{"id":33877,"date":"2024-12-18T18:32:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T13:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=33877"},"modified":"2024-12-18T18:32:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T13:02:52","slug":"minorities-rights-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-12-2024\/minorities-rights-day","title":{"rendered":"Minorities Rights Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ Society, GS2\/ Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Minorities Rights Day is observed annually on<strong> December 18<\/strong> in India to protect and promote the rights of minority communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Day is observed to commemorate the adoption of the <strong>UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Minorities<\/strong> on December 18, 1992.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India officially began recognizing this day in <strong>2013.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Minority in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Religious Minority: <\/strong>The basic ground for a community to be nominated as a <strong>religious minority is the numerical strength <\/strong>of the community.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Section 2, clause (c) <\/strong>of the <strong>National Commission of Minorities Act,<\/strong> declares <strong>six communities<\/strong> as minority communities. They are: Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and Zoroastrians (Parsis).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Linguistic Minorities:<\/strong> Class or group of people whose mother language or mother tongue is different from that of the majority groups is known as the linguistic minorities.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c1af93\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c1af93;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"585\" height=\"189\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/percentage-of-minorities-in-the-country.webp\" alt=\"percentage-of-minorities-in-the-country\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-33882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/percentage-of-minorities-in-the-country.webp 585w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/percentage-of-minorities-in-the-country-300x97.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 585px) 100vw, 585px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges faced by minorities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Social Discrimination: <\/strong>Minorities face prejudice in daily life, employment opportunities, and housing, leading to social exclusion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Disparities:<\/strong> Lower literacy rates, limited access to quality education, and unequal employment opportunities contribute to economic backwardness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Political Underrepresentation: <\/strong>Minorities often have limited participation in policymaking and governance, reducing their influence on decision-making processes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hate Crimes: <\/strong>Incidents of targeted violence and communal unrest disrupt social harmony, fostering fear and insecurity within minority communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional and legal safeguards<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fundamental Rights: Articles 14, 15, 16, and 21 <\/strong>of the Indian Constitution guarantee equality before the law, prohibit discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth, and ensure equal opportunities in public employment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural and Educational Rights: Articles 29 and 30 <\/strong>protect the rights of minorities to preserve their language, script, and culture, and to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Special Provisions: Article 350A<\/strong> ensures the right to receive education in their mother tongue for children belonging to linguistic minority groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Commission for Minorities (NCM): <\/strong>It was established in 1992 and monitors the implementation of safeguards for minorities, addresses their grievances, helps to promote their welfare and protect their rights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Ministry of Minority Affairs <\/strong>was established in <strong>2006, <\/strong>carved out from the Ministry of Social Justice &amp; Empowerment, to focus on issues concerning the minority.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives for Minorities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Prime Minister\u2019s 15-Point Programme:<\/strong> Aimed at the socio-economic and educational empowerment of minorities, this programme focuses on better access to education, healthcare, employment, and housing for minority communities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF):<\/strong> The scheme provided financial assistance for five years to research scholars pursuing M.Phil and Ph.D.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Naya Savera:<\/strong> To provide free coaching to minority students of classes 11-12 with science subjects for entrance to technical and professional courses and competitive examinations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jiyo Parsi Scheme:<\/strong> Launched in <strong>2013-14,<\/strong> the scheme aims to reverse the declining Parsi population in India through targeted interventions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0India\u2019s commitment to diversity is exemplified in the vibrant cultures, religions, and languages that coexist across the country.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing better access to schools, colleges, and technical institutions in minority-concentrated areas can help overcome geographical and socio-economic barriers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Judicial rulings related to minorities<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>In the T.M.A Pai Foundation (2002) case,<\/strong> the SC clarified that a \u2018minority\u2019 is to be determined by the concerned State\u2019s demography, not the national population.<br>&#8211; <strong>In Aligarh Muslim University Case (2024),<\/strong> the court emphasized that <strong>Article 30<\/strong> is a facet of equality and non-discrimination, ensuring that minority institutions enjoy autonomy and are not subjected to unfair state interference.<br>&#8211; Keshavananda Bharati Case (1973): This landmark case established that rights under Article 30 are part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.\u00a0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/the-constitution-on-minority-rights\/article68995551.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minorities Rights Day is observed annually on December 18 in India to protect and promote the rights of minority communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33883,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33877\/revisions\/33883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}