I understand that there are some practical difficulties experienced by the Commission in the past four years of its existence. Hon. Minister has made it clear that the number of Members of the Commission has to be raised and some other issues have to be attended to. I fully agree with many of the suggestions made by the Minister. At the same time one must realise that the status of education in the country differs from State to State. In Kerala there is cent per cent education and that is not the case with many other States. While majority of the educational institutions are Government-owned in some States, they are privately managed in many other States. We have a federal set up in our country. Every issue is complex in our country including education. We have to give due importance to States in all sectors whether it is education or any other sector. The Minister has made a suggestion that problems crop up with regard to the State Governments in the matter of according the status of minorities. He said that some States may have differing views the other States in this regard. But I think it is the State Governments which can judge these things better. There may be problems and I do not deny that. But how can the State Governments be kept out of the process of deciding the status of minorities and other issues? If two State Governments take opposing views, the Central Government can intervene and give a direction. I remember that in the draft Bill that was introduced in the House in 2004 there was no mention about the role of the State Governments. After taking into consideration the views of all political parties, it was included that there should be consultation with the State Government in this matter. Even after consulting the State Governments, the Minorities Commission can take its own view. They live in houses that are most insecure and collapse frequently their guardians or their dependants do not get even due compensation for the loss that they have to bear. Unhygienic living in distant and far flungs areas compounded with lack of medical and educational facilities make their life utterly miserable. These plantation workers have to live in abject poverty like slaves of their employers. And, as we know, most of these plantations are still foreign-owned establishments, last vestiges of the colonial rule, the British rule, and as I said, it is a matter of deep regret for all of us that despite enacting an act.
