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Delay in Disbursement of Stipend Under Maulana Azad Fellowship Leaves Minority Students in Distress

Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Top Stories Delay in Disbursement of Stipend Under Maulana Azad Fellowship Leaves Minority Students in Distress Ankit Raj 20 minutes ago Numerous researchers from minority communities pursuing their PhDs under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship have not received their stipends since December 2024. Union minister of minority affairs Kiren Rijiju. Photo: PTI Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now New Delhi: PhD researchers who are beneficiaries of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship are once again experiencing delays in the disbursement of their stipends. The majority of these researchers have not received their stipends from December 2024 up to the present date in May 2025. In fact, some researchers have not received their stipends even prior to this period. The Maulana Azad National Fellowship, administered by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, offers financial assistance to researchers belonging to six notified minority communities in India: Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi. However, the delays in disbursement have caused not only financial hardships but also psychological stress for the researchers dependent on this scholarship. A number of students are managing to get by through borrowing funds. Research endeavours have come to a standstill. There are no funds left for purchasing books and conducting fieldwork. Due to the government's silence, the researchers feel that this fellowship is being intentionally halted. Several researchers have reported that ministry officials have advised them to abandon this fellowship and seek alternative schemes. In light of this situation, three Members of Parliament (Zia ur Rahman from Sambhal, Mohammad Javed from Kishanganj, and T. Sumati from Chennai South) have written a letter addressed to the Union minister of minority affairs, Kiren Rijiju, requesting prompt attention to the matter. The initial two years of this five-year scholarship are referred to as JRF (Junior Research Fellowship), during which a monthly stipend of Rs 37,000 is provided. The subsequent three years are designated as SRF (Senior Research Fellowship), offering a monthly amount of Rs 42,000. As of December 2023, a total of 1,466 researchers were benefiting from this fellowship. Among them, 907 were recipients of the JRF, while 559 were recipients of the SRF. The government terminated this fellowship during the 2022-23 period. In the budget for 2025-26, the central government decreased the funding for this fellowship by 4.9%, reducing it from Rs 45.08 crore to Rs 42.84 crore. The plight of researchers The Wire spoke to researchers from various universities across the country. Kalu Tamang, a researcher in the Hindi department at Presidency University in Kolkata, said, 'I have been facing challenges for approximately six months. The financial burden is making it increasingly difficult to conduct my research.' Tamang, a Buddhist student, was awarded this fellowship in 2021. He has urged Rijiju to expedite the release of the fellowship as soon as possible. 'I am currently in the fourth year of my PhD program, and the fellowship stipends have stopped. This financial strain has adversely impacted my mental health. I am struggling to pay my rent and have had to borrow money from friends, continually promising to repay them as soon as possible,' said another PhD researcher at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. This researcher hails from the North East and is a member of the Buddhist community. Razia Khatoon, currently pursuing her PhD in the Department of Physiology at Calcutta University, stated that despite ongoing appeals, there has been no response from the officials. 'Numerous researchers are persistently facing financial difficulties. My health has declined due to the continuous stress,' said Khatoon. Salima Sultan, who is pursuing PhD from Manipur University, has also not received fellowship stipend since December 2024. 'Maulana Azad National Fellowship is the only hope for researchers from minority community,' said Sultan. 'The stipend from the fellowship allows us to meet the expenses of our research. Our academic life is getting badly affected. Fellowship is the right of the students. We demand from the government to run this fellowship smoothly like other fellowships,' she added. Researchers said that there was delay in obtaining stipends earlier too. But, in the past, the reasons for such delays were communicated. This time, no explanation is being provided. As a result of this uncertainty, students are experiencing increased stress. The Ministry of Minority Affairs has not given any clarification regarding the release of pending fellowship amounts. A team of researchers visited the Ministry of Minority Affairs on May 15 to request the disbursement of fellowship amounts. A researcher from Jamia stated that the officials declined to meet them. A research scholar affiliated with Aligarh Muslim University sought information via the Right to Information (RTI) Act regarding the release date of the fellowship stipend. However, the ministry provided a vague response. In the RTI reply, the ministry has not specified when the scholarship will be awarded. Who is eligible for this fellowship? The Maulana Azad National Fellowship is awarded to PhD researchers belonging to minority communities enrolled in Indian universities. To qualify, it is essential to have successfully completed the National Eligibility Test (NET). This fellowship is granted to researchers whose family's annual income is less than Rs 6 lakh. Maulana Azad National Fellowship comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. As of October 2022, the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) serves as its nodal agency. This organisation manages outstanding payments and administrative issues. Previously, these responsibilities were held by the UGC (University Grants Commission). Researchers contend that the fellowship operated more efficiently under the UGC. 'The good thing about UGC was that it used to offer reasons for delay in disbursing the fellowship, and would share details. But NMDFC has failed to offer any such assistance,' stated a researcher from Jamia Millia Islamia. What do NMDFC and the ministry say? The Wire reached out to Nixon Mathur, the deputy general manager (planning) and Company Secretary of NMDFC, to inquire about the delay in the scholarship disbursement. 'Our responsibility is to allocate the funds. However, we have not yet received the funds from the ministry. The issue is still under review. Once the funds are received, the researchers will be awarded the fellowship,' said Mathur. Mathur further mentioned that the last funding from the ministry was received in October-November 2024. The Wire reached out to Joint Secretary (Education) Ram Singh to inquire about the reasons behind the ministry's delay in releasing funds. Singh, who is employed in the Ministry of Minority Affairs, oversees the pre-matric scholarship, post-matric scholarship schemes, Padho Pradesh, and the Maulana Azad National Fellowship. He has not yet responded. A discontinued scheme: Maulana Azad National Fellowship Maulana Azad National Fellowship was started by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the year 2009. Its main objective was to encourage minority students to pursue higher education and reduce the financial barriers in their path. But in December 2022, the Government of India discontinued this fellowship. In response to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Minority Affairs had clearly said, 'Since the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) scheme matches many other fellowship schemes for higher education, the government has decided to discontinue it from 2022-23.' However, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had assured that 'students who are already getting this fellowship will continue to get it for their stipulated period.' NMDFC, the nodal agency of Maulana Azad National Fellowship, had also mentioned this in its notice. Translated from the Hindi original, published on The Wire Hindi, by Naushin Rehman. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. 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