UP govt to connect with minority youth via job fairs

This employment drive, which would also cater to youngsters who have passed out from madrasas, would be held in a phased manner as our goal is to ensure that madrasas impart modern education to students, says state’s junior minority welfare minister Danish Azad Ansari

LUCKNOW Amid the ongoing controversy over madrasa survey in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has, in an obvious attempt to soothe frayed tempers, decided to connect with youths of the minority community through an extensive employment drive that is timed to begin when the 46-day madrasa survey concludes on October 25.

There will be an employment camp in Lucknow’s Old City that has a large minority population, said the minister. (Pic for representation)

“This employment drive, which would also cater to youngsters who have passed out from madrasas, would be held in a phased manner as our goal is to ensure that madrasas impart modern education to students,” said state’s junior minority welfare minister Danish Azad Ansari, the lone Muslim face of Yogi 2.0 government.

“It’s all being worked out…we will have an employment camp in Lucknow’s Old City that has a large minority population. Similarly in Kanpur, there is an area where Sikhs and Muslims reside in big numbers. In the first phase, we intend to hold employment camps across all 18 divisions, followed by district level camps, where state government officials would also be present along with officials of top companies,” he said.

Muslims are present in substantial numbers in at least 20 of the 75 districts of UP. In some districts like Rampur, they comprise more than half of the total population. In Moradabad and Bijnor, the community outnumbers most others.

Yet, despite the sizeable presence, the BJP’s win in Rampur and Azamgarh in the recent Lok Sabha by-polls has bolstered the party, admitted political observers. The employment drive would overlap the concluding phase of the madrasa survey and would possibly be showcased to counter criticism of the BJP government as “anti-Muslim”, they opined.

About 5.92% of the Muslim community – that works out to a little above 27 lakh - was unemployed, according to a report from the Centre for Policy Development and Practice (CDPP), based on 2011 Census figures. Muslims comprise 19.26% of the state’s electorate – around 4.56 crore and as per the CDPP report, 71.2% of the community members above 15 years, were illiterate. The figure was higher than the national average (58.3%) and only 16.8% members had education above middle level and only 4.4% had a university degree.

On the basis of these statistics, the minority welfare department of Yogi 2.0 government chalked out the soon-to-be-launched employment drive.

“Our drive will be aimed at catering to all minority youth – from educated youth to those who may not be as educated, but skilled in some trade to those who may want to turn entrepreneurs and seek assistance,” said Ansari.

“While we will have top companies setting up stalls from where educated youths would be given employment, there would also be automobile companies, where, for instance, skilled mechanics could be absorbed. A separate stall would be to provide assistance to those wanting to be job givers,” he added. The youth from madrasas would also be linked to various skill sets and welfare schemes that the government runs for them.