Sociology · Ch 5 — The Challenges of Cultural Diversity
Minority Rights and Nation Building
Minority Rights and Nation Building
The makers of Indian nationalism chose an inclusive and democratic path. Inclusive because it recognised diversity and plurality. Democratic because it aimed to end discrimination and exclusion, and to build a just and equitable society. The term ‘people’ was never understood in an exclusive sense — it was never limited to any one group defined by religion, ethnicity, race or caste. Humanist ideas shaped the thinking of Indian nationalists, and leading figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore spoke extensively against the evils of exclusive nationalism.
Tagore, in his 1917 work On Nationalism, warned that Western nationalism taught people from boyhood to foster hatred and ambition through half-truths in history, misrepresentation of other races, and the cultivation of unfavourable sentiments toward them. He argued that the hurt inflicted on other races would infect the one who inflicts it, and that enmities sown around one’s home would never be a wall of protection. He condemned teaching a whole people an abnormal vanity of its own superiority, pride in moral callousness, and contempt for others — calling this an imitation of the West’s festering sore.
For inclusive nationalism to be effective, it had to be built into the Constitution. There is a strong tendency for the dominant group to assume that its culture, language or religion is synonymous with the nation-state. A strong and democratic nation therefore needs special constitutional provisions to ensure the rights of all groups, and especially of minority groups.
The Sociological Meaning of Minority
The notion of minority groups is widely used in sociology and means more than just a numerical distinction. It usually involves some sense of relative disadvantage. Privileged minorities — such as extremely wealthy people — are not usually referred to as minorities unless the term is qualified, as in ‘privileged minority’. When used without qualification, ‘minority’ generally implies a relatively small but also disadvantaged group.
The sociological sense of minority also implies that the members form a collectivity — they have a strong sense of group solidarity, a feeling of togetherness and belonging. This is linked to disadvantage because the experience of being subjected to prejudice and discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty and interests. Groups that are minorities in a purely statistical sense — such as left-handed people or those born on 29 February — are not minorities in the sociological sense because they do not form a collectivity.
It is possible to have anomalous instances where a minority group is disadvantaged in one sense but not in another. For example, religious minorities like the Parsis or Sikhs may be relatively well-off economically. But they may still be disadvantaged in a cultural sense because of their small numbers relative to the overwhelming majority of Hindus. Religious or cultural minorities need special protection because of the demographic dominance of the majority.
Relative Size and Distribution of Religious Minorities in India (2011 Census)
| Religious Group | Population (millions) | Percentage of Total Population | Key Distribution Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hindus | 966 | 80.0 | Overwhelming majority; not homogeneous — divided by caste |
| Muslims | 172 | 14.2 | Largest religious minority; scattered all over; majority in Jammu and Kashmir; sizeable pockets in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan |
| Christians | 27.8 | 2.3 | Scattered all over; sizeable pockets in north-eastern and southern states; majority in Nagaland (88%), Mizoram (87%), Meghalaya (74%); sizeable in Goa (25%) and Kerala (18.4%) |
| Sikhs | 21 | 1.7 | Scattered across the country; concentrated in Punjab where they are a majority (58%) |
| Buddhists | 8 | 0.7 | Highest proportion in Sikkim (27%) and Arunachal Pradesh (12%); among larger states, Maharashtra has the highest share at 6% |
| Jains | 4.5 | 0.4 | Highest concentrations in Maharashtra (1.3%), Delhi and Gujarat (nearly 1% each) |
| Other Religions and Persuasions | under 8 | 0.7 | — |
The Hindu population is four times larger than the combined population of all other minority religions, and about six times larger than the largest minority group, the Muslims. However, this can be misleading because Hindus are not a homogeneous group and are divided by caste — as indeed are all other major religions, albeit to different extents.
The Constitutional Framework for Minority Rights
During the long struggle against British colonialism, Indian nationalists understood the imperative need to recognise and respect India’s diversity. ‘Unity in diversity’ became a shorthand to capture the plural and diverse nature of Indian society. Discussions on minority and cultural rights marked many deliberations of the Indian National Congress and found final expression in the Indian Constitution.
The makers of the Indian Constitution were aware that a strong and united nation could be built only when all sections of people had the freedom to practise their religion, and to develop their culture and language. Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, made this point clear in the Constituent Assembly. He told those who had developed a fanaticism against minority protection that minorities are an explosive force which, if it erupts, can blow up the whole fabric of the state — the history of Europe bore ample testimony to this. He also noted that the minorities in India had agreed to place their existence in the hands of the majority, unlike the Protestant minority in Ireland which had refused to accept safeguards and insisted on not being ruled by the Catholic majority.
The Indian Constitution affirms the following key provisions:
- Article 29(1): Any section of citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.
- Article 29(2): No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving out of State funds on grounds only 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.
- Article 30(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 a minority, whether based on religion or language.