By Mumtaz Alam, India Tomorrow,
New Delhi/Darbhanga, 28 Dec 2013: It is perhaps a unique case that a college has been granted minority status by National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) four years ago but it is yet to assume the status. Darbhanga Millat College, set up by the local Muslim community in 1957, was granted minority status by the Patna High Court in 1965 but the order was not implemented by the state government. The Muslim Anjuman-e-Taleem, founding society of the college, moved NCMEI which upheld the HC order in 2009. But even today, the college is not enjoying the status of a minority college for one reason or the other.
It is a fact that over 90% of the educational institutions granted minority status by NCMEI since it was set up in 2005 are owned and run by Christian community. India’s largest minority Muslims and other minorities have only 10% of such institutions. NCMEI has granted minority status to 8910 educational institutions across the country in last 8 years.
When asked why the number of Muslim institutions is so low, NCMEI chairperson Justice Mohammad Sohail Ahmed Siddiqi told India Tomorrow: “It is because the Muslim community only talks about empowerment but does not care for the means that can bring empowerment.”
Whenever the government uses the term minority it is assumed the beneficiaries are Muslims but in effect this is not the case in most of the cases. Like in this case, the 90% of the educational institutions granted minority status is run by Christian community.
Are Muslims lagging behind because of lack of awareness? Justice Siddiqi answered: “I myself have been touring the country. NCMEI has taken several steps for creating awareness”.
When asked why the Millat College of Darbhanga is not enjoying minority status even four years after the NCMEI granted it minority status, Justice Siddiqi, who is a retired judge of Delhi High Court, told India Tomorrow: “They (authorities of the Millat College) have done a Himalayan blunder by not implementing NCMEI order. They must not have waited for acknowledgment from the government. They should have implemented the order. And if they had faced any problem they should have come back to NCMEI.”
NCMEI is a quasi-judicial body whose orders can be challenged only in high court or Supreme Court.
It seems the Millat College of Darbhang is a victim of local politics or maybe the present administration of the college including the principal and his team are wary of likely financial problems the college may face once it officially becomes a minority institution. However, the apprehensions seem misplaced and weak. Given the case of Jamia Millia Islamia of Delhi, which was also granted minority status by the same NCMEI some years ago, the present administration must not worry. Today Jamia Millia Islamia is a minority university and there are no financial problems with the university. It is a central university as it was before and gets all facilities from the government as usual.
To implement the minority status granted by NCMEI and to convince the present administration of Millat College, the Muslim Anjuman-e-Taleem, founding society of the college, was revived a few years ago. Darbhanga’s renowned surgeon and president of the Anjuma Dr Abdul Wahab and ex-ADM Neyaz Ahmed, Secretary of the Anjuman are making all out efforts. They are holding a public conference in the city tomorrow (29 Dec 2013) and to brief the media they are addressing a press conference today.
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