Despite repeated appeals to the Ministry of Minority Affairs and requests to several politicians, scholars under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) allege that they have yet to receive their fellowship stipends, marking an unprecedented delay of eight months.
Previously, EdexLive reported in May 2025 that MANF scholars had not been receiving their fellowships since December 2024.
In addition, their House Rent Allowance was also not made up-to-date with the norms prescribed by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Since EdexLive's previous story, MANF scholars from various public universities, including Aligarh Muslim University (Uttar Pradesh), Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi), Jamia Millia Islamia (Delhi), Jadavpur University (West Bengal) and others wrote to several Members of Parliament (MPs) from Opposition parties, urging them to raise the issue of the delay.
Some MPs, such as Tamizhachi Thangapandian from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Dr Mohammed Jawed from the Indian National Congress (INC), and Zia ur Rehman from the Samajwadi Party (SP) paid heed of their appeals and wrote to Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Minority Affairs to look into the matter.
They also received support from student organisations like the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU), which submitted a representation to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the INC’s student wing, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), which wrote to the National Commission for Minorities regarding the delays.
Despite these interventions, however, the matter is still status quo, as MANF scholars have neither received their stipends nor has their HRA been updated as per UGC guidelines. Due to these delays, their research and academic careers have been impacted.
A lifeline lost
“Several MANF scholars are in the middle of their PhDs, with crucial tasks in their research still pending. I need to purchase tools and collect data as part of my research, but I cannot proceed with it because of a lack of funds,” Sana*, a third-year PhD scholar from Jamia Millia Islamia, told EdexLive.
However, more than the costs to their academic careers, these delays also exact a personal toll on scholars. For many of them, who belong to particularly marginalised communities, MANF stipends are a source of income. They say that not receiving stipends for months together is like cutting off their lifeline.
For many MANF scholars, their stipend would fund not only their research activity but also their living expenditure. Some scholars even use their stipends to take care of their families.
“My father had to undergo a medical operation, but I could not get it done because I had no money,” said Yusuf*, another third-year PhD scholar from the Aligarh Muslim University under MANF.
He claimed that he chose to quit his job at a private college to pursue his PhD purely because he was allotted MANF. “Despite discontinuing the Fellowship, we were still under MANF. However, without stipends, that seems pointless,” he lamented.
“As day scholars, we are not allowed to work anywhere else, as we are technically paid by the government for furthering research. This is our only source of income,” Sana said.
Government’s silence rang loud
As mentioned earlier in the report, MANF scholars approached and sent representations to the Ministry of Minority Affairs on several occasions regarding the delays in fellowships. Yet, the ministry would always turn a blind eye.
“We were told that our concerns were ‘Under Consideration’, but the matter never progressed beyond that,” Sana sighed.
Attesting to this, Yusuf alleged that the ministry told them that the funds for MANF had “not received approval” due to reported fraud in the scholarship. “There are about 1,400 MANF scholars in India, and the government has all our details. They can easily weed out cases of fraud without stopping everybody’s stipends for months,” he said.
Further, he added that even Opposition party MPs like INC leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Assaduddin Owaisi, whom the scholars approached, did not particularly take up the issue.
A bleak future
These delays and the seeming apathy of the government have led many scholars under MANF to reconsider their PhDs.
“Many scholars I know, who are currently back in their hometowns for the summer break, do not want to return as they don’t have the money to travel and sustain themselves while pursuing their PhDs,” Yusuf said.
Sana explained that many scholars have undertaken huge debts because of delayed fellowships, and are now unable to repay them. “I know scholars who are contemplating suicide because of falling into debt traps,” she confessed.
Because of this pressure, MANF scholars are unable to devote their time and mental faculties to their PhD thesis work. “I am unable to write a single word because I am worried about not receiving my stipend for over half a year,” Sana said, exasperated.
For scholars waiting for their stipends, MANF has begun to look like a trap, she added. “We have nowhere else to go, except dropping out and appearing for UGC-NET again,” she said.
This hopeless situation, with seemingly no way out, is wearing MANF scholars like Sana and Yusuf out.
“At this point, I am even tired of explaining my situation to people who ask,” Sana sighed, in a defeated tone.
To recall, MANF was a fellowship programme formulated and funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India for Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist & Christian students who want to pursue research in India.
In 2022, the fellowship was cancelled, as it was allegedly overlapping with existing fellowship programmes offered by the government. While no new scholars would receive funds under MANF from that academic year (2022-23), existing MANF scholars were assured that they would continue to receive their stipends.
However, MANF stipends have only been delayed for extended periods at various points in time since the discontinuation.
*names changed to protect the sources’ identities
