The Sachar Committee report is not sacrosanct like the Quran and has to be looked at with a critical eye and not viewed as something special given to Muslims, minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid said here on Saturday.
“Sachar Committee report is not Quran. It could be wrong and its recommendations and observations need to be looked at with a critical eye. The recommendations should not be seen as a special thing given to Muslims,” he said at a function here.
The Rajinder Sachar Committee was appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for preparing a report on the social, economic and educational status of Muslims and was tabled in Parliament on November 30, 2006.
Mr Khurshid said a committee was studying a proposal to recommend that the government rename his ministry as ministry of equal opportunities.
His ministry, he said, was often looked at as the only one responsible for welfare of minorities, while the fact was that other ministries too have a similar role.
“The minority affairs ministry has only `5,000 crores but the HRD ministry has `65,000 crores. So it is not only the minority affairs ministry but other ministries also that have to look after the minorities,” he said.
Asked if a separate quota for Muslim women could be created in the proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, he said it was a “tricky” issue and hoped that a satisfactory solution will be found.
He urged minorities in South India to open educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam to promote development.
Asked about the demand for removal of Aligarh Muslim University vice-chancellor, Mr Khurshid said the institution should solve such issues by itself and “not encourage political intervention”.
He said his ministry had disbursed 44 lakh matric and post-matric scholarships and 750 PhD scholarships to minorities last year and will issue 60 lakh matric and post- matric and 1,400 PhD scholarships this year. —PTI