New Delhi: The President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), Syed Sadatullah Husaini has welcomed the SC decision upholding the Minority Status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
“By overruling the 1967 judgment in S. Azeez Basha vs. Union of India, which held that an institution incorporated by a statute cannot claim to be a minority institution, the apex court has delivered a landmark judgment that is bound to preserve the minority character of thousands of similar institutions that could have faced legal challenges and leading to a severe dilution of their educational and cultural rights as recognised in the Constitution,” JIH President said on Friday.
“This will lead to the protection and preservation of the rights of all religious, linguistic and cultural minorities in this country. As the Constitution Bench of the SC has relegated the matter to a regular bench “to examine who established the University and who was the “brain” behind it, we are confident that the minority status of AMU should be safeguarded by the Court. It is established and uncontested history that the AMU was founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan for the educational upliftment of the minority Muslim community,” averred Syed Sadatullah.
He stated, “We hope governments and local authorities understand that minorities, especially Muslims, are an essential part of India, and that their basic rights in terms of education, livelihood, safety and security should be protected. Muslims in India have consistently contributed positively to the nation, and their education institutions serve students without any discrimination of caste or religion. The government should change its attitude so that minorities do not always need to approach the courts to resolve their issues. The government should be sensitive enough to proactively include minorities in its development agenda and ensure that they do not face any discrimination. This could involve measures like protecting their institutions and giving them necessary concessions, practising affirmative actions, and granting benefits to improve their declining socio-economic status. Providing such measures to religious minorities is characteristic of any democratic country.”
