Page 1 of 13

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 164

Minorities in India: Beyond the Constitutional Safeguards

Mohamed Rafeek KP,

Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Abstract:-

This study aims to delineate the

constitutional safeguards for the religious

and linguistic minorities in India along with

depicting the staple arenas which they suffer

in the mundane life in this vast democratic

and multicultural secular country. The

definition of minority itself is a controversial

issue with multiple avenues of looking at the

term and interpreting it according to the

whims and fancies of the observers. The

minority question has been quite

controversial in India. The secular forces and

parties of course, not only acknowledge

minority question but also want to treat them

fairly and give them equal status in matters

of social, cultural, political and economic

rights. Notwithstanding the significance of

preserving minorities, their language,

culture, religion and ethnic identities, the

issues pertaining to them are very crucial in

the contemporary socio-political situation of

the country.

Investigating from an

epistemological point of view this paper

would like to trace the historical sketch of

minorities, their transitions in altering

political regimes before and after

independence of the country from colonial

oppression. Deploying the qualitative method

of research the study emphasizes on the

salient features of minorities and their

proportion in the population of the nation

and their due share in key positions of the

country. To convey the data adequately, this

study uses some statistical data from

authentic sources and will conclude

with suggesting some pivotal measures to be

implemented for the betterment of this

deprived section in the future.

Key words:

minorities, constitution, India, education,

employment, politics and economy.

Introduction

The minority question has been quite

controversial in India. The secular forces and

parties of course not only acknowledge

minority question but also want to treat them

fairly and give them equal status in matters of

social, cultural, political and economic rights.

The freedom fighters and national leaders

like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and

others duly recognised existence of

minorities and championed their cause. It was

because of their efforts that the constitution

makers gave equal political rights to them

and also recognised their distinct social,

cultural, religious and economic status.

Minority rights, particularly in the context of

the Muslim community, have arguably been

the most contested issue in contemporary

India. The rise of Hindu majoritarianism as a

powerful force in Indian democracy over the

past three decades has meant the virtual

acceptance of an anti-Muslim discourse by

large segments of society. In this context,

civil society has emerged as a central player

in championing the cause of minority

communities. This role is particularly

Page 2 of 13

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 165

important in a politically charged

environment where the state is often accused

of abdicating its constitutional responsibility

to protect religious minorities and, in some

cases, even instigating violent attacks on

them.

All minorities-religious, ethnic and

linguistic-are under attack. And of these

minorities, those that are facing the most

intense, systematic and escalating attacks all

over India are the religious minorities: the

Muslims, the Sikhs, and the Christians. The

violence perpetrated on the Sikhs in the form

of a brutal massacre in November 1984 in

Delhi and elsewhere has not only been

equaled but perhaps surpassed by the almost

genocidal massacre of the Muslims by the

armed constabulary of the state in Meerut.

But Meerut is an exception only by its

magnitude. The entire country is caught in

the vortex of communal violence targeted at

minority communities. The traditionally

oppressed groups like the untouchables and

the tribals are also encountering growing

waves of attacks under the religious frenzy.

In the tribal areas of Jharkhand and other

regions, Christian churches and missions are

burnt down or usurped. Mosques elsewhere

are being openly claimed in favour of Hindu

temples. Reconversion to Hinduism is being

aggressively imposed. Belonging to a

minority religion is often enough to

characterise a person as an actual or potential

traitor, and a threat to India's national unity

and integrity. It is pertinent to analyse that

why Indian Constitution has adopted the

principle of ‘Unity in Diversity’ and tries to

bring about a balance between national unity

on the one hand and cultural and social

diversity on the other. It is here that the

protection of minority rights becomes

relevant. Though there are miscellaneous

minorities exist viz religious, linguistic,

cultural, ethnic and political, I would like to

focus on the religious minorities, especially

Muslims as being the most relevant in the

Indian context.

The rise of Hindutva forces since the

1980s brought with it a strong anti-Muslim

rhetoric that has captured the imagination of

many in India. This rhetoric is premised on

the idea that secularism has meant the

‘appeasement’ of Muslims by the state, and it

has given currency to perceptions of the

Muslim community as both pampered and

threatening. Muslims constitute nearly

fourteen per cent of the population of India.

They are spread all over the country forming

significant minorities in all states except

Kashmir where they are in a majority, and

Punjab from where they were expelled after

the partition of the country. Muslim masses

can form an important component of the

people's democratic front if their problems

are properly tackled. Alternatively they will

continue to be exploited by the reactionaries

and used against all progressive forces. The

Muslims are a religious minority. Theoretical

purists may say that they constitute not one

religious minority but many minorities, since

Muslims form respective minorities in the

various linguistic nationalities of India:

Gujarati-speaking Muslims being a minority

in Gujarat, Bengali Muslims in Bengal, and

so on. But in Stalin's classic definition of a

nation, "psychological make-up" is still an

essential factor. Although Muslims are

neither a nation nor a nationality, having no

single language and no definite territory, they

are more than a religious community. Partly

by historical circumstances, a common

Page 3 of 13

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 166

religion has also inculcated certain common

cultural traits and social customs.

Who are minorities?

When speaking of minorities, we

must note that in some countries there is no

linguistic equivalent for the expression. In an

official communication to the United

Nations, Sub-Commission on the Prevention

of Discrimination and the Protection of

Minorities, the government of Thailand

stated that the concept of “minorities” was

unknown in that country. The

communication said, “Although this word

has a Thai translation from the English for the

purpose of communication with the outside

world, it has no social or cultural connotation

whatever”. The expression ‘minority’ needs

to be discussed in details in order to pierce the

miasma of confusion and misunderstanding.

The expression “minority” has been derived

from the Latin word ‘minor’ and the suffix

‘ity’, which means “small in number”.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica

minorities means “group held together by ties

of common descent, language or religious

faith and feeling different in these respects

from the inhabitants of a given political

entity”. J.A Laponce in his book “the

protection of minority” describes “minority”

as a group of persons having different race,

language, or religion from that of majority of

inhabitants (Laponce, 1956). In the Year

Book of Human Rights ‘minority’ has been

described as nondominant group having

different religious or linguistic traditions than

the majority population (Year Book of

Human Rights, 1950). The U.N Sub

commission on Prevention of discrimination

of minorities has defined minority as under:

1) The term 'minority' includes only those

non-documents group of the population

which possess and wish to preserve stable

ethnic, religious or linguistic traditions or

characteristics markedly different from those

of the rest of the population; 2) Such

minorities should properly include the

number of persons sufficient by themselves

to preserve such traditions or characteristics;

and 3) Such minorities should be loyal to the

state of which they are nationals.

The Constitution of India uses the

word ‘minority’ or its plural form in some

Articles – 29 to 30 and 350A to 350B – but

does not define it anywhere. Article 29 has

the word “minorities” in its marginal heading

but speaks of “any sections of citizens...

having a distinct language, script or culture”.

This may be a whole community generally

seen as a minority or a group within a

majority community. Article 30 speaks

specifically of two categories of minorities –

religious and linguistic. The remaining two

Articles – 350A and 350B – relate to

linguistic minorities only. In common

parlance, the expression “minority” means a

group comprising less than half of the

population and differing from others,

especially the predominant section, in race,

religion, traditions and culture, language, etc.

The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Minority’ as

a smaller number or part; representing less

than half of the whole; a relatively small

group of people, differing from others in race,

religion, language or political persuasion”. A

special Subcommittee on the Protection of

Minority Rights appointed by the United

Nations Human Rights Commission in 1946

defined the ‘minority’ as those “non- dominant groups in a population which

possess a wish to preserve stable ethnic,

religious and linguistic traditions or