OTHER MINORITIES
James Massey, Member National Commission
On Minorities on Indian Christians
The Indian Christians as a minority is the second largest, numbering according to 1981 Census 15,165,447 (2.487%) divided in number of denomination. The two broader divisions based upon their theological differences are: One, Roman Catholics and two, various Protestant and Orthodox Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic membership stands between 55 to 60% of the total Christian population, and the other Christians traditions are between 40 to 45%. The smaller groups, which include the different Pentecostal and Evangelical groups are part of the second division. The Roman Catholics in India are governed by their highest body, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) with their headquarters in New Delhi and on the Protestants side the largest umbrella body is the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) with a membership of 29 Indian Churches representing major traditions of Protestant and Orthodox. The headquarter of NCCI is in Nagpur ... Today the number of Indian Christians stands about 25 million.
Besides the denominational divisions, the Indian Christians are also divided on the basis of their social, cultural and racial origins. There are four very distinct groups, which can be named: (a) The Anglo-Indian Christians, who came into existence basically with the mixture of European blood, (b) the Christian of Scheduled Caste origin (Dalit Christians), (c) the Christians of Scheduled Tribes origin, which further can be divided into two groups of Central India and North East India according to their racial origin, and (d) the Christians of Upper origin.
The Indian Christians are distributed almost in all the States and Union Territories of our countries. But 65% of the total population live in the four Southern states and Union Territories of India and 14% live in North East India 2,219,159; and the remaining 21% live in North India. Leaving out a few pockets, they do not face only social, economic and religious problems, they are also politically almost powerless . Neither they are well educated in quality, nor they are educated percentage-wise. In 1981, the survey conducted by the Diocese of Chandigarh (Church of North India) showed among the Christians of Gurdaspur District (where 50% Punjabi Christians live) only 15% men were literate and among women only between 5 to 2% were literate. A more recent survey conducted jointly by the Christian Institute of Religious Studies, Batala and Ditt Memorial Centre, Amritsar, that the sub-region of Punjab, which includes Amritsar and Gurdaspur district, though reveals an improved situation, yet according to it there are only 31% Christians who are literate as against the Punjab literacy rate of 57.14% and the national literacy rate of 52.11% (Census 1991). Economically this survey also has shown that 5.36% Christians of this are having some agricultural level, the rest all 94.64% are landless labourers.
Two of the most important (problems) have constitutional implications. First issue is concerning the Christians Personal Law which includes: (a) the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872; (b) the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 and (c) the Indian Succession Act, 1925. All these were enacted under the British rule, which had implications of the context of their time and also their contents are mostly British. Some parts of these Acts have direct relationship with the English law. For example Section 8 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 says if there is something what is not covered by this Act, in that case the Indian courts will follow the English Courts. The same way the Christian Marriage Act, 172 has at number of places references to the Churches of England and Scotland. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 also has a number of weaknesses, including restrictions on widow's rights to property. All these need the immediate attention of both the Christians as well as of the Government in order to introduce suitable amendments in these Acts.
The second issue is related to the Christians of Scheduled Caste origin, who form more than 75% of the population of Christians. Here with regard to these Christians, there are four main points, which need our attention. The Dalit Christians not getting protection of life and personal liberty as, the various Government Acts and Rules passed by the Parliament to give special protection to the Scheduled Castes, are not applicable toThese Acts and Rules include Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955; Protection of Civil Rights Rule, 1977 and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The third paragraph of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950.
"Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, no person who professs a religion different from Hindu, shall be deemed to be a member of a "Scheduled Caste"
On the basis of that criterion all other people professing Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity and others were left out. But in 1956 and 1990 the third paragraph of the Presidential Order 1950 was amended by the Parliament to extend the benefits to "Sikh" and "Buddhist" along with "Hindu" respectively.
Christians of Schedule Caste Origin suffer the same social, educational and economic disabilities, which their counterparts in other religions suffer. The fact that change of religion has not changed the socio-economic and educational status of the Dalit Christians has been proved by the number of Commissions, appointed by the Government and by the Judiciary.
Now to deal with them positively some concrete suggestions follow for the consideration of the National Commission for Minorities:
First, to recommend the appropriate changes and amendments to the Christian Personal Laws after consulting and inviting the views of the Christian Community. The process for this ... should begin by inviting the representatives of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) and the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) (and) from some major Christian ... organisations which ... not part of either CBCL or NCCI.
Second, to recommend the amendment to the Constitution, (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 in order to restore constitutional/fundamental rights of the Christians of Scheduled origin (Dalit Christians) specially the discrimination. In fact recommendation should be made for the removal of the third paragraph from the Presidential Order 1950 .
Patna High Court on Jain Sects Rights
On Parasnath Hill (Extracts) After the abolition of zamindari the hill stands vested in the State of Bihar under the Bihar Land Reforms Act. However, the tonks (sites of the 24 Jain tirthankaras) and temples being religious institutions, they will continue to be in the possession and management of the Jain community as a whole.
The High Court held that the whole of Parasnath Hill, except for the half-mile radius on the tp containing the shrine and its ancillary structures, was under the authority of the Bihar Government.
"But on those areas also, all the devotees of the Jain community have got access and there cannot be any particular sect who can debar others in their free exercise of power of worship in the religious institution".
"When vesting is there, then every particle of the hill had been vested and there cannot remain any right either of the management or control of any of the sects of the Jain community over the lands at Parasnath Hill, save and except the area as mentioned above which are used as a part of the religious institution at the top of the hill itself," the judge ruled.
'There is no divesting of power by the State Government either to Swetambary or to Digambary and as such there is practically no right existing over the land of Parasnath Hill either in favour of Digambary or in favour of Swetambary which can be enforceable by law.
The agreement with the Swetambary which is in question has got no enforceability under the law and as such no ancillary relief can flow from such agreement as the contract itself is void.
The Court dismissed the claims of exclusive ownership and management laid by the Ahmedabad- based Seth Anandji Kalyani Trust representing the Swetambars Murtipujak Sect. The Court held as "null and void" the agreement of February 5, 1965 executed between the Trust and the Bihar Government.
"It is my feeling that until and unless a proper scheme is made for the proper management of the religious institution and the facilities of the devotees, there would be no end to the litigations between different sects of the Jain community because of their narrow and sectarian views and the way the cases are being fought, it could be found that such fighting is not for religious faith but for ego of one against the other.
The State Government (should) form a committee comprising representatives of the Jain community for the shrine's uplift and provision of better amenities for the pilgrims who visit the hill shrine every year. The Bihar Government was "duty-bound" top provide rest houses and other facilities for the Digambar pilgrims, who were facing many troubles as the dharamshalas run by the Swetambar sect were not open to them.
Khushwant Singh On Sikh's Self-Image
All religious communities suffer from narcissism. They look into mirrors of their own making and dismiss criticism as biased. Thus, Hindus remain convinced that there is the most tolerant religion in the world and suffer from selective amnesia when confronted with practising untouchability, breaking mosques and persecuting Christian missionaries.
Muslims are convinced that Islam is the most perfect, peace-loving faith in the world and an example of equality among the faithful. They conveniently overlook its idol-breaking past, forcible conversions and the extensive prevalence of slavery in Islamic States. Christians are also convinced that they have always stood for peace (Crusades and the colonial wars notwithstanding) and are more ethical than any other. Sikhs have their own self-image as the sword arm of India, Sant-Sipahis who saved the country from being forced into accepting Islam and but for the treachery of their leaders who were bribed by the British would have spread their empire over the continent. They ascribe their present sorry state to wily Brahmins who are for ever conspiring their downfall.
Such self-images should not be dismissed out of hand because they do give us an insight into the mindsets of the communities concerned. If we understand their psyches, we will be better able to deal with them.
This long introduction brings me to Dr. Sangat Singh's 564-page The Sikhs in History (Uncommon Books). His reading of Sikh history is that it has been a continuing battle for survival against evil designs of Brahminical Hinduism.
The second half deals with the fate of the community after independence. Sangat Singh does not blame Sikh leaders for recent setbacks in the fortunes of the community except for letting themselves be outwitted and hoodwinked by scheming Hindus of the Arya Samaj, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Nevertheless, his thesis needs to be taken serious because this is how a majority of educated Sikhs explain their present predicament. It is a good example of the self-image of a community.
(Source: The Hindustan Times, 18 January, 1997)
USA: Supreme Court's Ruling On Legal Protection of Religious Practices
In a significant judgement that will affect religious minorities in this country, the US Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a federal law that protects religious practices from Government interference.
By a vote of six to three, the court said the law that had envisaged personal expressions on faith and allowed orthodox .Sikhs to wear their turbans and kirpans and Muslim women to wear the hijab (head covering) had usurped the apex court's power.
The majority judgement held that it was the court's prerogative to define constitutional protection of religion and not Congress, and argued that the legislation intruded into the business of the states.
The majority opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, drew on a historic mandate that courts alone have "the duty to say what the law is" and that by passing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1993, Congress had overreached its constitutional authority.
But Justice Sandra O'Connor, reading passages of here dissent from the bench in defence from the bench in defence of religious tolerance, said, "Given the centrality of freedom of speech and religion to the American concept of personal liberty, it is reasonable to conclude that both should be treated with the highest degree of respect". The RFRA was passed with broad partisan support that brought together a coalition of groups ranging from Sikh and Jewish groups to Baptist and Muslim organisations as well as the American Civil Liberties Union. The law, which said Governments can infringe on religious practices only if they have a health, safety or other "compelling interest" in doing so, had the enthusiastic backing of President Bill Clinton and was originally adopted to address complaints by religious groups that some general state and local laws discriminated against practitioners.
The RFRA was invoked by Sikh groups for members of their faith to be allowed to wear the turban and kirpan in their workplaces, including the military.
The American Muslim Council, which comprises members from several South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, also used the RFRA to fight cases were Muslim women had been suspended or fired for refusing to remove the hijab (head covering) or where children in school were not given time off to say their mid-day prayers or excused from activity during the month of Ramadan.
The congressional and religious leaders (have) vowed to fight the decision ... But there was also an acknowledgement by some lawmakers that they saw no obvious solutions on the horizon.
UK: Ethnic Monitoring of Royal Household
The Independent has discovered that neither the Royal household, which employees 550 people, nor St. James's Palace, Prince Charles's office, carry out the full policy of ethnic monitoring recommended for the past 20 years by the Commission for Racial Equality. The CRE code was adopted by Parliament in 1984, under the terms of the Race Relations Act 1976.
A spokesman for the CRE refused to single out the Queen or the Prince of Wales for criticism, but he did say: "We would like all employers to follow equal opportunity practices, and ethnic monitoring is part of the code of practice.
"We issue statements about this fairly frequently but we usually do so in a general way, without picking out anyone, because plenty of other people are guilty of the problem."
( Anthony Bevins on the Independent, London)
UK: Asian Minorities Outclasses all other Groups in Minority Education
Indian pupils are the most highly qualified students in British Schools and Colleges, according to a government study published recently that will warn of a growing gulf between the country's best and worst-performing ethnic groups.
The study published by Ofsted, the school inspectorate, shows that Indians are more likely to stay on in education after the age of 16, are better behaved and are achieving better examination results than their white classmates. This new study, the most comprehensive into ethnic minority achievement in last ten years, analysed data from cities across Britain and found that Indians were achieving results "consistently in excess" of their white counterparts in many areas.
In one of London boroughs, the average GCSE point score rose from 30 to 38 between 1991 and 1993. By contrast white pupils increased their performance from 26.9 to 32.3 in the same period. The picture is the same all over the country. In Birmingham, more than 40$ Indian GCSE entrants achieved five or more A to C grades last year, compared with about 35% of whites and 22% of Afro-Caribbeans.
Educationalists believe that among Asians the cultural commitment to education and family support helps them to shine. The study recognises that Asian pupils feel they have got to be better qualified to succeed than their white counterparts. There have also been changes in attitudes among Asian families about girls education. Now the girls are as ambitious as the boys. A Muslim girl from Birmingham who achieved 9 GCSEs, including two starred A grades, five As and two Bs, wants to do her A levels and aims to go to Oxford.
The researchers, from the Institute of Education in London, conclude that advances made by Indians and other Asian Groups are not being matched by other ethnic groups particularly by Afro Caribbeans. The report warns that widening gaps in achievement are "of immediate concern" and asked that schools and local authorities should ensure that poor achievers are identified and helped.
(Source: The Indian Muslims, London, Sept-Nov, 1996)
