India is widely known as ‘a nation of pluralism/ multiculturalism‘. People speaking hundreds of languages and dialects and followers of all the major religions of the world inhabit this land of amazing cultural pluralism. However, there appears to be substantial differentials in the socio-economic and demographic profiles of major religious communities in India, mainly emerging from socio-cultural and historical reasons. The status of linguistic communities is also largely related with these factors.
The constitution of India uses the term minority but does not define it. In order to have some understanding of the term ‘minority’, one refers to the works and interpretations of social scientists and judicial decisions. The term ‘minority’ is a compound of the Latin word ‘minor’ and the suffix ‘ity’, meaning . inter alia “the smaller in number of the two aggregates that together constitute a whole”. The Webster dictionary defines it as “a group characterised by a sense of separate identity and –awareness of status apart from a usually larger group of which it forms or is held to form a part“. The meanings and definitions just referred to contain a common criterion, namely, the statistical criterion. “Apart from the statistical criterion mentioned above the term ‘minority’ may also be defined on the basis of certain characteristics which are commonly possessed by the members constituting it. In this sense the term signifies such groups of people as are united by certain common features and feel they belong to one common unit. Such groups may be held together by ties of common descent, physical characteristics, traditions, customs, language or religious faith or a combination of these” (GS Sharma, 1973). In any case, therefore, there-is a sense of akiness, a sense of community or unity prevalent in the group or groups that distinguishes them from the majority of the inhabitants of the area where such minorities function. It is this sense of akinness within the group coupled with the consciousness of a difference with the majority, which may serve as the basis of various political or other claims. There may also be cases when differential treatment alone is the pointer that may determine the minority status. Such differential treatment may be shown by another group or other groups of people towards this group or it may be self-imposed by the ‘minority’ group itself.
Sumanta Banerjee (1999) adding a very important dimension to the meaning and interpretation of minority says that, “in the context of human rights today, the term ‘minority’ is no longer a numerical concept, but has come to signify a non-dominant and disadvantaged group in a state or society, be it ethnic, religious or linguistic. The Muslims, for instance, are a disadvantaged minority group in India.” Thus, the place of a group of people in the power structure of the society and the state becomes very crucial in identifying it as a ‘minority’ Though the constitution of India does not define ‘minority’ yet it recognizes two types of minorities based on religion and language. That is how and why we talk about religious and linguistic minorities. The constitution uses the term ‘minority/minorities’ only in four articles, namely, Articles 29 (1), 30, 350-A and 350B:
Article 29:
- (1) Any section of citizens residing in the territory of India or any part “thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own have right to conserve the same.
- (2) No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the state or receiving aid out of state funds on grounds of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
Article 30
- (1) All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
- (2) The state shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of minority, whether based on religion or language.
Article 350 (A)
- It shall be the endeavour of every state and of every local authority within the state to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups; and the President may issue such directions to any state as he considers necessary or proper for securing the provision of such facilities.
Article 350 (B):
- (1) There shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President.
- (2) It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under this constitution and :report to the President upon those matters at such intervals as the President may direct, and the President shall cause all such reports to be laid before each house of Parliament, and send to the governments of the states concerned.
Thus, in the absence of any formal or definite definition we largely go by the judicial pronouncement given from time to time. But one thing is absolutely clear and that is the fact that all the internationally recognized normative principles are enshrined in the Constitution of India. On practical plane, the word minority in India is most often used in the context of religious communities-Muslims, Christians Sikhs, Parsees (Zoroastrians) and Jews. This category also includes Buddhists and Jains which means that all the non-Hindu communities-come under the category of minorities. Following are the profiles and important facts and figures about the social, economic and political status of the religious minorities.
Characteristics of religious groups – 2011 population
| Religious group | Population (2011) % | Growth (2001-2011) | Sex ratio (2011) (total) | Sex ratio (2011) (rural) | Sex ratio (2011) (urban) | Sex ratio (2011) (child) | Literacy (2011) (%) | Work participation (2011) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 79.80% | 16.8% | 939 | 946 | 921 | 913 | 73.3% | 41.0% |
| Islam | 14.23% | 24.6% | 951 | 957 | 941 | 943 | 68.5% | 32.6% |
| Christianity | 2.30% | 15.5% | 1023 | 1008 | 1046 | 958 | 84.5% | 41.9% |
| Sikhism | 1.72% | 8.4% | 903 | 905 | 898 | 828 | 75.4% | 36.3% |
| Buddhism | 0.70% | 6.1% | 965 | 960 | 973 | 933 | 81.3% | 43.1% |
| Jainism | 0.37% | 5.4% | 954 | 935 | 959 | 889 | 94.9% | 35.5% |
| Others/Religion not specified | 0.90% | n/a | 959 | 947 | 975 | 974 | n/a | n/a |