India is one of the largest democracies in the world. It also has one of the largest minorities ... If we take (all religious) minorities into account the number will exceed 15 crores.
A true democracy ensures not only individual rights but also rights of minorities as a community. Our Constitution has laid down in Articles from 25 to 30 the rights of religious, cultural and linguistic minorities (and) makes India a truly democratic and pluralist nation ...
But of course there was a big gap between noble intentions and actual realisation. The minorities continued to face several problems. The most important was of security, especially as far as Muslims were concerned. One can argue, and rightly so, that it was basically the legacy of the Partition ...
In a democracy, minorities' problems can be sorted out, despite their apparent enormity, given commitment to principles ... What is needed is mutual trust between various communities ..
... With the birth of the two nation-States - India and Pakistan - loyalty became a major issue in the communal dynamics in India. In many riots, the slogan Musalman jao Pakistan or qabrastan (Muslims go to Pakistan or to the cemetery) became quite common ... Some (Muslim) thought that Pakistan was an Islamic country and hence their real homeland. But the breakup of Pakistan in 1971 shocked such Muslims and it brought about a transformation in their thinking.
But still the distrust continued. In the Eighties it acquired religious rather than nationalistic overtones. Two major issues arose - the Shah Bano case and Ram Janmabhoomi. The Muslim leadership rejected secular law ... and the Sangh leadership equated Hinduism with nationalism. Both were violative of the spirit of nationalism and secularism. Muslims living under a secular dispensation should not always insist on finality and immutability as far as social issues are concerned ...
Those Hindus who insisted on demolishing the Babari Masjid and constructing a Ram Mandir should realise that a modern nation- State has its own logic, and majoritarian attitudes weaken rather than strengthen it. A modern nation-State can be run only on the basis of a Constitution and secular laws. A majoritarian mind-set can be destructive of the healthy spirit of nationalism. A modern democracy cannot succeed until the minorities feel completely secure. Now at the fag end of Twentieth century, the Christian minority is also under attack on the issue of conversion ... Christians as a whole have come under attack as if all of them are engaged in conversion and a ban is being demanded. This demand is not justified, as it will be a flagrant violation of constitutional rights.
... The 21st century will be the century of democracy and human rights. India can be justly proud of being democratic ... The task is to further deepen and consolidate democracy. And this certainly depends on the treatment of minorities. In real democratic governance, minorities should be treated with justice and dignity.
As the quality of democracy improves, the minorities will get all opportunities for their own creative contribution to the process of nation building. The minorities will also have to adopt a more positive and constructive approach. Democratic culture should prevail among all sections of society. Pluralism should be respected .. (Social) reform will have to be ushered in.
However, no one should be coerced ... It has to be a democratic process.
The 21st century will be a century of ... dialogue. The culture of dialogue, is essential for democracy and for creating mutual trust. Both the majority and the minorities will have to realise that confrontation leads to destruction and dialogue promotes mutual understanding.
The majority should realise that the more secure the minorities feel, the more they will contribute to nation-building. And the minorities should realise that the more they contribute to nation building, the more they will be respected. Only both together can ensure better quality of democratic governance in the next century. (Source: The Hindu, 31 December, 1999)
National Code for Minorities A.Must
Shahabuddin's Letter to The Hindu, 1 Jan., 2000
Apropos A.A. Engineer's plea for a culture. Of dialogue between various religious communities (31 December, 1999), I would like to point out that the concept of minorities in India cannot and should not, be limited to religious minorities only and then to the Muslims' relations with the Hindus. Indeed at one functional level of the other - and there are five from Panchayat to the Union - diverse social groups form a majority at one level and a minority at another and even the same group forms a majority somewhere and a minority elsewhere at the same level. These social groups are identified not always by religion but by sect, caste, sub-caste, language and domicile of origin.
Indeed India is a land of minorities. What we need to develop through dialogue is a uniform national norm for the treatment of minorities at various levels, whatever their label of identity. Thus, whether it is the Hindu minority in J&K or Muslim minority in UP or Christian minority in Orissa or whether it is the Rajput minority in a Yadav-dominated village or vice-versa, or whether it is a Marathi- speaking child in Karnataka or a Kannada-speaking child in Maharashtra, or whether it is a Mizo in Nagaland or a Naga in Mizoram, they should be treated uniformly in accordance with nationally accepted norms, their identity should be respected; their dignity should be protected and they should be entitled to equality in the public space.
Whichever group forms a minority at a functional level, its participation in governance and its share in development and welfare benefits must be assured through appropriate regulation against majoritarian aggrandisement, leading to deprivation of the 'others'. The ethos of plurality must cover all aspects of peaceful and creative co-existence so that the minority groups everywhere feel that they are getting their due and that they should equally endeavour for the common good.
