Consider the following statements about the minorities in India:
A. The Government of India has notified five communities, namely, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians as Minorities.
B. The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
C. The smallest religious minority in India are the Zoroastrains.
D. The Constitution of India recognizes and protects religious and linguistic minorities.
Which of these statements is/are correct?
Consider the following statements about the minorities in India:
A. The Government of India has notified five communities, namely, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians as Minorities.
B. The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
C. The smallest religious minority in India are the Zoroastrains.
D. The Constitution of India recognizes and protects religious and linguistic minorities.
Which of these statements is/are correct?
The correct option is C B, C and D
The Ministry of Minority Affairs, a ministry of the Government of India established in 2006. It is the apex body for the central government's regulatory and developmental programmes for the minority communities in India, which include Muslims, Sikhs,Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992
Numerically, the Jain community is small, with a population of about 50 lakh but they are prosperous, mostly engaged in business.
The Cabinet approved the inclusion of Jains in the list of notified minority communities under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 pending the outcome of court cases in addition to the five communities already notified as minorities under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, an official statement said in Delhi.
Constitutional rights and safeguards provided to the minorities in India
Though the Constitution of India does not define the word ‘Minority’ and only refers to ‘Minorities’ and speaks of those ‘based on religion or language’, the rights of the minorities have been spelt out in the Constitution in detail.
The Minority Rights provided in the Constitution which fall in the category of ‘Separate Domain’ are as under:-
- right of ‘any section of the citizens’ to ‘conserve’ its ‘distinct language, script or culture’; [Article 29(1)]
- restriction on denial of admission to any citizen, to any educational institution maintained or aided by the State, ‘on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them’; [Article 29(2)]
- right of all Religious and Linguistic Minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice;[Article 30(1)]
- freedom of Minority-managed educational institutions from discrimination in the matter of receiving aid from the State;[Article30(2)]
- special provision relating to the language spoken by a section of the population of any State;[Article 347]
- provision for facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage;[Article 350 A]
- provision for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities and his duties; and [Article 350 B]
- Sikh community’s right of ‘wearing and carrying of kirpans;
B, C and D
The Ministry of Minority Affairs, a ministry of the Government of India established in 2006. It is the apex body for the central government's regulatory and developmental programmes for the minority communities in India, which include Muslims, Sikhs,Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992
Numerically, the Jain community is small, with a population of about 50 lakh but they are prosperous, mostly engaged in business.
The Cabinet approved the inclusion of Jains in the list of notified minority communities under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 pending the outcome of court cases in addition to the five communities already notified as minorities under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, an official statement said in Delhi.
Constitutional rights and safeguards provided to the minorities in India
Though the Constitution of India does not define the word ‘Minority’ and only refers to ‘Minorities’ and speaks of those ‘based on religion or language’, the rights of the minorities have been spelt out in the Constitution in detail.
The Minority Rights provided in the Constitution which fall in the category of ‘Separate Domain’ are as under:-
- right of ‘any section of the citizens’ to ‘conserve’ its ‘distinct language, script or culture’; [Article 29(1)]
- restriction on denial of admission to any citizen, to any educational institution maintained or aided by the State, ‘on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them’; [Article 29(2)]
- right of all Religious and Linguistic Minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice;[Article 30(1)]
- freedom of Minority-managed educational institutions from discrimination in the matter of receiving aid from the State;[Article30(2)]
- special provision relating to the language spoken by a section of the population of any State;[Article 347]
- provision for facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage;[Article 350 A]
- provision for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities and his duties; and [Article 350 B]
- Sikh community’s right of ‘wearing and carrying of kirpans;
