States can give minority status to Hindus too, Center told Supreme Court

New Delhi: The central government has told the Supreme Court that states and union territories can also give minority status to Hindus. Filing a reply on Sunday, the Union Ministry of Minorities told the Supreme Court that just as Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains have been given minority status at the national level, states have the freedom to choose between linguistic or Then give minority status to Hindus on the basis of numbers.

The Central Government has given this information in an affidavit filed in response to the petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar. In the petition, he has challenged the validity of Section 2 (f) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004.

Upadhyay, in his application, said that Section 2(f) gives immense power to the Centre, which is clearly arbitrary, illogical and hurtful. The petitioner has sought directions to frame guidelines for the identification of minorities in different states of the country. Their contention is that Jews, Baha’is and followers of Hinduism who are de facto minorities in Ladakh, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Kashmir, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Manipur cannot establish and run educational institutions of their choice. this is wrong.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs has said in its reply that the followers of Hindu, Jewish, Baha’i religion can establish educational institutions of their choice in the said states. and matters relating to their identification as a minority within the State may be considered at the State level. The ministry also rejected the claim that Article 2(f) gives immense power to the Centre.