CONSTITUTION

Former Cabinet Secretary, Zafar Saifullah's

On Rights and Role of Minorities under the Indian Constitution

The term "Minorities" is commonly regarded as a reference to the Muslim community. This common error needs to be eliminated from the national psyche, as it is an aberration and a distortion. The Constitution itself talks of two broad categories of minorities - "religious minorities" and "linguistic minorities". The "religious minorities" have come to include the five national religious minorities as described by the Government of India. These are, in order of their population, the Muslims, the Christian, the Buddhists (including the neo-Buddhists), the Sikhs and the Parsis. If one were to move away from the national level, then at the State level some of these communities become either the majority or the largest single community, as, for example, the Muslims in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Sikhs in the Punjab, and the Christians in Mizoram, Meghalaya, Goa, etc. The District level and the Taluk, Panchayat and Village levels throw up an even more diverse picture. It, therefore, makes for wisdom and clarity to deal with the national religious minorities but taking care to see that, wherever necessary, comparable dispensations and considerations are broadly available, mutatis mutandis, to other communities where they constitute the minority

The "Linguistic minorities" are, however, diverse and spread throughout the length and breadth of the country. With the passage of time, the problems of the linguistic minorities, while far from being resolved, have received more balanced attention at the hands of most State. Governments, over the last three decades.

The political ascendancy of the Bharatiya Janata Party: the Shiv Sena and other political and non-political organizations subscribing to the "'Hindutva" approach; the problems in the Punjab and in some of the North Eastern States; the demolition of the Babari Masjid; the formation of the BJP-led coalition Government after the last general elections: and the main political philosophy subscribed to by the constituents of the present ruling United Front, have all brought the question of the "religious minorities" to the forefront of the country's political agenda. Our focus today, could, therefore, rightly be on (them) and their "rights and role", particularly in the common task of nation-building.

The minorities are, first and foremost, citizens of this country. It belongs to them as much as it belongs to the rest of the population ... Theirs is, therefore, an inalienable right to be in this country; the right to freely breathe of its air and drink of its waters; the right to take pride in its history, its culture, its stupendous achievements; the right to regret its failings and contribute to its growth; and the right to die for its survival. In turn, they like all other citizens also have duties and responsibilities, not merely rights. The minorities must never forget their duties and responsibilities to this country as its citizens, and the others should regard it as part of their sacred duty to unflinchingly respect and enforce the special rights of the minorities under the Indian Constitution, both in letter and in spirit. This alone can bring in that oneness of spirit, national identity and brotherhood which could so strengthen the sinews of this country that it fully and swiftly realizes its potential of ranking among the world's greatest economic and political forces.

The issue of religious minorities and the manner in which it has been dealt with in our Constitution has been influenced by and reflects the traumatic events of the years preceding our independence. The Constitution of India provides for fundamental rights including the rights to security of life, limb and property; to equality before the law and to the equal protection of equal laws; the right to employment, and to educational opportunities without discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, language, place of birth etc. These are Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. In addition are the special provisions from Articles 25 to 30 which are special rights in favour of the minorities. It includes the right to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate their religion (Article 25); the right to manage their religious affairs by establishing and maintaining religious and charitable institutions, owning, acquiring and administering movable and immovable property (Article 26); the right to attend only of his own free will, religious instruction in any institution recognized by the State or receiving State aid (Article 28); the right to conserve their distinct culture, language and script (Article 29); and the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice (Article 30). The whole purpose of these provisions is (a) to ensure that the minorities are recognized first and foremost as citizens of this country, as also (b) to ensure that their deep allegiance to their religion, their language, customs and culture is respected, safeguarded and promoted by the entire nation. Unfortunately, such has not been the case, and the country, in turn, has suffered as a whole.

The Report of the High Level Panel on the Minorities, the SCs and the STs which was headed by the redoubtable Dr. Gopal Singh; and the series of Reports compiled annually by the Minorities Commission particularly from 1987-88 onwards, bring out statistically a harsh truth. The dictum of Mrs. Indira Gandhi's 15- Point Programme enunciated on 11.5.1983, was that "care should be taken to see that minorities secure in a fair and adequate measure, the benefits flowing from the various development programmes including the 20-Point Programme". As against this, for example, the largest national religious minority viz., the Muslims, were the only significant identifiable segment of the population, whose share of the national development cake had actually fallen since independence in respect of their representation in Government services and services in public sector undertakings, especially in their higher echelons; and with each one of the other four religious minorities, their share of credit disbursed by public sector and nationalized banks bore no relation even to their share of the total population, leave alone to their share of the country's population below the poverty line. Indeed, there is strong evidence to show that vis-a-vis other sections of the population, their relative economic status has actually declined over the decades.

It is futile to suggest that if this represents a negation of the rights of this section of the population, the remedy could be sought through courts. The impracticality, indeed the frivolity, of the suggestion is too obvious for it to merit any consideration ... There were some elements who were wont to describe any and every instance of merely doing justice to members of the minority communities as "appeasement". Fortunately, the national leadership of even such sections is today at pains to alter this image. This trend needs to be recognized and encouraged by the minority communities themselves.

Those who still are not reconciled to this entirely nationalist approach to the question (must) realize that their mindset gives - perhaps unwittingly - post facto credence to the two-nation theory ... Secularism had been the tradition and the history of this country in Mughal and British India - and even more so in the native States. The country has given itself through its constitutional provisions, an inherently secular character not to appease minority sentiment, but because the majority community decided in its. wisdom that it should be so. Otherwise, the country could never sustain itself as a political entity. Nothing has happened in the last forth-six years of the Republic's life to warrant a change in this thinking ... The need of the hour now, is to implement with utmost sincerity, the letter and spirit of the Constitutional provisions on the subject asalso those programmes and policies of successive Governments, which were drawn up with the intention of effecting such implementation.

It is not unusual to cite instances of the few individuals from among the various minority communities who have achieved high public office or succeeded conspicuously in their business and industrial enterprises as evidence to contend that the minorities have complete equality of opportunity in the country and are not discriminated against in any sphere of national endeavour. It is a misleading approach. When Lord Mountbatten, the then Viceroy and later Governor- general of India, queried Dr. Ambedkar on the need for the constitutional safeguards being incorporated by him in India's draft Constitution, he replied that what is needed is not one Dr. Ambedkar but hundreds and hundreds of them in various walks of life and that cannot happen without such constitutional support. In respect of the religious minorities also, the problem is to secure an all-pervasive sense of fair play and justice to ensure for the average family and those below the poverty line, ungrudgingly and without hassles their fair and adequate share of admissions to educational institutions; of jobs in public and quasi-public services at all levels; credit and other benefits as available to other similarly placed citizens for self-employment; etc. That cannot happen unless down-the-line and across-the-board, the system - indeed, our entire society - develops an attitude of understanding and empathy for resolving the educational, skill up-gradation, health and economic well being concerns of the minorities. I would regard employment levels recorded from time to time, of persons from minority communities obtaining in the private sector, as the acid test of the extent we have succeeded in this direction. The extent to which the problem exists in various minority communities is not known widely enough in the country. This could be one reason for the indifference of other sections of our society. If we attempt to brush under the carpet the stark reality of the magnitude of this problem or ignore its potentially explosive nature, quite apart from the question of equity and human rights, we will be exposing ourselves to the most serious danger of internal inequity leading to internal instability and discord. This can become the most serious impediment to national growth and economic well-being.

Where should the exercise to amend this trend of neglect and unconcern begin? To my mind, the answer is obvious. Its positive aspect of enabling actual individuals and families to overcome their handicap must come from within these communities themselves. But this effort will face several handicaps and limitations, unless it is accompanied by an attitudinal change in the minds of the other communities. They must recognize its resolution as a national concern of the highest priority and a crucial and integral part of their duties and responsibilities as citizens of the same country. A strong citizen, whatever his community, is an asset to the country; a weak one, a liability. There should be no hesitation in any quarter in extending all the support needed by the average family and the poor families among these communities to secure their "fair and adequate share" of the national cake and become assets, contributing their strength to national prosperity.

We must address ourselves in this context to the issue of reservations. These come into play mainly in regard to securing admissions to educational institutions and to appointments in public and quasi-public services. One can readily see that both these issues are related to the stage of our country's economic development. No one disagrees that this is best ensured in a national environment of social harmony and stability. If we sincerely address ourselves to the problems faced by the minority communities, we will be contributing enormously to communal harmony and national integration making for socio-political stability. This will enable us to advance much more rapidly in our economic development endeavours. We shall then be able, on the one hand, to open many more educational institutions including those for technical and professional training and skill-upgradation, narrowing the gap between demand for sets and their availability; and, on the other, to provide much wider opportunities for employment and self-employment. The whole issue of reservations will lose its meaning as we near a situation of full employment. Recognizing its essentially short-term nature and the contribution to accelerating economic growth that social harmony and stability can make, an enlightened consensus on the question of reservations would appear to be not only mandated but feasible.

To revert to the constitutional question, it is my belief that the constitutional provisions in this regard need to be liberally interpreted. But if any such issue is seen to persist, then it is reasonable to expect that for securing such an important national goal, the Constitution could be appropriately amended. Indeed, the very factum of such an amendment, when effected, will be a resounding affirmation of national political will to resolve this problem in the shortest time possible.

The role of each of the minority communities in nation-building has been significant, even extraordinary, over the last several centuries. Whether in architecture, in arts, in culture, in science, in literature, in spiritual enlightenment, in the inculcation of exemplary moral and national values, in the defence of the motherland, in administration, in the civil services, in sport – their contribution is much too well-known. Indeed it is a pity that we have not used the electronic media to put together what could be one of the most fascinating audio- visual experiences - a presentation of the contribution of each of the minority communities to the brilliant, multi- ethnic mosaic that is our country. Their future contribution can be even more, if the proper environment of genuine empathy and understanding is generated among all the communities which comprise our society. Events seem to have brought this today closer – to realization than at any time during the past few decades.