By TCN Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: The Congress-led Maharashtra Government has formed a high-level committee to look into the social, economic and educational issues of the minorities particularly Muslims in the state. Headed by state chief secretary, the committee will recommend ways and strategy to the problems of the minorities. Set up on 28th April 2011, the committee has been asked to submit its report within three months.
Several Muslim organizations particularly Federation of All Minority Educational Organisations (FAEM), Association of Muslim Minorities Medical Educational Institutes of Maharashtra, Association of Urdu Education Societies, All India Urdu Teachers Union and Jalgaon District Minority Educational Federation have been highlighting the issues of the community in the light of the Sachar Committee and Ranganath Mishra reports and have demanded the government to implement their recommendations. They got first success last month when the Congress-NCP alliance government formed the committee under the leadership of Chief Secretary.
Besides, Chief Secretary of the state, the committee has 11 heads of different government departments. Deputy Secretary of Minority Welfare Dept has been appointed as Member Secretary of the committee.
The committee has been assigned 23 issues, including 10% quota for Muslims in the state, benefits to the community in the light of the Sachar Committee Report, separate law to recognize primary and high schools and junior colleges run by the minorities, resolution of problems facing Unani medical colleges and Unani doctors, opening of a centre of AMU in Maharashtra, conducting police recruitment exams in Urdu medium also and opening of degree colleges in educationally backward areas.
Mohd Khwaja Moinuddin, General Secretary, FAEM, has urged the community and their institutions to be aware of the development and represent before the committee with the real problems of the community.
FAME secretary has appealed to all minority institutions and individuals to be aware of the committee. “Though we know the fate of the Mahmoodur Rahman committee set up earlier by the state government, there is a big difference in the areas of work of the two committees,” he said and stressed the need to put before the committee the educational, economic and social problems of the minorities particularly Muslims in right perspective. “We should discuss the issues before and reach a consensus and the put our demands before the committee,” FAME secretary said in a statement.