Fact Check: No, Delhi Univerity's admission forms are not discriminating against Muslims

Social media posts, mostly on Facebook, that accuse the university of discrimination based on religion have been cropping up and being shared as messages on WhatsApp
There are only Sikh and Christian minority colleges under DU (Pic: Edexlive)
There are only Sikh and Christian minority colleges under DU (Pic: Edexlive)

Students applying for admission to Delhi University have alleged that the portal with the online form has no option to select any minority category other than Sikh and Christian and said that it is unconstitutional. Our fact-check revealed that the option is truly not there but not because the university wants to discriminate based on religion — but simply because there are only Sikh and Christian minority colleges under the university.

This is a recurring issue that crops up every time during admissions, said Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) President, Dr Rajib Ray. "There are four Sikh minority colleges and two Christian minority colleges under DU — there are no other minority colleges in DU. So, their religion does not help the university process their forms unless they are Sikh or Christian," said Dr Ray.

Social media posts, mostly on Facebook, that accuse the university of discrimination based on religion have been cropping up and are being shared even on messengers like WhatsApp. "Just tried to fill DU PG Entrance form but, in Minority category, only Christian, and Sikh, options are given by DU administration, while Muslims, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist are also in Minority in India according to Indian Constitution, so we have to fight legally (sic)," reads a Facebook post which comes along with a partial screenshot of a screen which shows the option for Minority Category. While the undergraduate form explicitly says 'Apply to Minority Colleges as' above the box, the postgraduate portal just asks for 'Minority Category', which might be misleading.

Another message being circulated on WhatsApp says that, "The Gazette of India under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 minority religious communities in India, includes Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains notified as minority communities. The admission registration for University of Delhi began on June 20, and in the minority section of the form, there's no option for the people belonging to the Muslim community," read the post. "I write it with deep ignominy that a university, that we are a part of and an institution that students of the nation give their years of academic discourse, is nonchalant towards this and entertains such discrepancies that put to death the spirit of secularism right from the university level," it adds. The message comes along with a screenshot of the same page as on Facebook.

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