Mumbai, June 22, 2016: BJP-led Maharashtra government has announced that the Jews, a few thousand that reside in the state, would get the ‘minority’ status.
The decision was taken during the meeting of the Maharashtra cabinet which approved the minority status to Jew community.
This decision will help the Indian Jews in becoming more vocal about their minority rights. This decision will benefit students from these communities to avail scholarships from State Govt and setting up of educational institutions.
It will also benefit the students from the community to avail scholarships from the state govt and setting up of their own educational institutions.
Jews were unable to get their religion mentioned in important documents such as those of marriage, birth, and death where it was mentioned as the ‘Other.’ Jews may also get the subsidy to visit their holy place Jerusalem with this move, although it is still not clear.
The Indian Jewish community is one of the smallest minority groups in the nation.
Indian Jewish community is at least 2,000 years old and most of its members reside in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, besides Gujarat (Ahmedabad), Kerala (Cochin), Delhi, Kolkata and the Konkan Villages.
