Restart scholarships meant for minorities: SGPC chief Dhami to centre

AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex gurdwara body, has demanded from the Centre to resume scholarships given to minority students. SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

The Maulana Azad National Fellowship and Pre-Matric Scholarship for students belonging to minority communities were discontinued last year, the SGPC said. While asking the Centre to reconsider its decision, Dhami said a large number of students will be affected by the closure of these scholarship schemes which had been given for a long time in the country.

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"Depriving students belonging to minority communities of this fellowship for research work and studies is extremely unfortunate. Such schemes prove to be very effective for the progress of the country, but it is not in the interest of the country for the government to deliberately ignore the minorities.

"If the government's working style towards the minorities remains the same, it will surely create indifference and distrust towards the government. Therefore, the government should consider resuming these fellowships related to the minorities, so that the people's faith in the government remains", Dhami said.