NEW DELHI: The centre has told the Supreme Court that the state governments can declare Hindus, in areas where they are not in majority, as a minority within the states. The Hindus, who are in minority, are unable to avail the benefits of the central government schemes meant for minorities. On account of the situation, the state governments can declare Hindus as a minority and provide them with benefits, the centre said in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, last day.

The Hindus are a minority in almost 10 states. They are do not receive any benefit from the central government availed by the minority communities. The centre informed its stance to the court in a plea filed by advocate Aswini Kumar Upadhyay that sought directions for framing of guidelines identifying minorities at the state level.

The followers of Hinduism, Judaism and Bahaism are minorities in Ladakh, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Kashmir, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Manipur. However, they are not considered minorities in these areas. Instead, the real majority communities in the area are considered as minorities in terms of the national population. They are receiving all the benefits as well. The real minority communities in these areas are unable to avail the benefits they deserve, stated the plea filed by Aswini Kumar. The followers of Judaism, Bahaism and Hinduism can establish and administer educational institutions of their choice in the said states, and decisions of the same can be made at the state-level itself, said the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

By exercising its constitutional powers, the centre has so far declared Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains as minorities in the country. However, the state governments have the right to declare any religious or linguistic community as a minority within the state. The Maharashtra government has notified Jews as a minority community within the state. Also, Karnataka government has notified Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Tulu, Lamani, Hindi, Konkani and Gujarati languages as minority languages within the state of Karnataka, said the centre.

According to the centre, the states can declare educational institutions established by linguistic or religious communities as minority institutions within its rights. In 2020, the Karnataka government had declared Telugu unaided schools as minority institutions. Religious and linguistic minorities are spread across the state. They cannot be limited to one particular state in the country. A community which is a majority in one state might be a minority in another. Hence, it is not easy to take decisions on the matter, said the centre.