CBCI objects to Justice Siddiqui’s comments on minorities
(March 03, 2010) The Catholic Bishops Conference of India - CBCI, has written
to the Prime Minister, Education Minister and other authorities, objecting to the
recent interpretation of the nature of minority status by the Chairman of the National
Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) Justice M.S.A. Siddiqui.
CBCI’s Commission for Education & Culture has objected to the interpretation that
Christian institutions with less than 30% students from the community, cannot claim
the Minority status guaranteed by the Constitution of India Art.30 (1). Siddiqui’s
comments published in The Telegraph recently, quoted him as saying: “I have ordered
that an institution must have a minimum, reasonable percentage of students from a
particular minority community, to claim the institution as a minority institution.
I have set the figure at 30 per cent.” The CBCI Commission sent a memorandum to
the authorities, requesting that appropriate action be taken on the issue. It said
that the Article 30(1) clearly states: “All minorities, whether based on religion
or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions
of their choice, and the Constitution does not fix any percentage for acquiring minority
status. The CBCI Commission said India’s Christian population of just 2% is scattered
all over the country. Wherever they are, they have a right to preserve their religion
and culture. It added that this community has been serving and imparting quality
education to the larger community, without distinction of caste, creed, colour and
sex.