Southern States - Karnataka   

CM assures all help to start minority schools

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE OCT. 21. The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, here today said the Government was liberal in granting permission to start educational institutions by minorities.

Speaking after inaugurating a conference of the National Commission for Minorities and Chairpersons of Minorities Commissions in States, Mr. Krishna said the Government would not deny permission to start schools or colleges to any minority group. Calling upon the minorities to start schools, colleges, and co-operative institutions, he said the criteria applied to sanctioning medical and engineering colleges would be applied to non-professional colleges. Permission had been given to start five medical, five dental, eight pharmaceutical and 11 engineering colleges, and 19 polytechnics and 69 ITIs in the State. As many 256 TCH institutions were sanctioned on Monday, he said.

Referring to the number of minority schools in the State, the Chief Minister said there were 4,000 Urdu, 1,225 Marathi, 219 Tamil and over 200 Telugu language schools.

On the demand for more budgetary grants from the Karnataka State Minority Commission, Mr. Krishna promised that Rs. 1 crore would be released to the commission to take up various works. He also agreed to give the State Government's guarantee to avail a loan up to Rs. 30 crores by the Karnataka Minority Development Corporation from the Union Government. The Government would increase grants from Rs. 13 crores to Rs. 15 crores to the corporation, he added.

Noting the contributions made by Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Parsis in various fields, he said: "India is a mosaic of different religions, races, cultures, and languages. Karnataka is mini-India and we have here people from all religions.'' The State's minority population was between 80 lakh and one crore, Mr. Krishna said.

Communal violence had become a way of life for a section of people. "But for all of us gathered here secularism is a bond that unites us,'' he said. Stating that destructive and divisive forces were at work, the Chief Minister said such forces were trying to make in roads in States which enjoyed communal harmony.

The Chief Minister said Karnataka was the first State to set up a co-operative wing attached to the minorities commission.

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