PIL questions Muslims, Christians' minority status in Kerala

Kochi: The Kerala High Court yesterday heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the reassessment of minority community status of Muslim and Christian communities in Kerala.

The petitioner, the Citizens Association for Democracy, Equality, Tranquillity and Secularism, argued that both communities' socio-economic and education status has progressed tremendously in the state to end the preferential treatment of Muslim and Christian communities enjoy.

The High Court bench consisting of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly said they will pronounce a verdict on the matter. Representing CADETS, advocates C Rajendran and K Vijayan also sought direction from the court to the National Commission for Minorities to re-determine the minority status of Muslim and Christian communities.

CADETS believes that since both communities in Kerala, unlike other states in the country, have made tremendous progress in society, the preferential treatment they are getting should be ended to pay the way for other minority communities to access the beneficial schemes.

Last month, the Kerala High Court has revoked the minority scholarship scheme on the 80:20 ratio to Muslims and Latin Christians and converted Christians, finding it was 'legally unsustainable'. On the heels of the HC direction, the state government also announced the restructuring of the minority scholarship based on the 2011 census.

The opposition protest against the state government's declared change in the existing rule, the Kerala government has decided to move the Supreme Court to make clarity on the issue.

As per the 2011 Census, the state has a minority population of 26.56% Muslims, 18.38% Christians, 0.01% Buddhists, 0.01% Jains and 0.01% Sikhs. The state government said that the minority scholarship will be redistributed based on this Census data.