Bengaluru, 23 September

SR Mehroz Khan, the Vice Chairman of the State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority, wrote a letter to Health and Minority Affairs Minister UT Khader urging the State government to set up a Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Chair for Religious Minorities Studies at the Bengaluru Central University.

In the letter on Tuesday, Khan stated that the proposed chair can study the social, economic, educational and political conditions of religious minorities in Karnataka and prepare data-based reports that can support the government in policy making.

He stated it would also be a valuable platform for PhD scholars and researchers.

He noted that the Research Chair for Religious Minorities set up at the National Law School of India University, that was set up in 2015 based on the Centre’s 2014-15 Budget announcement about studying the state of religious minorities had been discontinued.

He also urged the Congress to hike stipends for M.Phil and PhD students. He noted that between the academic years of 2016 and 2021, the monthly fellowship for PhD students was Rs 25,000 with a research allowance of Rs 10,000. However, from 2022, the fellowship has been reduced to Rs 10,000 for PhD scholars and Rs 8,000 for M.Phil students, despite changes in the economic situation of the country.