Maulana Azad National Fellowship funds disbursed on monthly basis: Smriti Irani

Scholars from the minority community term the response ‘utter lie’ as they await their fellowship amount for seven months now

In a written reply to a question by Congress MP from Thrissur, T. N. Prathapan, regarding the frequency of disbursement of Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) to students, Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday said the funds were disbursed to the beneficiaries on a monthly  basis.

The MP had asked that what is the frequency of fund distribution under the MANF Scheme; and the reasons for not distributing the fellowship/ scholarship funds for its beneficiaries on a monthly basis.

Scholars from the minority community termed the response ‘utter lie’ as they await their fellowship amount for seven months now. The beneficiaries also maintained that the delay and lags in the fellowship grants are not new but happening since past couple of years.

Sharukh Khan, an MANF scholar from the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad took to Twitter to react to the Minister’s response.

“Respected authority….MANF candidates have not received the fellowship for the last 6 months or so. Under such circumstances, these statements made us feel more dejected. It is like rubbing salt on our wounds,” he said.

Kanwalpreet Kaur (35), another MANF fellow from Mumbai,  said, “Madam Smriti Irani ji, unfortunately we are not those lucky research scholars who are getting the MANF grants every month. I am awaiting this miracle and blessing of monthly stipend from past 7 months.”

Students have demanded immediate disbursal of fellowships for MANF candidates and termed the ‘falsification’ humiliating.