Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das (left) during a program in Patna on July 23. Das' pro-Hindu government was asked to financially support families whose members died due to sectarian violence in the state. (Photo by IANS)
A statutory panel to ensure the interests of religious minorities in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand has asked the pro-Hindu government to employ at least one person from among the families of those killed in sectarian violence.
The nine-member Jharkhand State Minorities Commission also wanted universities to recognize degrees given by madrasas or traditional Islamic schools.
"A sectarian riot is a blot on civilized society and devastates a family and providing a government job to those who lost their close relatives is a way to rebuild their lives," commission chairman Mohammed Kamal Khan told ucanews.com following the July 28 meeting of the commission in state capital Ranchi.
Since 2015, many people across India have fallen victim to incidents of mob lynching related to religious intolerance, especially in the name of cow protection and defying orders from hard-line Hindu groups not to follow their Christian faith.
Shibu Thomas, founder of Persecution Relief, an ecumenical forum that documents Christian persecution in the country, told ucanews.com July 31 that they are supporting at least five Christian families in Jharkhand, "whose bread-winners were killed just because of their Christian faith."
"The commission's demand to provide jobs to families of riot victims is a welcome move. It would be great if it covers families of all victims of religion-based violence," Thomas said.
Jharkhand, governed by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, has 33 million people, 27 percent of them tribal. However, Christians are a minority forming 1.4 million in the state, almost all of them tribal. But they continue to face a hostile situation as extremist Hindu groups have stepped up efforts to make Jharkhand a Christian-free state.
The minority commission is a statutory regulatory body constituted to safeguard and protect the rights and interests of religious minorities such as Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and Jains. Every state is duty-bond to constitute their own commission, which functions independently of the federal minority commission but follows its guidelines.
Kingdom of God Full Gospel Church Bishop Jairag Mark, the Christian member of the state body, told ucanews.com they also want Muslim students educated in madrasas to have their education recognized.
"Often their degree certificates are not recognized by employers, both private and state, leading to a denial of job opportunities. This adds to the backwardness of the community," said the bishop of a neo-Christian group based in the state.
The commission also wanted the government to prepare a syllabus for students doing graduate and post graduate degrees in madrasas so that they cannot be deprived of their right to jobs and a dignified life, the bishop said.
He said the ruling pro-Hindu government in the state has not recognized several minority educations.