No definite definition of minority in Constitution, we want district-wise definition: CM Assam

March 30: Addressing the Budget Session of Assam Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that the definition of minorities needs to be relooked and that it should be based on the population pattern in each district. He further added that there is no definition of ‘minority’ in the Indian constitution.

“Unlike terms like SC or ST, the term ‘minority’ has not been defined by the Indian. constitution. However, Article 29 and 30 of Indian Constitution has spoken about protection of rights and privileges of minority communities. These are constitutional provisions. Besides, government of India made statutes in this regard. The 1st statute was the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. The Act under section 2(C) defines the minority as a community notified as such by the Central Government. That means, who would be a minority has to be defined by the Central government in the context of protection given by the National Commission of Minorities,” added the Chief Minister.

Addressing the Budget Session of Assam Legislative Assembly, CM Dr @himantabiswa stated that the definition of minorities needs to be relooked and that it should be based on the population pattern in each district. pic.twitter.com/QuYxUyEjbF

— Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) March 30, 2022

He also said, “When the National Commission of Minorities was formed, the communities to be provided protection under the Act were defined. However, that did not include the linguistic minority. It defined Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsi and Jain as religious minorities of India. Further, 11 judges of the Supreme Court in TMA Pai Foundation & Others vs State of Karnataka passed a judgement that Article 31 deals with religious and linguistic minority. The opening words of Article 31 makes it clear that the religious and linguistic minorities have been put at par in so far as the Article is concerned.”

“Based on the Supreme Court judgement and provisions of Articles 25, 30, it cannot be clearly said tat Muslims, Christians or Buddhists are minorities only because they are minorities in particular state(s). The definition of minority will be subject to a particular state or district. Government of India submitted an affidavit stating that Hindus can also be ‘minority’ in a given state a few days ago. Minority doesn’t mean only Muslims. Hindus can also be minority in the context of Kerala or Jammu & Kashmir. There was a conception in India since long that only Muslims meant minority. But now, this definition/ conception is being challenged,” stated Dr Sarma.

The Chief Minister further said, “Several individuals and Govt of India submitted before the Supreme Court that the Hindus can also be minority in a particular state depending on geographical situation, population pattern and threat perception. Hindus are clearly a minority in South Salmara district of Assam where Muslims are in majority. Since there is no definition of ‘minority’ in our Constitution, this is an evolving area. I believe, we can get some clarity on this topic from the Supreme Court in the coming days. We advocate the idea that the definition of minority should be decided district-wise.”