Minorities in India

• The term “Minority” is not defined in the Indian Constitution. However, the Constitution recognizes religious and linguistic minorities in India.
• Article 29
  • It provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script, or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.
  • It grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities.
  • However, the Supreme Court held that the scope of this article is not necessarily restricted to minorities only, as the use of the word ‘section of citizens’ in the Article includes minorities as well as the majority.
• Article 30
  • All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
  • The protection under Article 30 is confined only to minorities (religious or linguistic) and does not extend to any section of citizens (as under Article 29).
• Article 350-B 
  • Originally, the Constitution of India did not make any provision with respect to the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities. However, the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 inserted Article 350-B in the Constitution.
  • It provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India.
  • It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution.
• National Commission for Minority Education Institution (NCMEI) Act, 2004
  • It gives the minority status to the educational institutions on the basis of six religious communities notified by the government under the NCMEI Act, 2004– Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis), and Jains.

Geographic Spread of Minorities in India

• Notified minorities constitute about 19% of the population of the country. 
• In rural India during 2009-10, 11 percent of households followed Islam, with about 12 percent of the population.
• Christianity was followed by around 2 percent of the households, constituting about 2 percent of the population. 
• In urban areas, the percentages of households and populations following Islam were about 13 and 16, and those following Christianity were about 3 and 3, respectively.
• The government of India has also forwarded a list of 121 minority concentration districts having at least 25% minority population, excluding those States / UTs where minorities are in the majority (J & K, Punjab, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Lakshadweep).

Constitutional Provisions for Minorities in India

The Constitution of India lists down a few important mandates with regard to Minorities in India. Discussed below are the same in brief:

Protection under Fundamental Rights

• Article 15 (1) & (2) – Prohibition of discrimination against citizens on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
• Article 16(1)&(2) – Citizens’ right to equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State
• Article 25(1) – People’s freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion – subject to public order, morality, and other Fundamental Rights
• Article 28 – People’s freedom to attend religious instruction or religious worship in educational institutions is wholly maintained
• Article 30(1) – Right of all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice
• Article30(2) – Freedom of minority-managed educational institutions from discrimination in the matter of receiving aid from the State

Protection under Part XVII (Official language)

• Article 347- Provide special provisions relating to the language spoken by a section of the population.
• Article 350A – Deals with the provision of facilities for instruction in the mother tongue.
• Article 350B— Provision for a special officer for linguistic minorities and defines its duty.

Legislative protection

• The National Commission of Minority Act 1992—this act led to the foundation of the National Commission on Minorities by the Union Government. It consists of a chairperson and 6 members, provided at least 5, including the chairperson, should belong to the minority community.
• Waqf Act—This act deals with donations in the Muslim community. The central waqf council, a statutory body, manages the administration of waqfs in India. Waqf is the permanent dedication of movable or immovable properties given by Muslim philanthropists for a religious, pious, or charitable purpose. The grant is known as Musrat-Ul-Khidmat, and the person who makes such dedication is known as Waqif.
• Citizenship Amendment Act—This act gives citizenship to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan within 6 years instead of 12 years. Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis( all are minorities in India, excluding Hindus) who migrated before 2014 are eligible.

Executive Privilege

In addition to legislative measures, the central government gives many special privileges to minorities through its ministries, departments, and commissions, as listed below.

• The Ministry of minority affairs was formed in 2006 to ensure a focused approach to issues related to minorities.
• The Ministry of External Affairs deals with matters relating to the Haj committee.
• The Ministry of Human Resource and Development deals with schemes for quality education in madrasahs and with infrastructure development for minority institutions.

Problems faced by minorities in India are as follows: 

1. The problem of identity- Because of the differences in socio-cultural practices, history, and backgrounds, minorities have to grapple with the issue of identity everywhere, which gives rise to the problem of adjustment with the majority community.
2. The problem of Security: Different identities and their small number relative to the rest of society develop a feeling of insecurity about their life, assets, and well-being. This sense of insecurity may get accentuated at times when relations between the majority and the minority communities in society are strained or not very cordial.
3. The problem of equity: The minority community in society may remain deprived of the opportunity for development as a result of discrimination. Because of the difference in identity, the minority community develops the perception of the sense of inequity. Religion is a complex phenomenon in India. Though India is declared a ‘secular’ state, the problem of secularism looms large here. Conversion to Islam and Christianity has been a controversial issue over the last couple of decades.
4. Varied reasons: —ranging from poverty to perceived discrimination, resulted in the alienation of Muslims and Christians in India. The government of India constituted a committee on 9th March 2005 under the chairmanship of Justice Rajendra Sachar to inquire about and analyze the problems faced by Muslims in India.
5. Economic reasons: The Indian socio-economic fabric is very complex because it is affected by caste, religion, and regional/linguistic differentials. At the same time, the Indian economic, social, and political institutions, which have persisted for centuries, also have a historical basis. These factors have given a unique character to Indian society. It has become a conglomeration of various layers and segments divided and sub-divided.
6. Backwardness: – Minority communities are unable to join the mainstream of society. Sachar Committee, which was constituted in 2005, has placed Muslims below the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
7. The problem of Representation: – In terms of religious composition, 90.4% of MPs in Loksabha are Hindus. 5.2% are Muslims, and another religious community represents 4% MPS. Muslims contribute only 2.5% of the Indian bureaucracy.
8. Lack of Clear definition: – There was no clear definition for the minority, which creates a huge flaw. Inclusion and exclusion errors occur during the implementation of government schemes. Recently, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court regarding this matter.

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