• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Authors
  • Contact Us

The Punjab Pulse

Centre for Socio-Cultural Studies

  • Areas of Study
    • Social & Cultural Studies
    • Religious Studies
    • Governance & Politics
    • National Perspectives
    • International Perspectives
    • Communism
  • Activities
    • Conferences & Seminars
    • Discussions
  • News
  • Resources
    • Books & Publications
    • Book Reviews
  • Icons of Punjab
  • Videos
  • Academics
  • Agriculture
You are here: Home / Areas of Study / Governance & Politics / Concept of secular and minority calls for redefinition in new age India

Concept of secular and minority calls for redefinition in new age India

February 25, 2020 By Jaibans Singh

Share

Jaibans Singh

The recent agitations in various parts of the country in the wake of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, (CAA) passed by the parliament have taken the country by surprise. Communal peace and harmony has been witnessed for quite some time now, to the extent that many had started thinking that peaceful coexistence between communities has, at last, become a reality in India; the fact that something as inconsequential as the CAA could break this bubble is worrisome.

There is of course, a political dimension to all of this, a canard has been spread that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the garb of the CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) is setting the stage to throw the Muslim community out of the Nation.

A reality check would affirm that sending back Muslim from neighbouring countries will be a big problem even after they have been identified as aliens. Most of these people are very poor; they will have nothing that proves them to be citizens of any other neighbouring country, so how will the Indian government prevail upon the government of the neighbouring government to accept them? Nobody can be kept in a detention camp in perpetuity – if at all detention camps are set up. If identified aliens cannot be sent out where does the question of sending out even one bona-fide citizen of this country arise?

It being firmly established that the reason behind the protest and agitation does not hold any merit, the question of a trust deficit between communities in the country takes centre stage. Behind this trust deficit is “Secularism” and “Minority,” two words that are dividing the nation like none others. Under the circumstances the divisive context of these oft repeated words needs to be seen in perspective.

The Forty second amendment of the Constitution of India enacted in 1976 added the words secular and socialist in the preamble of the Constitution. The addition should have effectively divorced religion from the state and should have, as such, done away with what is termed as “minority rights” in the country. It should have paved the way for Universal Civil Code and done away with subsidies and financial support on the basis of religion. Since this did not happen, the two conflicting concepts of “Secular” and “Minority” have been creating confusion and are being leveraged by political entities for electoral gains.

It, however, cannot be denied that minority communities in a country as diverse as India require some special attention failing which their voices tend to get lost. It is for this reason that successive governments of all political parties have maintained a Ministry of Minority Affairs, which acts as the apex body for the central government’s regulatory and developmental programmes for the minority communities. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains have been notified as minority communities by the Gazette of India.

There is no legal definition of national minorities in international law though protection of minorities is outlined by the United Nations.  Basically it can be said that, in a democracy, a minority community is one that does not have the numbers to influence political decisions and as such needs to be protected.

Muslims in India are presently nearly 20 percent in a total population of 1.3 Billion. Their numbers standing as about 250 Million is larger than the population of many Muslim countries. Sikhs at about 20 Million pale in comparison what to talk of the Parsis who are only about a hundred thousand.

With such numbers, Muslims do have the capacity to influence political decisions, a capacity that they have exhibited on more than one occasion. There are also states like J&K where they constitute a majority and others like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where they are significant in number. With this kind of a representation, it would be only fitting Muslims be defined as the “second largest majority” in India.

Hindus are looked upon as the majority in India, but, is it proper to look upon Hindus as a single homogenous community? Defining Hindu is a complex enough matter to have engaged the Supreme Court of the nation on seven occasions since 1996. Hinduism has, since long, given way to Hindutva that is defined as a “way of life,” an all encompassing cultural, national, spiritual and religious identity.

It can be said that while the religious entities like the Muslims, Christians and Sikhs adhere to a single book and a structured concept of religion, the same is not the case with the Hindus. They follow different Gods, pray in different ways; even have different dress codes, languages and eating habits apart from the different castes and categories.

With Hindus not falling in the category of a holistic religious community the derivative automatically is of Muslims being the “largest single religious population in India” which adds another dimension to their majority status within the country.

The aforementioned argument is further substantiated by a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed before the Supreme Court to declare Hindus as minorities in seven states namely Lakshadweep, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab and J&K. Hindus are suffering greatly in matters concerning jobs, education scholarship, health etc. because of exclusion from the minority status in these states.

The Constitution of India has given no clear cut definition of minorities which automatically leaves it to the government to take the decision. The Supreme Court has also called upon the government to work towards gradually eliminating the minority and majority classes which is a constitutional goal. It has elaborated that atmosphere of mutual fear and distrust can create threat to the integrity of the country and sow seeds of Multi-nationalism

Some criteria of population should be set below which a community will be called a minority.

As a mature and a vibrant democracy India needs to reassess the ground reality in terms of minorities and carry out a course correction to ensure that hat justice is be meted out to the actual minorities in the country.  By concentrating too much in an area that has outgrown the requirement others who are in need of attention are being sidelined. This should not be allowed to happen.

(Jaibans Singh is a socio-political analyst and author)

 


Share
test

Filed Under: Governance & Politics, Stories & Articles Tagged With: BJP, CAA, Minority Communities, Pakistan, Secular

Primary Sidebar

News

PM Modi to address Indian-Americans in Washington on June 23

June 9, 2023 By News Bureau

ਮੀਟਿੰਗ ਦਾ ਸਮਾਂ ਦੇ ਕੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਪੁੱਜੇ CM ਮਾਨ

June 9, 2023 By News Bureau

ਆਰਟੀਆਈ ਦਾ ਵੱਡਾ ਖ਼ੁਲਾਸਾ

June 9, 2023 By News Bureau

नशा भेज रहा है पाकिस्तान, सबक सिखाने के लिए सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक की जानी चाहिए : पंजाब राज्यपाल

June 9, 2023 By News Bureau

अमृतसर में पकड़ी 37 करोड़ की हेरोइन

June 9, 2023 By News Bureau

Areas of Study

  • Governance & Politics
  • International Perspectives
  • National Perspectives
  • Social & Cultural Studies
  • Religious Studies

Featured Article

The Akal Takht Jathedar: Despite indefinite term why none has lasted beyond a few years?

May 15, 2023 By Guest Author

Kamaldeep Singh Brar The Akal Takth There’s no fixed term for the Jathedar (custodian) of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat in Sikhism. That means an Akal Takht Jathedar can continue to occupy the seat all his life. Yet, no Akal Takht Jathedar in recent memory has lasted the crown of thorns for more […]

Academics

ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ ਲੇਖ : ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ, ਵਰਤਮਾਨ ਸਥਿਤੀ ਤੇ ਸੰਭਾਵਨਾਵਾਂ

ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਹਿਰੀ ਖੇਤਰਾਂ ’ਚ ਤਾਂ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾਤਰ ਰੁਝਾਨ ਘਰਾਂ ’ਚ ਵੀ ਹਿੰਦੀ ਬੋਲਣ ਦਾ ਹੈ। ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਦੇ  ਵਿਕਾਸ ਤੇ ਤਬਦੀਲੀਆਂ ’ਚ ਸੋਸ਼ਲ ਮੀਡੀਆ ਵੀ ਅਪਣੀ ਭੂਮਿਕਾ ਨਿਭਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। ਜਿੱਥੇ ਸੋਸ਼ਲ ਮੀਡੀਆ ਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਾਹਿਤ ਨੂੰ ਇਕ ਵਖਰਾ ਮੰਚ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਹੈ, ਉੱਥੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਦੀ ਪ੍ਰਫੁੱਲਤਾ ਵੀ ਹੋਈ ਹੈ ਪਰ ਸੋੋਸ਼ਲ ਮੀਡੀਆ ਤੇ ਵਰਤੀ […]

Uranium and fluoride enriched saline groundwater around Punjab

Uranium and fluoride enriched saline groundwater around Punjab Scarcity of fresh surface water increases dependency on groundwater for agriculture and domestic consumption which itself is unsafe in many instances by excess salinity, fertilizer inputs and heavy metals. The present study examined groundwater geochemistry up to 460 ft depth around a semi-arid region of Punjab, India where fluorosis, cancer and […]

‘सिंघसूरमा लेखमाला’ धर्मरक्षक वीरव्रति खालसा पंथ – भाग-10 – भाग-11

सिंघसूरमा लेखमाला धर्मरक्षक वीरव्रति खालसा पंथ – भाग-10 विजयी सैन्य शक्ति के प्रतीक ‘पांच प्यारे’ और पांच ‘ककार’ नरेंद्र सहगल श्रीगुरु गोविंदसिंह द्वारा स्थापित ‘खालसा पंथ’ किसी एक प्रांत, जाति या भाषा का दल अथवा पंथ नहीं था। यह तो संपूर्ण भारत एवं भारतीयता के सुरक्षा कवच के रूप में तैयार की गई खालसा फौज […]

Twitter Feed

ThePunjabPulse Follow

@ ·
now

Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter Twitter
Load More

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Signup to receive regular updates and to hear what's going on with us.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Phone
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

TAGS

Academics Activities Agriculture Areas of Study Books & Publications Communism Conferences & Seminars Discussions Governance & Politics Icons of Punjab International Perspectives Media National Perspectives News Religious Studies Resources Social & Cultural Studies Stories & Articles Uncategorized Videos

Footer

About Us

The Punjab Pulse is an independent, non-partisan think tank engaged in research and in-depth study of all aspects the impact the state of Punjab and Punjabis at large. It strives to provide a platform for a wide ranging dialogue that promotes the interest of the state and its peoples.

Read more

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Phone
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · The Punjab Pulse

Developed by Web Apps Interactive