State-owned banks in India have been accused of discriminating against the country’s Muslim minority.
India’s minorities watchdog has received a record number of complaints from Muslims who say they have been prevented from opening bank accounts.
India’s Muslim community is among the poorest in the country.
Some bankers say it is not so much their religious background, but their economic status that makes it hard for Muslims to get banking facilities.
The National Commission of Minorities says that there has been a 100% increase in the number of complaints it has received over the past year from Muslims who say they are being prevented from opening accounts in state-run banks.
Reports say the worst case took place in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, where some 90,000 Muslim students were unable to open accounts to deposit scholarship cheques given to them by the government.
Official reports frequently put Muslims at the bottom of India’s social and economic ladder - even beneath than low-caste Hindus.
Their economic status means they are often excluded by private banks, which prefer more well-to-do clients.
Already a number of reports have suggested that India’s Muslims fare poorly when it comes to getting access to quality education or employment opportunities.
This latest finding will add more pressure on a government which is seen as doing very little for the country’s largest minority group.
glad to note that so many tens of thousands of muslim students are being given scholarships by the government in India. I hope it is because they need them and not just because they are muslim (vote politics!).
If you see the related BBC article from the above link, muslim children in poor states like Bihar seem to be controlled by the madarassa tradition rather than taking advantage of the modern educational system which rest of India uses. No wonder the rate of poverty amongst muslims is so high in India - how will such a kid compete with a regular school kid?
Before this becomes a 'muslim' non-muslim race issue, note how this article includes the clarification that whichever bank was involved says it is due to economic reasons and not religious reasons.
glad to note that so many tens of thousands of muslim students are being given scholarships by the government in India. I hope it is because they need them and not just because they are muslim (vote politics!).
If you see the related BBC article from the above link, muslim children in poor states like Bihar seem to be controlled by the madarassa tradition rather than taking advantage of the modern educational system which rest of India uses. No wonder the rate of poverty amongst muslims is so high in India - how will such a kid compete with a regular school kid?
Before this becomes a 'muslim' non-muslim race issue, note how this article includes the clarification that whichever bank was involved says it is due to economic reasons and not religious reasons.
Since its independence, the issue of poverty within India has remained a prevalent concern. As of 2010, more than 48% of India’s population of 1.35 billion still lives below the poverty line. More than 32% of the entire rural population and 35% of the urban population of India exists in this difficult physical and financial predicament.
Country where over 48 percent of its 1.2 billion citizens live in abject poverty does need to boast to the world it does make sense.
The division of resources, as well as wealth, is uneven in India - this disparity creates different poverty ratios for different states. For instance, states such as Delhi and Punjab have low poverty ratios. On the other hand, almost half the population in states like Bihar and Orissa live below the poverty line. I bet they are all Muslims are they? ----- all of them attend madrasas ----- do they?
According to a recent Indian government committee constituted to estimate poverty nearly 48% of India’s population is poor ----- whoa ----- hold on partner ----- that means a whopping 648 million Indian population live in abject poverty ----- God bless them poor souls ----- I don't know about India being the biggest democracy in the world but it sure seems to be the biggest poverty in the world -----
GoodMD - that India has a lot of poor is not news at all. isn't this thread about banks denying accounts? all the more reason you should be appreciating the scholarships mentioned in the article
GoodMD - that India has a lot of poor is not news at all. isn't this thread about banks denying accounts? all the more reason you should be appreciating the scholarships mentioned in the article
before we get any further into discussion I would like you to clarify your following yakityyak -----
“muslim children in poor states like Bihar seem to be controlled by the madarassa tradition rather than taking advantage of the modern educational system”