Violating Minority Rights
“We cannot have a democracy without minorities, without distinct and different groups”1
said Indian philosopher, Humayun Kabir. Historically, not only has minorities and democracy co
– existed, but they have also been apart of one another and in order for a democracy to exist,
there must be minorities present. Mahatma Gandhi once said that in a democratic system, “a
civilization can be judged by the way it treats its minorities”.2 In the case of India, minorities
came into existence due to migration from one place to another beginning in 1500BC when the
Aryans invaded India. There are thousands of different ethnic and religious minority groups and
communities that exist in India today. However, as per the National Commission for Minorities
Act, 1992, there are five religious groups which have been given official status of National
Minorities, namely, the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsees. According to the
2001 census, the National Minorities constitute about 18% of the population. The Hindu majority
take up 82% of the total population. 3 Moreover, due to the nature of the Hindu religion and it’s
principle of the caste system, there are also many caste groups that exist in India.
Today, India is considered to be the largest and most populous democracy in the world.
The current political system in India is a parliamentary democracy and a federal republic.4
Humayun Kabir identified three important features that are inherent to any democracy. These
are: equality of rights and duties for all citizens, equalization between rights and duties, and the
1 Kabir Humayun. Minorities in a Democracy. Calcutta: Forma K.L Mukhpadhyay, 1968. P. 6.
2 Vijapur, P., Ajay Kumar Singh, and Kumar Suresh. Pluralism, Minorities, National Integration – Problems and
Prospects. New Delhi: South Asian Publishers, 1997. P.35.
3 “Minority Populations.” An Organization to Safegaurd the Legal Rights of Minorities. 2008. National Commission
for Democracy. March 08, 2008 < http://ncm.nic.in/>
4 S.A Palekar. Political System in India. (New Delhi: Eastern Book Corp., 2006) 95.
distribution of power among different agencies or groups and communities.5 The last places the
minorities in their rightful place in a democracy. India has not only recognized the existence of
minorities and given them official status, but has also offered them special safeguards in the
Constitution of India. There are also general rights enlisted in 14 different Articles which are
applicable to all citizens including the minorities. In addition to the common basic rights, the
Indian Constitution guarantees special rights to the minorities in a separate domain, under 3
specific Articles, which are exclusively meant for minorities and have been devised to protect
their identity.6 The Government of India has also officially provided a number of instruments to
look into the implementation of minority rights and to safeguard them. These include the
National Commission for Minorities and the National Minorities Development and Finance
Corporation. In addition to these two instruments, there is a special program known as the Prime
Minister’s 15 Point Program for Welfare of Minorities which enhances the equality of
