Minorities seats granted

After the Maharashtra government’s warning that it would revoke the minority status awarded to Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics and Mithibai College of Arts, Science and Commerce if they refuse seats to students from the Momin, Bohri and Parsi community under the linguistic quota, the colleges drew up fresh admission lists including students from all communities eligible under the quota, reported The Times of India (TOI) on July 27, 2010. Sources informed the newspaper that 50 students from these communities were admitted to Mithibai College, while the number was approximately 15 students for Narsee Monjee College.

The matter was sorted out after some community leaders intervened and students who were kept out of the first list were asked to pay their fees if they were still keen to join the institutes. Bombay Parsi Punchayet chairman Dinshaw Mehta who had earlier visited the college to meet the trustees and resolve the issue told TOI that "no one turned up in college because of the rain.”

The problem started when these two colleges in Bombay’s suburbs debarred students from certain communities who had earlier been eligible for seats under the Gujarati linguistic quota. A notice dated July 14, 2010 from the colleges — both of which are run by the Shri Vile Parle Kelvani Mandal — stated that students from the Kutchi, Khoja, Momin, Bohri and Parsi community were included in the Gujarati linguistic category, reported TOI on July 24. However, two days later a revised notice was released after striking out the Momin, Bohri and Parsi communities from the list. This resulted in angry parents approaching the government for succor. The state’s minorities affairs minister Arif Naseem Khan had asked parents to report any injustice done to minorities, the TOI of July 25 reported.

As per the rules a Gujarati linguistic minority college has to set aside 50 percent of its seats for students from communities that speak the language.

A senior functionary of Mithibai College told TOI that the institution has sought legal opinion since they get a flood of applications from Gujaratis. "Our advocates informed the management that communities which have their own minority colleges in the city can be left out. Parsis have Patuck-Gala College in Santa Cruz and the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Parsi Charitable Institution’s college at Charni Road. There are managements that run colleges for Momins and Bohris.”