New Delhi: Asserting that his government was not anti-minorities, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on May 3 asked Muslims to remove their educational backwardness by not confining themselves to religious education.

"Education is capital for development and progress… It should not be confined to religious education alone. Minority communities, specially Muslims, should not remain educationally backward," he said launching three schemes for promoting education among them.

Stating that problems of minorities have to be addressed, Vajpayee said it was not necessary that minorities will remain minorities forever.

"Our Constitution says there should not be any discrimination on grounds of religion and efforts should be made to see that minorities did not lag behind," he said.

The Prime Minister said that the weak had to be paid special attention and through education alone their plight could be improved. "Why was education not universalised all these years?" he posed.

In an apparent reference to Ayodhya issue, he said to ensure proper atmosphere in the country, it was better to resolve problems through mutual discussion. "If no solution is coming, one should wait till the problem is resolved. What is the haste to solve it right now?" he asked, adding that if it was not possible to solve it immediately, one should have patience.

"Those in the minority should be patient and those in majority (should be) all the more patient," he said.

Vajpayee said in the country having a population of 100 crore, Hindus were in majority. But at the same time, Muslims were present in large number as also Christians, Parsis and Buddhists, he said.

Stating that the Iraq war showed the victory of science, the Prime Minister said there was need for scientific education – not for the sake of fighting but to make life better.

He said from the days of steam engine and electricity, it was now an era of atomic energy. Technology was changing and it was not in the fitness of things that a country should lag behind.

Asserting that this government was fighting poverty, he said the number of people living below poverty line has come down from 34 per cent to 26 per cent during the last five years. "It has to come down faster. Why should a country lag behind? But for this education is needed," he said.

He said it was not possible to give everyone employment in offices, adding vocational training could help the unemployed get some gainful employment.

The schemes launched by Vajpayee were: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Literacy Awards for promoting education amongst educationally backward minorities (four awards of Rs. one lakh each every year); Maulana Azad National Scholarship Scheme for meritorious students belonging to minorities, particularly girl students; and Scheme of Financial Assistance for establishment of Maulana Azad Sadbhawna Kendras in different parts of the country.

PTI