Answer:

The Constitution of India uses the word ‘minority’ (in Article 29 to 30 and 350 A to 350

B) but does not define the word ‘minority’ as such. The minorities in India include:

♤ Religious minority- As per National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 it include Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains. Sects within a religion are not considered a religious minority.

♤ Linguistic minority -They pertain mainly to a State and not at the National level. The linguist minority must have a separate spoken language. It is not necessary that the language must have a distinct script.

It is to be noted that, a group which constitutes a ‘statistical minority’ at national level may not enjoy minority status in all State/UTs. Supreme Court in TMA Pai Foundation case considered the question of the unit for the purpose of determining the definition of ‘minority’ within the meaning of Article 30(1).

It held that ‘a minority either linguistic or religious is determinable only by reference to

demography of the State and not by taking into consideration the population of the

country as a whole’. Thus, religious and linguistic minorities, have to be considered

State-wise for the application of central and state laws.

Special rights to minorities and secularism

In India, the safeguards for minorities under the constitution of India are firstly in the form of fundamental rights (Article 25 to 30). Article 29 talks about preserving the distinct language, script or culture of any citizen, while Article 30 is more specific and talks about right of religious and linguistic minorities to administer educational institutions and non-discrimination by State in granting aids to such institutions.

However, at times these safeguards invites the accusations of favouritism or ‘appeasement’ and of being anti-secular (a secular state being one that doesn’t favour any particular religion over others). In reality, the Protection of minorities requires that they be given special consideration especially in a context where the normal working of the political system places them at a disadvantage vis-à-vis majority community.

In India, even economically strong minorities like Sikhs and Parsis may be disadvantaged in a cultural sense because of their small numbers relative to overwhelming majority of Hindus. Without special protection, secularism can turn into an excuse for imposing the majority community’s values and norms on the minorities.

The idea of giving some special right to the minorities is not to treat them as a privileged section of the population but to give to the minorities a sense of security. Special rights for minorities were designed not to create inequalities but to bring about equality by ensuring the preservation of the minority institutions and by guaranteeing autonomy in the matter of administration of these institutions.

Hence, deeming these special rights as contradiction will be to take a lop-sided understanding of secularism without attending to the needs of all sections of society. Counter-views and debate on this arrangement should be seen as the trait of a healthy democracy.