Minorities will have a better sense of belonging to the country if their “small issues” are addressed, National Commission for Minorities member Rouble Nagi said on Tuesday. Despite the government’s efforts to improve the condition of the minorities, there are still some gaps that need to be filled, she said. “If we address these small issues of the minorities, they will be more attached to the country,” Nagi said after interacting with members of minority communities in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district. “I don’t believe that anyone who is born in India and is a citizen of this country is a minority or a majority. We are all equal,” she added. Nagi said she met members of the Sikh, Kashmiri Pandit and the Christian communities as well and had free exchanges of ideas during which they raised their issues. “While the government has not rejected their demands, some gaps have been there. We will try to plug those gaps,” she said. “Whatever I read and I heard, there are no major issues that cannot be addressed,” she added. On the grant of reservations to the Pahari-speaking people in Jammu and Kashmir, Nagi said a community should get what it deserved. “Every community should get it equally, be it Pahari speaking, Malayalam speaking, Punjabi or Bihari or any other language. When we talk about equality, if A is getting something on a certain criteria, B should not be left out,” she said. “Our main focus will be to remove the impediments in the way of our youngsters getting jobs. Some of our youngsters are not able to come forward due to petty reasons,” she added.
