The government today said it has received requests from some organisations to grant minority status to Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir, but made it clear that the matter comes under the purview of the state government.
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, said the central government notifies a community as minority in the context of India as a whole, and not for an individual state.
"The Ministry has received requests from some organisations or institutions requesting grant of minority status to Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir...The issue of declaring any community as minority in a state comes under the purview of the state government," he said responding to a question on whether the government has received any proposals to provide minority status to Hindus in the Kashmir Valley.
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