New Delhi:Every year, December 18 is observed as Minorities Rights Day to safeguard the constitutionally guaranteed rights of religious minorities.
History & Significance
The United Nations (UN) defines a minority group as a community that lacks social, political, and economic dominance and is numerically inferior within a specific country. The UN on December 18, 1992, adopted and broadcast the statement on the individual’s rights belonging to religious or linguistic national or ethnic minorities. Minority Rights Day upholds the right to freedom and equal opportunities for minorities in India and creates awareness about their rights.
Genesis of National Commission for Minorities
In 1978, India envisaged the idea of setting up a National Commission for Minorities (NCM) much before the UN which started in 1992. The setting up of the commission was envisaged in the Ministry of Home Affairs resolution of January 12, 1978, which specifically mentioned, "Despite the safeguards provided in the Constitution and the laws in force, there persists among the Minorities a feeling of inequality and discrimination".
To preserve secular traditions and to promote national integration the Centre attaches the highest importance to the enforcement of the safeguards provided for the minorities. It also believes that effective institutional arrangements are urgently required for the enforcement and implementation of all safeguards provided for minorities in the Constitution, in the Central and State Laws and in the government policies and administrative schemes enunciated from time to time. In 1984, the Minorities Commission was detached from the Ministry of Home Affairs and placed under the newly created Ministry of Welfare.
National Commission for Minorities
The commission was provided with a statutory status with the enactment of the National Commission for Minorities Act, of 1992, and was rechristened as the National Commission for Minorities. The maiden National Commission was set up on May 17, 1993, through a gazette notification of October 23, 1993, by the Ministry of Welfare. Five religious communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) —were accorded the minority tag. Jains were included in the minority fold on January 27, 2014. As per the 2011 Census, six religious minority communities constitute 19.3 per cent of the population.
Functions of Commission
- Evaluate the progress of the development of minorities under the Union and states.
- Monitor the working of the safeguards for minorities provided in the Constitution and laws enacted by Parliament and the state legislatures.
- Ensures the Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities is implemented and the programmes for minority communities are functional.
- Make recommendations for the effective implementation of safeguards for the protection of the interests of minorities by the central or state governments.
- Look into specific complaints regarding the deprivation of rights and safeguards of minorities and take up such matters with the appropriate authorities.
- Investigate matters of communal conflict and riots.
Complaints Management
According to the National Commission for Minorities, the complaints now being received are mostly related to police atrocities, service matters, minority educational institutions and encroachments to religious properties. "Reports are called for from the concerned authorities under the Union and State Governments. On receipt of the reports, the commission makes appropriate recommendations to the respective authorities for redressal of the grievances," it said.
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