HINDUS NOT A ‘MINORITY’, J&K GOVT TELLS TOP COURT

NEWDELHI: Jammu and Kashmir does not acknowledge Hindus as a “minority” in the state as it goes by the Centre’s national list of minorities, according to an affidavit filed by the PDP-BJP coalition government in the Supreme Court last week.

The state government told the top court on Friday that benefits of Central schemes would only be extended to “meritorious” and “needy” members of those communities that are notified by the Centre, suggesting that members of the Hindu committee would not be eligible.

The J&K affidavit referred to a central government notification of 1993 that lists Muslims as a minority. The other minority groups, as per the document, are Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians. In 2014, the Jain community was added to this list.

“The benefits flowing out of the scheme prepared by the central government are targeted to the needy and meritorious beneficiaries of the minority community as notified by the Centre for Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Punjab and Lakshadweep,” the affidavit said.

In case the notified minority is the majority in a state, the benefits are to be earmarked to other notified minorities for the purpose of fixing physical and financial targets, the affidavit added.

The state government was responding to a petition in the top court that asked for Hindus to be declared a minority community in Jammu and Kashmir and seven other states.