MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

the Shiv Sena boys", and the community could not get help from those meant to protect their lives.
(Telegraph 17.4.02)
17 th April
Accused: Minister in Modi Govt. (7)
New Delhi, April 16: A minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet in Gujarat has been accused of leading mobs
that torched and burnt houses in an Ahmedabad locality in complaints lodged with the Ahmedabad police
commissioner. The incidents took place on February 28, the day after the Godhra killings when the VHP
called a Gujarat bandh. The bandh call was supported by the BJP. So far, the allegation against the Modi
administration has been that it had tacitly backed the pogrom in the wake of Godhra. But the written
complaints lodged with the Ahmedabad police commissioner, if true, will mean that members of the Modi
government directly incited the violence. A total of 13 complaints allege that the Gujarat minister for
revenue, Haren Pandya, led mobs in his constituency Ellis Bridge in Ahmedabad. Pandya refutes the
charge. (Telegraph 17.4.02)
19 th April
Govt’s shabbily kept secret: six annual reports of minority panel (7)
NEW DELHI, APRIL 18: WANT to know the status of minorities in the country since the demolition of the
Babri Masjid? What their complaints are? What's their population in which district? The answers lie buried
in the six annual reports of the National Minorities Commission to which the public has no access.
Reason: these have become "privileged documents" since not one has been tabled in Parliament. And
this is because their corresponding Action Taken Reports (ATRs) from states and other ministries have
not come in yet. Says NCM vice-chairman Tarlochan Singh: "It is embarrassing when people ask us what
we have done for the minorities. How can we show what we have done if we cannot even make the
documents public?" (Indian Exp 19.4.02)
20th April
Baptism under fire in AP (7)
New Delhi: THE CURIOUS case of "baptism for admissions" has been raised by the Andhra Pradesh
Government before the Supreme Court which exposes malpractices denying minorities admissions in
private unaided "minority" institutions. An 11 -memb'er SC Bench is currently hearing arguments on the I
crucial question of definition of a mi-1 nority under Article 30. The Special ! Leave Petition (SLP) filed by
the AP Government is closely related to the issues being examined by the Apex Court. The SC Bench is
hearing a clutch of petitions which also deal with how I minority institutions should be ad-i ministered. "In
most of the cases, the conversion certificates produced ! by the candidates are taken just be-! fore the
commencement of the ad-! mission process solely for the purpose of admission into B.Ed. courses." the
AP Government has said. (Pioneer 20.4.02)
19 th April
Public hearings to assess problems of minorities (7)
JAIPUR, APRIL 18. The Rajasthan State Minorities Commission will organise "Jan Sunwai" (public
hearings) in Jodhpur, Bikaner and Ajmer this month, to find out problems confronting the minorities and
identify issues vital for their socio-economic development. The public hearings would also ensure better
monitoring of various Government schemes launched for minorities' welfare, the Commission's Chairman,
Nizam Mohammed, told reporters here today. He said the Commission's responsibilities had increased
manifold after being granted the statutory status, which had made it more powerful. Leading
representatives of minority communities will be invited to attend the public hearings and the district
administration would be asked to state its version in the cases of complaints so as to facilitate the
follow-up action. Dr. Nizam said the public hearing in Jodhpur would be held on April 20, in Bikaner on
April 27 and in Ajmer on April 29. (Hindu 19.4.02)
19 th April
Frightened Muslims boycott exams (7)
AHMEDABAD: Security and not exams seemed high on the priority of state authorities and parents
alike as over 1.44 lakh students in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and other parts of Gujarat wrote their SSC