Modi govt copies Shaadi bhagya; offers Rs 51k wedding bounty for graduate Muslim girls

coastaldigest.com news network
August 7, 2017

Bengaluru, Aug 7: Do you remember those days when Bharatiya Janata Party staged protests across Karnataka against chief minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress government’s ‘Shaadi Bhagya’ scheme which provided financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to brides of minority communities such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists in Karnataka? Now, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA has come up with almost a similar scheme. Interestingly, this scheme is only for Muslims — not for all minority communities.

Christened as ‘Shaadi Shagun’, the Centre’s new scheme will provide a wedding gift of Rs 51,000 to “graduate” Muslim women. However, those Muslim girls who fail to complete graduation will be deprived of this bounty.

Currently, a website is currently being put up by Maulana Azad Educational Foundation where all details of the scheme would be made available. The Shaadi Shagun amount will be made available only to those graduate Muslim girls who have already received MAEF scholarships earlier.

Maulana Azad Educational Foundation, which works under the National Commission for Minorities, has decided to take this step to encourage Muslim women to opt for higher studies. MAEF says this scheme is tailored only for Muslim women and their guardians to egg them on to complete their studies at the college or university level.

Recently the MAEF, headed by minorities welfare minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, held a meeting during which important decisions were taken vis-a-vis scholarships offered to Muslim women. Besides, it was also decided that a sum of Rs 10,000 would be awarded to Muslim girls studying in Classes IX and X. Up to now, only (Muslim) girls studying in Classes XI and XII were eligible to receive a scholarship of Rs 12,000 each.

MAEF treasurer Shakir Hussain Ansari said, “Girl children in a large part of Muslim society are deprived of higher education even today, often due to financial constraints. We mean to encourage girls and their parents and guardians to ensure that the students complete their graduation. Hence, we've decided on the Rs 51,000 wedding gift.”

“Though this isn't a large amount, we do believe it would be firm step forward in encouraging higher education among Muslim women,” he added.

Comments

Isra
 - 
Sunday, 3 Dec 2017

We need the money now to find a good groom also to pay for match maker..

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News Network
February 6,2020

Washington, Feb 6: The US has expressed concern over the current situation of religious freedom in India and raised the issue with Indian officials, a senior State Department official has said.

The remarks came in the wake of widespread protests held across India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The senior State Department official, on condition of anonymity, said that he has met with officials in India about what is taking place in the nation and expressed concern.

"We are concerned about what's taking place in India. I have met with the Indian foreign minister. I've met with the Indian ambassador (to express my concern)," the official, who was recently in India, told reporters on Wednesday.

The US has also "expressed desire first to try to help and work through some of these issues", the official said as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launched a 27-nation International Religious Freedom Alliance.

"To me, the initial step we try to do in most places is say what can we do to be of help you work through an issue to where there's not religious persecution. That's the first step, is just saying can we work with you on this," the official said.

India maintains that the Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens, including its minority communities.

It is widely acknowledged that India is a vibrant democracy where the Constitution provides protection of religious freedom, and where democratic governance and rule of law further promote and protect fundamental rights, a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs has said.

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship.

The Indian government has been emphasising that the new law will not deny any citizenship rights, but has been brought to protect the oppressed minorities of neighbouring countries and give them citizenship.

Defending the CAA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month said that the law is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship.

"We must all know that any person of any religion from any country of the world who believes in India and its Constitution can apply for Indian citizenship through due process. There's no problem in that," he said.

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News Network
July 28,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 28: Several state Congress leaders, including its President D K Shivakumar, among others, were detained by police as they tried to march towards Raj Bhavan here against the alleged attempts by BJP to topple the party's government in Rajasthan.

Shivakumar, along with Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, state Congress Working President Eshwar Khandre, Salim Ahmed among others were stopped by the police midway as they marched from KPCC office towards Raj Bhavan.

Congress leaders then staged a dharna at the place where they were stopped. Addressing the gathering, Shivakumar accused the BJP of trying to "murder" democracy by destabilizing and removing elected governments.

"We wanted to protest against it and submit a memorandum to the President through the Governor," but the Karnataka government by using police was not letting them proceed towards Raj Bhavan, he said. "Despite our being a peaceful protest, the police stopped us," he said.

Siddaramaiah, echoing similar views, said peaceful protests against injustice was the right of every citizen. Alleging that the BJP was attempting to destabilise and remove the elected government in Rajasthan as it did in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, he said the Governor's office there (Rajasthan) was being 'misused'.

The Governor was working like an agent of the central government, he charged. He said, despite repeated appeals by the Rajasthan cabinet, the Governor there had not convened the assembly session, for the floor test to take place and for Congress to prove its majority. Police subsequently detained Shivakumar and some other Congress leaders and took them to a nearby police station.

They were later released. Meanwhile, as the Congress' protest amid Covid19 pandemic did not follow social distancing norms, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar hit out at that party's leaders. In a tweet Sudhakar said, for Congress leaders getting publicity was more important than social concerns.

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News Network
January 24,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 24: Aditya Rao, who was arrested for planting Improvised explosive device (IED) at Mangaluru airport on January 20, was brought to the airport on Friday for recreation of the crime scene as part of the investigation process.

Yesterday, one more case was registered against Rao in connection with a hoax call to the terminal manager of the airport on January 20, police said.

"One more case has been registered against Aditya Rao at Bajpe Police station for a hoax call to the terminal manager of Mangaluru International Airport on January 20," said PS Harsha, Mangalore Commissioner of Police on Thursday.

Earlier, Harsha informed that Rao, who surrendered before the Bengaluru Police, is now in the custody of Mangaluru Police.

"Our investigation team arrested Aditya Rao in Bengaluru in connection with the planting of an explosive device at Mangaluru airport. We produced the accused before Bengaluru's first JMFC court and the court issued a transit warrant," Harsha said.

"We have brought him to Mangaluru from Bengaluru and now the accused is in our custody. Our investigation team will interrogate him. We will investigate all aspects. He will be produced before Mangaluru 6th JMFC Court," he added.

Rao hails from Udupi and has engineering and MBA degrees.

According to the police, the IED was recovered from a bag at the Mangaluru airport. It was later defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad.

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