A section of Muslims in the State are aggrieved that they are being targeted by the police and being looked at with suspicion, National Commission for Minorities member Farida Abdulla Khan has said.
Ms. Khan, who is in charge of Kerala, was here on Thursday as part of a fact-finding mission to review the implementation of the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme for the minorities.
She told reporters that members of the Muslim community complained that the police were looking at them with suspicion and stamping them as fundamentalists.
The Nadar community complained that they were not getting adequate reservation in different realms. She would be visiting the coastal areas and the hilly regions such as Wayanad to make an on-the-spot study of the minorities as well as the marginalised sections of society.
Asked about the traditional attire being worn by Muslim women, Ms. Khan said it was strictly a personal affair and rests with individuals. “What is more significant is providing education and other basic amenities.”
Regarding the role of private educational institutions in bettering the lot of the marginalised sections, she said the government should play a pivotal role and not private institutions.
“Private institutions can play only a negligible role and the onus is on the government in providing education,” she said.
Kerala State Minority Commission chairman M.Veerankutty said the commission had received around 2,000 complaints, of which about 1,400 had been sorted out.
Minister for Minority Welfare Manjalamkuzhi Ali sought the intervention of the National Commission for Minorities to provide more financial assistance for the State.
During an interaction with Ms. Khan at his office, Mr. Ali sought more financial assistance as scholarship for students belonging to the minority communities.
He also sought permission to implement the multi-sector development programme at the block panchayat level.
