RELIGIOUS AND LINGUISTIC MINORITIES
Published on 30 Jan 2025
In India, only those communities notified under section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, by the central government are regarded as minority. As per 2011 census, the minority count in India are 14.2% Muslims, 2.3% Christians, 1.7% Sikhs, 0.7% Buddhists, 0.4% Jain and 0.006% Parsis.
Their rights are protected under Article 29 and 30 of the constitution, with a provision for Special Officer to investigate matters related to the safeguard of linguistic minorities under Article 350-B.
Socio-economic problems faced by the minority community in India
Social problems
Prejudice and discrimination: Misconceptions and generalisations regarding certain minority communities creates prejudice towards them, leading to discrimination and social isolation of the community.
Example: As per a Twitter based study in 2022, 55% of anti-Muslim hatred tweets originate in India.
Identity crisis: The minority culture often gets assimilated with the minority practices, thus losing grip over their traditions which are part of their identity.
Example: A school in Uttar Pradesh ordered Sikh students not to wear turban, which is part of their identity. Such events of maltreatment cause an identity crisis for the minority.
Violence and security threat: Misinformation and hate speeches against minorities have created multiple instances of riots and violence against minorities in India.
Example: Instances like Gujarat riot, Muzaffarnagar riot, Delhi riots witnessed religious clashes with significant death tolls from the Muslim community.
Educational disparity: Minorities facing discrimination may not have access to quality education, pulling down their future growth potential.
Example: According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate among Muslims in India is around 57.15% while the national average is 74.04%.
Sufferings to minority women: Women from minority communities face double discrimination, and are targeted the most during any ethnic conflicts.
Example: A Parsi woman married to non-Parsi men faces religious ostracization, while the same is not applicable to Parsi men.
Economic problems:
Discrimination in employment: Lack of equitable access to education hinders the minority people in accessing quality employment. For linguistic minorities, language acts as an extra barrier preventing employment in many regions.
Example: The state of Dalit Christians in India is so poor that Christian males have the highest unemployment rate in India as per the PLFS 2017-18.
Economic disparity: Due to limited exposure to stable, high paying jobs, the per capita income of minorities is usually less than the average national income.
Example: According to the India Discrimination Report 2022, Non-Muslims are earning 49% more than Muslims in regular employment.
Lack of access to financial services: Due to the poor background, poor minority people are denied access to credit, thus denying them self-employment opportunity.
Property rights and displacement: Conflict over land ownership and forced displacement disrupts the economic stability of these communities.
Example: As per All India Debt and Investment Survey, average asset value for Muslims is 79% of the all-India average.
Political problems:
Lack of political representation: The lack of political and public body reservations reduces their representation power and also makes them short in various civil bodies.
Example: When the government was formed in 2019, the 58-member council of ministers had no members from Christian community. This lack of representation continued for the next two years.
Concerns regarding UCC: The political debate on the implementation of UCC, in the name of national integrity, can restrict many practices of the minority and hence is a concern for them.
Government initiatives to address the concerns of minority
PM Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS): To facilitate opportunities for minority communities in education, skilling and employment to facilitate inclusive development. It combined the following five schemes
USTTAD (Upgrading Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development): Aims to promote rich heritage of the traditional arts and crafts of the minority community.
Nai Manzil: A combination of formal education and skills for minority youth who do not have a formal school leaving certificate.
Nai Roshni: Promote leadership development and basic entrepreneurship primarily among youth from minority communities and artisan families.
Hamari Dharohar: To preserve the rich heritage of minority communities of India.
Seekho aur Kamao: To conserve and update traditional skills and enable them to avail better opportunities and livelihood.
PM Jan Vikas Karyakram: To provide infrastructure in identified minority concentrated areas, in the field of education, health, skill development, women empowerment etc.
Scholarship programmes: Pre-matric and Post-matric scholarship scheme, Merit-cum-Means scholarship etc. for providing education support for the minority.
Prime Minister’s 15 Point Programme: Wherever possible, 15% of targets and outlays under various schemes shall be earmarked for minorities. The 15 points revolve around 4 themes namely,
Enhancing education opportunities
Ensure equitable share for minorities in economic activities and employment.
Improving the living conditions of minorities.
Prevention and control of communal disharmony and violence.
Sachar committee report
A seven-member committee was formed in 2005 to examine the socio-economic and educational status of Muslim community in India. The report highlighted the disabilities faced by the community.
Some observations made by the committee were
Social position: In terms of poverty, consumption and standards of living conditions on the whole are only slightly better than those of SCs/STS, though slightly worse in urban areas.
Low literacy level: The literacy among Muslims was only 59.1%, while the national average was 64.8%, as per 2001 data.
Civic representation: Low number of Muslim representations in civil services, with only 3% in the IAS and 4% in the IPS/ Security agencies.
Lack of infrastructure: No educational facility in one third of small villages with high concentration Muslims and no medical facility in 40% of large villages with a substantial Muslim concentration.
To address these issues, the following recommendations were made
Higher education opportunity: Come up with a mechanism to link madrassa with higher secondary school boards.
Minority representation in public bodies: Create a nomination procedure to increase the participation of minorities in the public institutions.
Political representation: Reconstitute Muslim majority constituencies, which must not to be reserved for SC.
Formation of an Equal Opportunity Commission: To look into grievances of the community and to suggest measures for facilitating fair opportunity.
Better employment opportunity: Recognition of degrees from madrasas for eligibility in defence, civil and banking examinations.
National Data Bank: For maintaining all relevant data for various socio-religious communities.
Hence, there exists certain domains where the minorities are still lacking, especially the Muslims community. More focussed, data driven approach shall be initiated by the government, through proper involvement of community, for improving the socio-economic wellbeing of minority communities in India.