Junaid (named changed), a PhD scholar in Jamia Millia Islamia, was forced to sell his wife’s gold to pay his house rent since the stipend of Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) was pending for over a year that pushed him into a debt trap.
Junaid is among the 103 scholars pursuing research in universities in the national capital under the fellowship grant from MANF meant for minority students. Many of these students are facing difficulties in managing monthly expenses due to this delay.
“I took a loan of Rs 15,000 from a friend to pay the rent, hoping that my fellowship would come by December 2022. After 15 months, I am still waiting for the amount to be disbursed. My wife had to sell her jewellery to pay back the loan,” Junaid told PTI.
His stipend has not come since November 2022. Being the eldest child of a single mother, he is juggling between family responsibilities and his dream to pursue research.
Abdul Nasir, who is a beneficiary of the last batch of MANF at Delhi University (2022-27), continues to battle with irregular stipends even after winning a case in the Delhi High Court.
The first-generation scholar from a farmers’ family, Nasir had moved the court over the grant of fellowship to a candidate who scored fewer marks than him. The court in May 2022 ruled in his favour.
“Despite the ruling, I have not received nearly four months’ stipend pending since September 2023 and HRA for the last one year. I am burdened with debt because of the delay in the disbursement of fellowship,” he said.
MANF provides financial assistance to research scholars from minority communities which include Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsi and Muslims.
