also said that SIO firmly believes and asserts that the character of JMI cannot be determined unless the specific historical context of their establishment is taken into consideration.
Further Nahas Mala added that, SIO has complete faith in the judiciary and hope that the Apex court will adjudicate the matter taking into consideration the right of minorities guaranteed under chapter 30 of our constitution and the specific historical context of the establishment of these institutions.
On January 2016, eight Opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Left joined hands to corner the government over its alleged "sinister" move to "strip" Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) of their minority status and slammed Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi on the issue.
Read also: Please Don't Touch AMU's Minority Status
The Attorney General (AG) had told the government that Delhi-based Jamia Millia Islamia is not a minority institution as it was created by an Act of Parliament, days after he told the Supreme Court that the legislature never intended the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to be a minority institution.
Click here for more Education News
