parijataka
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On how Ramakrishna Mission Calcutta declared they were a non-Hindu sect and how minorities are being pampered at the expense of majority. Article by Dr Moorthy Muthuswamy referred from Satyameva Jayate blog.
*** Excerpts from Religious Apartheid in Modern India by Moorthy Muthuswamy ***
*** Excerpts from Religious Apartheid in Modern India by Moorthy Muthuswamy ***
Please read the full post at the blog as citations are given for the facts and figures quoted....
For any emergent or modern nation, it would indeed be downright shameful, and even outright inconceivable to blatantly discriminate against its citizens, especially its majority community. This reminds one of the white apartheid-rule in South Africa.
One may be surprised to learn that in India, of all nations, similar practices are taking place.
Recently, St. Stephen's College, an elite Christian missionary-controlled higher education institution located in New Delhi shocked many by declaring that it was setting up a quota system that allots 50 percent of its student enrolment for the Christians.
"¦A stunning fact: About 95 percent of the college's expenses are paid by the taxpayers, with the majority community contributing most of it.[4] Interestingly, according to the 2001 census figures, Christian population in New Delhi constitutes just one percent.[5] Indeed, Indian taxpayers appear to be subsidising the selective empowerment of Christians in St. Stephen's College at the expense of deserving non-Christians.
If the percentage of missionary-controlled educational institutions is proportional to the Christian minority population percentage, these discriminations, while hardly justifiable for a nation that calls itself "secular," are unlikely to have an adverse impact. However, here's the gist of the problem: the 2.3 percent (2001 census figures)[11] Christian minorities control over 22 percent[12] (almost ten times their population percentage) of all educational institutions in India (i.e., over 40,000 of them[13]).
In combination with Article 30, the above statistics state the obvious: The Christians are a privileged minority in India, with the government's resources — inadvertently, it seems — allocated for their preferred empowerment. Not surprisingly, literacy rate of the Christians in India stands at 80 percent,[14] compared to 65 percent[15] overall. With the missionaries providing nearly 30 percent of the healthcare services in India,[16] employment possibilities for those who convert to Christianity are significantly more than those of non-Christians. In addition, the minority status of missionary-controlled institutions helps them get tax, land allotment and many other benefits.[17]
"[The] 55 per cent of Hindu population of Kerala controls 11.11 per cent of the state's bank deposits. On the other hand, the 19 per cent Christian community commands 33.33 per cent and 25 per cent Muslim population retains 55.55 per cent"¦. The education is one of the major sectors where the organised strength of the minorities in Kerala is used in a covert manner. In this sector the majority [Hindu] community as well as the government together control only 11.11 percent, on the other hand, the church controls 55.55 percent and Muslim religious organisations 33.33 percent of all institutions. At present the professional education sector of Kerala is almost under the full control of the minorities. About 12,000 engineering enrolments and 300 medicine enrolments are in the minority institutions and they are fully controlling the admissions. At present 60 percent of the enrolments in paramedical courses are controlled by the organised minority religious leadership"¦. In this situation the successive governments are functioning as mere onlookers"¦. A lion's share of these aided [government-funded] schools is under minority management."[44]
Can a parent belonging to the majority community expect his/her sons and daughters, even if they are well-qualified, to receive college education in Kerala? Difficult as it is to get admission in a college, it is unlikely to be lost on many Hindus that they stand a much higher chance, should they convert to one of the privileged minority faiths.
This article shouldn't be viewed as an attack on Christian minorities or a call for undermining their rights, or an effort to stop conversions altogether. The focus of this analysis is about the egregious human rights violations of the 80 percent majority community. By tracing these violations to Article 30 of the Indian constitution, this piece offers ways of addressing this issue objectively and fairly without infringing on anyone's rights.
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