In this year’s Union Budget, the government of India has proposed an allocation of Rs 3,400 crore for the Ministry of Minority Affairs. In the previous financial year (2025–26), the ministry’s budget stood at Rs 3,350 crore. On paper, this reflects an increase of Rs 50 crore, about 5%.As has often been the case, much of the national media is likely to foreground this numerical rise, reinforcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oft-repeated slogans of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” (Together with All, Development for All) and, more recently, “Sabka Vishwas” (Trust of All).The more important question, however, is not how much the allocation has grown, but what becomes of this money after the announcement. How much of the sanctioned budget actually reaches India’s minority communities, who together constitute roughly 19.3% of the country’s population?Undoubtedly, the Ministry of Minority Affairs appears to have received a higher allocation on paper. However, a closer examination of the budget reveals a very different reality. Over the years, the government’s approach to this ministry’s funding has been marked by a lack of transparency and consistency, and this year is no exception. Several schemes that have long been regarded as central to the educational and social advancement of minority communities have seen substantial reductions compared to the previous year. Notably, the deepest cuts have been made to the very programmes that the government has repeatedly cited to support its claims of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas aur Sabka Vishwas.”The Modi government appears to be so committed to the “development” of minorities that it has decided they should no longer need any government support at all. Perhaps this explains, ever since the government came to power, a growing number of schemes meant specifically for minorities have quietly disappeared. The Maulana Azad Medical Aid Scheme – meant to provide health support – was discontinued. The Bicycle Yojana, launched to encourage school attendance among minority girls entering class nine, was discontinued. Several key programmes run by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation were first curtailed, and in 2024, the foundation itself was formally closed, despite repeated assurances about its importance and future.The rollback has extended across sectors. Schemes such as the Skill Development Programme, Nai Manzil (Integrated Education and Employment Scheme), USTTAD (Upgrading Skills and Training in Traditional Arts and Crafts), the Minority Women Leadership Development Scheme, and Hamari Dharohar (for the protection of minority culture and heritage) have all been scrapped. Assistance programmes for minority students preparing for competitive examinations such as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), and state public service commissions have also been discontinued.Even institutions that remain on paper appear to be weakening. The National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) is widely seen as being on the verge of closure though a token allocation of Rs 5 crore has been made this year. The government’s intent is similarly unclear with regard to the interest subsidy on Educational Loans for Overseas Studies scheme. While Rs 8.16 crore was allocated for this programme in 2025–26, the amount was later revised down to just Rs 0.01 crore, and earlier records show that no funds were actually spent. Although Rs 6.50 crore has been earmarked for the scheme in the current budget, its future impact remains uncertain.Taken together, these decisions raise a larger question: whether the gradual withdrawal of targeted support reflects a belief that such schemes are no longer necessary – or a deliberate shift away from state responsibility toward India’s minority communities.Are minorities being pushed out of higher education?A close reading of the current budget suggests that the government is not particularly committed to enabling children from minority communities to move forward in higher education. Vocational, technical, and professional education, widely recognised as the most effective pathways out of economic and social marginalisation, appear to have been directly and systematically deprioritised.The sharp reduction in merit-cum-means scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate students in technical and professional courses clearly reflects this policy shift. This is not merely a budgetary adjustment; it represents a quiet but consequential blow to the aspirations of millions of young people.In 2025–26, the merit-cum-means scholarship was allocated Rs 7.34 crore. This year, the allocation has been reduced to just Rs 0.06 crore. Such a drastic reduction goes beyond routine budgetary pruning and effectively amounts to a dismantling of the scheme itself.A look at earlier years makes the contrast stark. In 2024–25, Rs 33.80 crore was allocated to the scheme, later revised down to Rs 19.41 crore, with actual expenditure amounting to just Rs 3.51 crore. By comparison, in 2014–15, the same scholarship received a budgetary allocation of Rs 302 crore, Rs 317 crore was released, and expenditure rose to Rs 381.38 crore. The gap between these figures reflects not merely a shift in accounting but a clear change in policy intent.Maulana Azad National Fellowship: A quiet closureThis year, the Maulana Azad National Fellowship has been allocated just Rs 36.14 crore, down from Rs 42.84 crore, promised in the previous financial year (2025–26). The pattern of erosion was already visible earlier: in 2024–25, the scheme was allotted Rs 45.08 crore, yet actual expenditure stood at only Rs 25 crore.It is important to note that the fellowship was officially discontinued from the 2022–23 academic year, with assurances that students already selected would continue to receive funding until the completion of their tenure. However, reports from the ground tell a different story. Minority students have consistently complained that payments have either stopped altogether or are being released after prolonged and unexplained delays.It is also worth recalling that the Maulana Azad National Fellowship was introduced by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to address the acute underrepresentation of minorities – particularly Muslims – in higher education. The scheme was designed to enable economically disadvantaged students from minority communities to pursue M.Phil and PhD degrees, complete their education with financial security, and contribute meaningfully to the country’s social and economic development. Today, however, that promise appears to be steadily fading.Taken together, the Maulana Azad National Fellowship and the merit-cum-means scholarship constituted the most significant pillars of the government’s support system for minority welfare. Their primary objective was to enable young people from minority communities to access higher education and, in turn, expand opportunities for social mobility. In the current context, however, with the fellowship formally discontinued and the merit-cum-means scholarship facing effective dismantling, the message appears clear: the state is steadily retreating from its responsibility to support minority youth in higher education, and from the employment aspirations that such education inevitably generates.A uniform policy on scholarshipsThe issue extends well beyond higher education. Across the board, the Union government’s approach to education-related schemes for minorities raises serious questions about consistency and intent. Minority-focused educational programmes appear to be systematically targeted, and the pattern becomes clear even without revisiting older data. A look at developments over the past two years is sufficient to understand the direction of policy.The pre-matric scholarship for minorities – one of the most critical schemes aimed at enabling children from minority communities to attend school – offers a telling example. In 2025–26, the scheme was allocated Rs 195.70 crore, which was later revised down to a token Rs 0.06 crore. Similarly, in 2024–25, an initial allocation of Rs 326.16 crore was later reduced to Rs 90 crore, with actual expenditure amounting to just Rs 1.55 crore.For 2026–27, the government has announced a fresh allocation of Rs 198 crore for the same scholarship. Whether this figure will survive the inevitable round of revisions – and how many minority children will ultimately benefit from it – remains an open and pressing question.The same pattern is evident in the Post-Matric Scholarship for Minorities. In 2025–26, the scheme was allocated Rs 413.99 crore, only for the amount to be revised down to a token Rs 0.06 crore. A year earlier, in 2024–25, an initial allocation of Rs 1,145.38 crore was reduced to Rs 343.91 crore, with actual expenditure amounting to just Rs 5.31 crore. For 2026–27, the government has announced a fresh allocation of Rs 581 crore. Whether this figure will translate into meaningful support or meet the same fate as previous allocations remains an open question.The government’s approach to madrassa education is equally reflected in the budget. No allocation has been made this year for the Education Scheme for Madrasas and Minorities. In the previous year, the scheme received a nominal Rs 0.01 crore. In 2024–25, an initial allocation of Rs 2 crore was similarly revised down to Rs 0.01 crore, a sum that ultimately went unspent. These figures suggest a steady contraction of state support for minority education at the foundational level.The broader picture reinforces this concern. In 2025–26, the government allocated Rs 678.03 crore across six schemes related to minority education, but only Rs 55.03 crore was actually released. Once final expenditure figures are available, the extent of the shortfall may prove to be even more stark.Announcement, revision and realityTaken together, these figures point to a consistent and troubling pattern. Over the past several years, the same sequence has repeated itself: on February 1, when the Union Budget is presented, the government announces a modest increase for the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Much of the media then frames this as evidence of the government’s generosity toward minorities. Yet, within months, these allocations are quietly reduced during the revision stage – and what follows is often even more disquieting – large portions of both the announced and revised budgets remain unspent.The data bears this out. In 2025–26, an allocation of Rs 3,350 crore was announced, only to be revised down to Rs 2,160 crore. In 2024–25, the original figure of Rs 3,183 crore was reduced to Rs 1,868 crore, and actual expenditure stood at just Rs 714.98 crore. Similarly, in 2023–24, the initial allocation of Rs 3,097.60 crore was revised to Rs 2,608.93 crore, while actual spending amounted to only Rs 154.17 crore. With the fresh announcement of Rs 3,400 crore for 2026–27, familiar question resurfaces: how much of this allocation will survive the revision process, and how much will genuinely reach minority communities? Compounding this is another uncomfortable reality – portions of the funds that are released have, in the past, been lost to corruption, as documented in reports and official records related to scholarship scams.The fate of schemes under the Ministry of Minority Affairs strengthens the concern that the government may be moving toward hollowing out the ministry itself. Established in 2006 following the recognition that Muslims were the most educationally and economically disadvantaged group in the country, the ministry was meant to address structural inequalities through targeted interventions. Persistent budget cuts, the closure of key schemes, and chronic underspending now cast serious doubt on the state’s commitment to that mandate. If this trajectory continues, it will represent not merely the decline of individual programmes, but the erosion of decades-old efforts to integrate historically marginalised communities into the national mainstream.A broader political context cannot be ignored. Under the growing influence of Hindutva ideology, hostility toward Muslims has increasingly found open expression in public discourse, through hate speech and everyday acts of violence. When the country’s political leadership is closely aligned with this ideology, its imprint on policy priorities and budgetary decisions is difficult to overlook. At that point, the issue extends beyond minority welfare and speaks directly to the moral and democratic character of the state itself.Perhaps this is where readers must pause and ask whether the annual budget exercise is merely an exercise in accounting, or a carefully managed narrative that conceals a deeper, more systematic indifference. As the poet Kaleem Ajiz once wrote: “dāman pe koī chhīñT na ḳhanjar pe koī daaġh, tum qatl karo ho ki karāmāt karo ho” (“Not a stain on the robe, not a mark on the dagger, are you committing murder, or performing a miracle?”).Afroz Alam Sahil is a journalist and author. He can be contacted at @afrozsahil on X.