A graphic (here, here, and here) is being shared on social media claiming that the Malabar Charitable Trust, a part of the Malabar Gold and Diamond business, offers scholarships for education only to Muslim students. A group photo of burqa-clad Muslim students holding Malabar Charitable Trust scholarship certificates is shared in this graphic, along with the photo of MP Ahammed, the owner of Malabar Gold and Diamonds. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Malabar Charitable Trust provides scholarship assistance for education only to Muslim students.
Fact: Malabar Charitable Trust, a part of the Malabar Gold and Diamond business, does not distribute scholarships to students on the basis of caste and religion. Students are selected for the Malabar Charitable Trust Institution scholarship based on merit and family financial conditions. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To find more details about the viral claim, we performed a keyword search which led us to a copy of a pamphlet published(archive link) by the Malabar Gold and Diamond Company. The pamphlet states that Malabar Charitable Trust in Mangalore has given scholarships to 630 students studying in about 60 colleges. According to the details in this pamphlet, the students seen in the photo are from the Uppinangady Government PU College.
However, in the pictures published in this pamphlet, it is clear that Malabar Charitable Trust has given scholarships not just to Muslim students but also to those from other religions. Some more photos of the scholarship distribution program organised by Malabar Charitable Trust in Mangalore can be seen here and here (archive links can be found here and here). In these photos, the people seen in the viral photo can be seen offering scholarships to Hindu and other non-Muslim students. A few news reports published regarding this event can be found here and here.
The Malabar Charitable Trust has said on its website that the Malabar Charitable Trust provides scholarships for the education of poor students without discrimination of caste and religion. The Eligibility Criteria of this Malabar Charitable Trust Scholarship says that this scholarship, which is offered exclusively for students, will be selected only based on merit and the financial conditions of their family.
Speaking to FACTLY about the rumours going viral on social media that the Malabar organisation offers scholarships only to Muslims, the management of Malabar Charitable Trust told FACTLY, “This news being shared on social media is completely false. Malabar Charitable Trust does not provide scholarship on the basis of caste and religion”. This makes it clear that a group photo of only Muslim students holding the Malabar Charitable Trust Scholarship certificate is being shared to propagate a false claim that the Malabar Charitable Trust offers scholarships only to Muslims.
To sum up, the Malabar Charitable Trust does not provide scholarships to students based on caste and religion.
