Constitutional Provisions for Protection of Minority Rights

Mains Exam: General Studies Paper- 2 ( Indian Constitution- Features, Important Provisions, Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of Population by the Centre and States, Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions and Bodies constituted for the Protection and Betterment of Vulnerable Sections)

Reference:

• The debate on minority rights should be raised above the existing framework of communalism versus secularism (secularism) and placed in the theoretical realm of democracy and genuine equality.
• According to Franklin Roosevelt, no democracy can survive for long which does not accept the recognition of the rights of minorities as fundamental to its existence.
• Recognizing the importance of minority rights, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities on 18 December 1992.
  • This date is celebrated as Minority Rights Day all over the world.

Origin of Minority Rights:

• Article 19 of the Austrian Constitutional Law (1867) recognizes that ethnic minorities have the full right to maintain and develop their nationality and languages.
• Similar provisions have also been made in the Hungarian Act XLIV, 1868 and the Constitution of the Swiss Confederation, 1874.
  • The Constitution of the Swiss Confederation gave equal rights to all three languages ​​of the country in civil services, law and courts.
• The provisions of the peace treaties after the First World War paid special attention to the status of minorities.
  • Minority protection was codified in five treaties between the Allied and Associated powers on the one hand and Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Greece and Yugoslavia on the other.
  • Special provisions for minorities were included in the peace treaties with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey, while Albania, Finland and Iraq declared that they would protect their minorities.
• Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees community rights to every individual.

Constituent Assembly Debates:

• The makers of the Constitution showed deep sensitivity to the needs of minorities. Pandit G.B. Pant moved a resolution to establish a Consultative Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minority Rights.
• The committee headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel examined the issue of minority rights and accordingly Articles 25 to 30 were enacted in the Constitution.
  • The rationale underlying these articles is that individualistic universal rights are not very useful in a heterogeneous country like India and we need a debate on the lines of multiculturalism and minority rights that mark contemporary political theory.

Rationale behind Minority Rights:

• The protection of diversity in the Indian Constitution is the rationale for minority rights. In fact individual rights under Articles 14-18 (equality), 19 (freedom of speech) and 25 (freedom of religion) are not enough to protect language, script or culture.
  • Hence they are specifically mentioned under Article 29.
• The right of a person to culture has no value unless the community of which he belongs or with which he identifies is given the right to exist in a viable form.
  • This requires the presence of groups sharing the same culture as well as a conducive environment in which such cultures can flourish.
• Under Article 30, religious and linguistic minorities are allowed to establish and administer institutions of their choice so as to create a conducive environment for the development of the culture of the minorities in these institutions.
• Recently, in the Aligarh Muslim University (2024) case, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court clearly stated Article 30 as 'equal and non-discriminatory.' 
•  In the St. Xavier's College Society (1974) case, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the purpose of providing rights to minorities under Article 30 is to ensure equality between the majority and minorities.
• In the Kesavananda Bharati (1973) case, the Supreme Court considered the rights granted under Article 30 as part of the basic structure which even the Parliament cannot change through constitutional amendment.

What are minority rights?

• There is no clear definition of the term minority in the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court has held in most of its decisions that minorities should be defined at the state level.
  • Hindus are religious minorities in Punjab, Kashmir and the North-Eastern states, so they are also entitled to minority rights.
• According to Article 29(1), any class of citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof shall have the right to have its own separate language, script or culture.
• Its key dimensions include:
  • It recognises that different groups have different cultures and that all people cannot have just one culture.
  • These linguistic and religious cultures are valuable to their members, so they should be given clear rights to preserve their culture.
  • The right to culture is an individual right, meaning individuals have the right to preserve their distinctive culture.
• Article 30 guarantees that all religious and linguistic minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of ‘their choice’.
  • In the Kerala Education Bill (1957) case, the Supreme Court held that the key word in Article 30 is ‘choice’ and minorities can extend their choice as far as they wish.
  • The Court also held that the term ‘educational institution’ includes universities.
• Supreme Court judgments have also been consistent in granting protection under Article 30 to pre-constitutional institutions in cases such as S.K. Patro (1969), St. Stephens (1992) and Aziz Basha (1967).
•  In the latest judgment in Aligarh Muslim University (2024), the Supreme Court has held that an institution of national importance can also claim minority status.
• In addition, Article 350A provides for primary education in mother tongue and Article 350B provides for appointment of a special officer for linguistic minorities.
• There is also a National Minority Commission and a National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions to deal with the problems of minorities.

Definition of Minority:

• In the T.M.A. Pai Foundation (2002) case, an 11-judge bench of the Supreme Court left the question of the standard of minority institutions unanswered.
• The Supreme Court has laid down some standards in the landmark judgment related to the Aligarh Muslim University (2024) case-
  • On the issue of standard, all the judges have given preference to holistic, broad and flexible criteria.
  • Apart from this, the person taking the initiative should be from the minority community.
  • His intention should be to establish an institution ‘primarily for the minority community’ and other factors to be considered will be collection of funds, acquiring land, construction of buildings and government approval.
  • It is not necessary that the administration of the established institution should be vested in the minorities.
• Article 30(2) clearly states that the State cannot discriminate against minority institutions while granting aid.
  • In the Kerala Education Bill (1957) case, the Supreme Court observed that the State cannot impose such ‘stringent’ conditions in granting aid or affiliation to minority institutions that they have to give up the minority status of their institutions.
• The Supreme Court has consistently held that in case of mismanagement by minorities, the Government can make appropriate rules to emphasize proper safeguards against maladministration, to maintain proper standards of teaching and to ensure ‘excellence in institutions’.
  • In St. Xavier’s (1974) case, the Supreme Court clarified that minorities cannot refuse to follow the general pattern under the guise of exclusive right of management.