Union budgetary allocations for welfare of country’s minorities in Ministry of Minority Affairs in the General Budget 2023-24 presented by the Finance Minister on February 1, 2023 in Parliament has been reduced drastically by 38 per cent compared to the allocations in the fiscal year 2022-23 (last financial year) from Rs.5020.50 crore to Rs.3097 crore. Out of budget estimates of Rs. 5020.50 crore, total expenditure in the revised estimates was pegged at Rs.2,612.66 crore in the fiscal 2022-23, indicating under utilization of 48 per cent and continuing half hearted biased implementation of various welfare programmes for the minorities since 2014 when the current RSS Pariwar Union Government first came to power. Pre-matric scholarships, cut by nearly Rs.1,000 crore, are the worst hit. Total allocations for educational empowerment of minorities, which was Rs.2,515 crore in 2022-23, has been reduced to Rs.1,689 crore. Reduced allocations for the year 2023-24, provides Rs.540 crore as grants to implement a newly created scheme, Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan, for skilling, entrepreneurship and leadership training requirements of the minority and artisan communities across the country, Rs.1,689 crore for educational empowerment and Rs.64.4 crore for skill development.
Pre-matric scholarships took the biggest hit in 2023-24 falling from Rs.1,425 crore in 2022-23 to Rs.433 crore. However, funds for post-matric scholarships have got a boost from Rs.515 crore in 2022-23 to Rs.1,065 crore in 2023-24. Allocation for skill development and livelihoods including schemes such as the USTAD and Nai Manzil schemes, and the Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women has almost disappeared falling from Rs.332.91 crore in 2022-23 to Rs.3.4 crore in 2023-24. Merit based means scholarships for professional and technical courses for students from minority communities, among the numerous scholarships and skill development programmes have been hit hard reduced from Rs.365 crore in 2022-23 to Rs. 44 crore in 2023-24. Budget for free coaching and allied schemes for minorities have similarly been reduced by about 60 per cent from Rs.79 crore to Rs.30 crore. Simultaneously, the government has not made any allocation for programmes to aid students in passing preliminary exams held by the UPSC, SSC, and State Public Service Commissions. In the outgoing financial year 2022-23 ending March 2023, budget allocation was Rs. 8 crore.
Some other major cuts in budgetary allocations include research schemes for minorities reduced to Rs.20 crore from Rs.41 crore earlier, funds for various skill development and livelihood schemes from Rs.491 crore to Rs.64.40 crore. Education scheme for Madrasas and Minorities has received Rs.10 crore allocation compared to Rs.160 crore in 2022-23. Government has also effected a 50 per cent cut in special schemes for minorities, which include research, studies, publicity, monitoring and evaluation of development schemes for containing the population decline. Drastic cuts in the budgetary allocations for minorities nullifies the oft repeated slogan of the Prime Minister, “Sab Ka Vikas…..” (Development for All), while making a dedicated Ministry of Minority Affairs to provide focused attention to all round development of minorities, irrelevant. It also serves the large agenda of RSS Pariwar to keep minorities under fear, insecurity, multiple deprivation with growing attacks on their livelihood.
During 2022-23 (last financial year), Ministry of Minority Affairs discontinued the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) scheme and pre-matric scholarship for minority students from class 1-8, evoking stiff resentments from minority communites across the country. Government’s justification for merger of such withdrawn schemes with SCs, STs and general communities is viewed with derision on account of prevailing rampant prejudices in implementation of welfare schemes for the minorities, resulting in the major amount remaining unspent and lapsing at the end of the allocated financial year. Government also denied restoration of discontinued schemes for minorities in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Since 2014, minorities have been at the receiving end over peaking of the discriminatory politics of hatred, division, religious polarization, toxic communalism, unprovoked attacks, attacks on their livelihoods, just to gain electorally or to consolidate majoritarian votes in a secular (religious neutral) polity. All these have fractured our democracy, which belies India’s G20 motto derived from Maha Upanishad, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” and theme “One Earth One Family One Future” during its rotational presidency this year. One finds such laudable motto and theme of G20 obnoxious with no correlations with the country’s ground realities. Yet another worrying sign is law enforcement agencies of police and others having become partisan and communal. Judiciary too seems to have, by and large, fallen victims of fear, hatred, communalism, discriminations, blackmail and divisive politics with public faith in them drying up fast, although individual judges outshine upholding people’s fundamental rights to Justice, Equality, Liberty and Fraternity enshrined in the Constitution of India!