By Sujata Jena

Bhubaneswar, July 18, 2022: The United Minority Forum in Odisha has staged a protest to highlight alleged prevalence of discrimination against minority communities in the eastern India state.

As many as 45 representatives from different communities joined the protest in front of Bidhan Sabha (Assembly House) in the state capital of Bhubaneswar on July 18 demanding the establishment of the Minority Commission in the state.

“Almost every state in India has a minority commission which looks into the sociopolitical, educational, cultural and other problems of minority communities,” said Jugal Kishore Ranjit, the convener of the protest.

It is a matter of great regret that we have been demanding the formation of a minority commission, but 27 years have elapsed and yet the state government has not taken any step. As a result, the members of minority communities are deprived of the rights and services of the commission,” he added.

Bishop Dilip Kumar Bal, the general secretary of United Believers’ Churches Council India, said a minority commission is the most needed to address issues of minority communities as the women’s commission solves issues about women,

The bishop, who led the protest, further said, “The recent visit of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to Pope Francis is purely a diplomatic one. He was keen to meet the top leader of more than one-sixth of the world’s population but he could not establish a minority commission in the state with 25 years of tenure as the chief minister.”

The protesters’ memorandum appeals to the government to take immediate steps to form a state Minority Commission in consultation with the federal government to raise the poor economic condition of minority communities.

The memorandum, submitted to the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell, also demands the extension of Scheduled Caste status to Christians and Muslims of Dalits Origin, who they said have been denied their legitimate constitutional rights and equality before the law.

“We want a separate Minority Financial Corporation to be set up with the assistance of the Centre by the state governments,” the memorandum says.

It also urges the government to ensure educational facilities for the minority communities since their literacy “is very low and in some cases deplorable.”

The protesters appealed for the effective implementation of the Prime Minister’s 15-point program for minorities. “The Wakf board and Haz Committee (of the Muslims) have been remaining neglected for many years without any services due to a lack of their reconstitution,” the memorandum regrets.

It also wants the government to strengthen Urdu schools and languages and take steps to constitute a madrasa board for the modernization of the Muslim educational institutions to promote quality education.

Another demand is land for landless families of the minority communities.

The memorandum urged the government to extend Livelihood Support for victims of Kandhamal violence who live in Bhubaneswar.

“We demand you to provide financial support adequately to minority communities to renovate their religious places,” it adds.

The Forum was assured to get a response within 10 days.

Minority communities comprising Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and others form about 7 percent of Odisha’s 45.4 million population.