The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Islamic charity groups should focus on education’

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Sunday, Jul 06, 2008
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‘Islamic charity groups should focus on education’

Special Correspondent

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

DATA BANK: Karnataka State Minority Commission secretary Tahsam Ahmed (left) and Minister Mumtaz Ali at a release of directory of NGOs in Bangalore on Saturday.

Bangalore: Muslim charity institutions, which tend to focus on religious work, should pay more attention to initiatives that provide education and livelihood to the community, said Mumtaz Ali Khan, Minister for Wakf, Haj and Minority Welfare.

He was releasing a directory put together by the Karnataka State Minorities Commission that listed all government schemes meant for minority communities and 600-odd non-governmental organisations that were working for their welfare here on Saturday.

This is the first effort of its kind anywhere in the country to involve NGOs in creating awareness on all the 270 government schemes dedicated for the minorities. Prof. Khan advised the NGOs to periodically do evaluation to establish their credibility.

Ranjini Srikumar, Principal Secretary, Minority Welfare, said that a Rs. 40-crore special package had been planned for the uplift of Bidar and Gulbarga districts which had a high population of minorities.

S. Tahsin Ahmed, secretary of the commission, said although there were 28,000 wakfs institutions and mosque committees in Karnataka, there was a need to create awareness on welfare schemes for Muslims.

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