A mixed bag for minorities

Again,there was confusion about what Mamata meant when she said the Urdu language would be given due credit. MLA Abu Taher Khan said,“Government schools that have at least 10 per cent Urdu-speaking children will have Urdu as the second language and the state will provide teachers for the same.” However,he admitted that it was too late for the present academic session and the order could be implemented only from the next academic year.

Mamata had also promised that 10,000 madrasas in the state would be given recognition,but officials said there were only around 6,000 madrasas in the state and Quranic madrasas could not be counted to fill the gap because they didn’t follow the prescribed syllabus.

On a positive note,the West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (WBMDFC) has increased its beneficiary coverage and amount disbursed with improved services,fulfilling the hope and aspirations of many minorities in the state.

Officials at WBMDFC said that in terms of soft loans,the total number of beneficiaries had been 66,620 and the amount disbursed Rs 11643.18 lakh,as opposed to the previous year’s figures of 66,095 and Rs 88063.2 lakh,respectively. In the area of education loans,the number of beneficiaries and amount disbursed this year were 3,015 and Rs 909.99 lakh. Last year’s figures were 2,311 and Rs 716.25 lakh,respectively.

The directorate of minorities development had,in the past year,constructed 2,742 housing units for the economically weaker sections of minorities in various districts and an amount of Rs 35.805 crore had been sanctioned. Rs 220.83 lakh was sanctioned to 13 NGOs for construction of hostels,healthcare units and training centres.

CPM leader and former chairman of WBMDFC,Md Salim,said the initiatives were taken with an eye on the panchayat polls and lacked farsightedness. “Development should be need-based and not in the unplanned fashion that the chief minister is doing. Madrasas need financial help more than recognition. Development of imams and muezzins will be possible with the uplift of the community as a whole and not singly. For example,the Waqf Board should be well staffed and computerised. Scholarship and stipends for students were started during our times and Bengal was a pioneer in this respect.”

Salim alleged that the CM had played with figures as far as achievements in the minority department were concerned. “An astronomical amount of money has been spent from the minority fund to finance celebrations on completion of one year of the Trinamool Congress government,” he said.

Abu Aish Mondal,chairman,WBMDFC,however,said they had performed very well. “The figures speak for themselves. We have cleared a huge amount of money that the previous board didn’t and have relaxed several absurd clauses for loan applicants so that beneficiaries get the money without any hassle,” he said.

On money spent for celebrations,he said,“If more people know about our activities and more people benefit,what is the harm? Even the previous board conducted fairs and exhibitions. Didn’t they pay for those?”

The West Bengal Haj Committee received 15 bighas land at Rajarhat for construction of the third Haj Tower. “The Haj Tower at Rajarhat was our initiative,which Mamata is claiming credit for,” said Selim.