Determination of Minority in India

In News

• Recently, public interest litigation (PIL) is under the consideration of the Supreme Court of India challenging the power of the Centre to notify minority communities at a national level.

About

• Arguments:
  • The validity of Section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minority Education Institution Act 2004, is challenged in the petition for giving unbridled power to the Centre.
  • It is arbitrary and contrary to Articles 14, 15, 21, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.
  • Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992 also gives the Centre similar powers.
• Centre’s Response: 
  • The Centre filed two affidavits in the case and said it had the power to notify minority communities. 
  • In the first, the Centre categorically defended the concept of minorities at the national level.
    • The Centre had pointed out that it had concurrent powers with States to take measures for the welfare of minorities. 
    • States could have minorities notified as such within their jurisdiction, and it even cited the examples of Maharashtra recognising Jews as a minority community and Karnataka recognising speakers of several languages as linguistic minorities.
  • In the second, the Centre has not taken a position, one way or the other, about continuing the national list of minorities while it reiterated its power to notify communities as minorities under Central Acts.
  • The Centre’s second affidavit leaves its own stand on the entire issue ambiguous, and perhaps it was intended that way. 

Minority 

• About: 
  • In 2005, the Union Government notified five communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis — as minorities at the national level. 
  • In 2014, the then government notified followers of Jainism as a minority community, making them the sixth on the national list.
    • As per the Census 2011, the percentage of minorities in the country is about 19.3% of the total population of the country. 
    • The population of Muslims are 14.2%; Christians 2.3%; Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jain 0.4% and Parsis 0.006%.
  • Constitutional provisions:
    • Article 29 deals with the “protection of interest of minorities”, says that “any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same”.
    • Article 30, which deals with the “right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions”, says that all minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
      • Minority for the purpose of Article 30 cannot have a different meaning depending upon who is legislating. 
      • Language being the basis for establishment of different states for the purposes of Article 30, linguistic Minority will have to be determined in relation to the state in which the educational institution is sought to be established. 
      • The position with regard to the religious minorities is similar, since both religious and linguistic minorities have been put on the power in article 30.
    • Article 350 A says there shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President. “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.”
  • Backwardness Parameters:
    • Religion-specific socio-economic indicators at the district level:
      • Literacy rate;
      • Female literacy rate ;
      • Work participation rate; and
      • Female work participation rate; and
    • Basic amenities indicators at the district level:
      • Percentage of households with pucca walls’
      • Percentage of households with safe drinking water; and
      • Percentage of households with electricity

Supreme Court Cases

• TMA Pai Case
  • The apex Court stated that for the purposes of Article 30, the rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions, religious and linguistic minorities have to be considered state-wise. 
  • Under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, the Centre had in 1993 notified five communities — Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians — as minorities.
• DAV College versus State of Punjab 1971:
  • A majority ruling by six judges refers to 2 other cases pertaining to DAV College in Punjab, in which the SC had to consider whether Hindus were religious minorities in Punjab.
  • The court held that the Arya Samaj, who were Hindus, were a religious minority in the state of Punjab, even though they may not have been so in relation to the entire country. 
  • It added in another case DAV College Bathinda versus state of Punjab 1971 this court rejected the contention that since Hindus were a majority in India, they could not be a religious minority in the state of Punjab, as it took the state as the unit to determine whether the Hindus were a minority community. 
  • There can, therefore, be little doubt that this court has consistently held that the unit to determine a religious or linguistic Minority can only be the state.
• Bal Patil 2005
  • In this judgement the court said after the verdict in 11 judges bench in TMA Pai foundation case supra the legal position stands clarified that henceforth the unit for determining status of both languishing and religious minorities would be state, if there for the state has to be regarded as a unit for determining linguistic Minority vis-a-vis article 30, then with religious minorities being on the same footing, it is the state in relation to which the majority or monetary status will have to be determined,

Steps taken by GoI for Minorities

• Separate Ministry:
  • The Ministry of Minority Affairs was set up so as to improve the socio-economic conditions of the minorities through affirmative action and inclusive development so that every citizen has an equal opportunity to participate actively in building a vibrant nation.
• Schemes:
  • Various schemes, launched, are meant only for the economically weaker sections or underprivileged children and candidates of the minority communities and are not for everyone belonging to the minority community.
• Article 246:
  • Parliament under Article 246 of the Constitution, read with Entry 20 in Concurrent List in Schedule Seven, has enacted the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. 
• Prime Minister’s 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities
  • An important objective of the Programme is to ensure that an appropriate percentage of the priority sector lending is targeted for the minority communities and that the benefits of various government sponsored schemes reach the under-privileged, which includes the disadvantaged sections of the minority communities. 
  • The Programme is being implemented by the Central Ministries/Departments concerned through State Governments/Union Territories and envisages location of certain proportion of development projects in minority concentration districts.

Conclusion

• Since Parliament had passed the 1992 law, the natural corollary is that the central government has legislative competence to notify a community as a minority.
• However, any stand without detailed deliberations with stakeholders may result in an unintended complication for the country.
• Though the power is vested with the Central government, it needs to consult the States and other stakeholders.

Source: TH