1

Value Addition
Notes (Unit - 5.2)
ANTHROPOLOGY

Unit- 5.2 Linguistic Minorities and

Religious Minorities
 2

Unit- 5.2 Linguistic Minorities and Religious Minorities

Languages of India -
❖ Languages spoken in the Republic of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-
Aryan languages spoken by 78.05% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 19.64% of Indians;
both families together are sometimes known as Indic languages.Languages spoken by the remaining 2.31% of
the population belong to the Austroasiatic, Sino–Tibetan, Tai–Kadai, and a few other minor language families
and isolates.
❖ According to the People's Linguistic Survey of India, India has the second highest number of languages (780),
after Papua New Guinea (840).Ethnologue lists a lower number of 456.
❖ Article 343 of the Constitution of India Stated that the official language of the Union is Hindi in Devanagari
script, with official use of English to continue for 15 years from 1947.
❖ Later, a constitutional amendment, The Official Languages Act, 1963, allowed for the continuation of English
alongside Hindi in the Indian government indefinitely until legislation decides to change it.The form of
numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union are "the international form of Indian numerals",which
are referred to as Arabic numerals in most English-speaking countries.Despite the misconceptions, Hindi is
not the national language of India; the Constitution of India does not give any language the status of national
language.
❖ The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists 22 languages,which have been referred to as scheduled
languages and given recognition, status and official encouragement. In addition, the Government of India has
awarded the distinction of classical language to Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu.
Classical language status is given to languages which have a rich heritage and independent nature.
❖ According to the Census of India of 2001, India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages.
Definition of Linguistic Minorities -
❖ Linguistic Minorities are groups or collectivizes of individuals residing in the territory of India or any part
thereof having a distinct language or script of their own.
❖ The language of the minority group need not be one of the twenty-two languages mentioned in the Eighth
Schedule of the Constitution. In other words, linguistic minorities at the State level mean any group or groups
of people whose mother tongues are different from the principal language of the State, and at the district and
taluka/tehsil levels, different from the principal language of the district or taluka/ tehsil concerned.
Safeguards -
The safeguards for linguistic minorities derive their authority from two sources:
A. The Constitution of India.
B. The Scheme of Consensual Safeguards agreed to at the all-India level from time to time.
A. Constitutional Safeguards:
Article 29: Protection of interests of minorities -
➢ Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language,
script, or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.
 3

➢ No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving
aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language, or any of them.
Article 30: Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions -
➢ All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer
educational institutions of their choice.
➢ In making any law providing for the compulsory acquisition of any property of an educational institution
established and administered by a minority, referred to in clause(1), the State shall ensure that the amount
fixed by or determined under such law for the acquisition of such property is such as would not restrict or
abrogate the right guaranteed under that clause.
➢ The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational
institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or
language.
Article 347: A demand being made in that behalf, the President may, if he is satisfied that a substantial
proportion of the population of a State desires the use of any language spoken by them to be recognized by
that State, direct that such language shall also be officially recognized throughout that state or any part thereof
for such purpose as he may specify.
Article 350: Language to be used in representations for redress of grievances:
➢ Every person shall be entitled to submit a representation for the redress of any grievance to any officer or
authority of the Union or a State in any of the languages used in the Union or in the State, as the case may
be.
Article 350 (A): Facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at the primary stage:
➢ It shall be the endeavour of every State and every local authority within the State to provide adequate
facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to
linguistic minority groups; and the President may issue such directions to any State as he considers
necessary or proper for securing the provision of such facilities.
Article 350 B: Special Officer for linguistic minorities-
➢ There shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President.
➢ It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for
linguistic minorities under this Constitution and report to the President upon those matters at such intervals
as the President may direct, and the President shall cause all such reports to be laid before each House of
Parliament, and sent to the Government of the States concerned.
B. Parliamentary Safeguards -
➢ National Commission For Minorities Act, 1992 - The Union Government set up the National
Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Initially
five religious communities, viz., Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) were
notified as minority communities by the Union Government. Jains were also notified as another minority
community.
 4

CASE -STUDY on - Linguistic Minorities and Politics of India

There are many different factors that can shape the interactions between —> linguistic minorities and
majorities, and these factors can vary from state to state.
Assam
❖ In Assam, the Assamese and non-Assamese languages have long been in conflict —> rooted in
historical colonial policies favoring Bengali as the official language.
❖ The Assamese-Bengali linguistic conflict persisted even after Assam's state divisions, leading to
demands for separate tribal states and continued discrimination against linguistic minorities.
Manipur
❖ In Manipur, the politics surrounding linguistic minorities—> is intertwined with ethnic and
insurgency issues.
❖ The Manipuri language and culture are central—> to the identity of the Meitei community.
❖ However, other ethnic groups in Manipur, —> like the Nagas and Kukis, have their own languages
and aspirations.
❖ The tensions between these groups —> have often resulted in conflicts, with linguistic minorities
caught in the crossfire.
STATE LINGUISTIC ISSUE Key Factors
Assam Assamese vs. non- Historical colonial policies favouring Bengali, demands for separate
Assamese languages. tribal states, continued discrimination against linguistic minorities.
Punjab Punjabi vs. Hindi Punjabi Suba movement, communal divide, fear of weakening case
for separate Punjab state.
Manipur Manipuri vs. Naga, Kuki, Ethnic and insurgency issues, tensions between different groups.
and other languages
(The table shows, the politics of linguistic minorities in India is a complex and multifaceted issue.)
 5

Religious Minorities
Introduction -
❖ Religion in India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. Throughout India's history,
religion has been an important part of the country's culture and the Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four
of the world's major religions, namely, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, which are collectively
known as native Indian Religions or Dharmic Religions.
Map of majority religious groups by region in India -
Hindu
Muslim
Christian
Sikh
Buddhist
Other
❖ In 2005, the Union Government notified five communities Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis
as minorities at the national level.
❖ In 2014, the then government notified followers of Jainism as a minority community, making them the sixth
on the national list.
❖ As per the Census 2011, the percentage of minorities in the country is about 19.3% of the country’s total
population.
A. Constitutional Provisions:
Article-14 - Right to ‘equality before the law’ and ‘equal protection of the law’.
Article-15(1) & 15(2) - Prohibition of discrimination against citizens on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or
place of birth.
Article-25 - Right to freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion – subject
to public order, morality and other Fundamental Rights
Article-26 - Right of ‘every religious denomination or any section there of subject to public order, morality, and
health to 'establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes', ‘to manage its own affairs in
matters of religion’, 'to own and acquire movable immovable property' and to administer such ‘in accordance with
law.
Article-27 - Freedom from taxation for promotion of a religion
Article-28 - Freedom from attending religious instruction.
Article-29(2) - 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-30(1) - Right of all Religious and Linguistic Minorities to establish and administer educational institutions
of their choice.
 6

B. Parliamentary Provision
National Commission for Minorities(NCM) - The Union Government set up the National Commission for
Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Initially five religious communities,
viz., Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) were notified as minority communities by the
Union Government. Jains were also notified as another minority community.
Some data points that can be added for-socio economic status of Religious minorities-
From---Ranganath Misra Commission (National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities) + Annual
Report of Ministry of Minority Affairs.
1. Demography
Minority Community Percentage e of Total Population
Muslims 14.20%
Christians 2.30%

Sikhs 1.70%
Buddhists 0.70%

Jain 0.40%

Parsis 0.01%

Table: Percentage of minority Community as a percentage of total population.

Religion Sex Ratio (Females per 1,000 Males)
All Religions 933
Christians 1009
Sikhs 893

Hindus 931
Muslims 936

Buddhists 953

Jains 940

Others 992

This table summarizes the sex ratios for different religions according to the Census 2001 data.
2. EDUCATION:
Literacy Rate among Religious Communities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes percent
Community Male Female Total
India 75.3 53.7 64.8
Hindu 76.2 53.2 65.1
Muslim 67.6 50.1 59.1
 7

Christian 84.3 76.2 80.3

Sikh 75.2 63.1 69.4
Buddhist 83.1 61.7 72.7
Jain 97.4 90.6 94.1
Others 60.8 33.2 47.0
Scheduled Castes 66.64 41.9 54.7
Scheduled Tribes 59.17 34.76 47.1
3. HEALTH:
Infant and Child Mortality Rate among different Communities and Castes (in percent)
(In Percent)
Community/Caste Infant mortality rate Child mortality rate
Hindu 77.1 32.4
Muslim 58.8 25.4
Christian 49.2 19.7
Sikh 53.3 12.3
Jain (46.7) (11.3)
Buddhist/Neo- Buddhist 53.6 14.1
No religion (77.6) (77.2)
Scheduled castes 83 39.5
Scheduled tribes 84.2 46.3
Other Backward Class 76 29.3
Source: NFHS-II 1998-99, National Report
Note: Figures given in brackets ( ) are based on 250-499 children surviving to the beginning of the age interval.
4. ECONOMIC:
Table 3.21: Population of Religious Communities Living below the Poverty Line
Percent below poverty Line (Rural) Percent below poverty line (Urban)
Hindus 27.80 21.66
Muslims 27.22 36.92
Christians 19.82 11.84
Sikhs 2.95 10.86
Others 33.05 18.51
Source: NSSO 55th Round, July -1999-June 2000 .
 8

Ownership of Houses by different Communities and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (in percent)
(In Percent)
Community/Caste Owned Rented
Muslim 45.03 43.74
Christian 51.64 33.91
Sikhs 65.89 33.29
Buddhist 45.52 23.3
Parsis 75.13 19.05
All 52.71 36.1
Scheduled Castes 90.4 6.5
Scheduled Tribes 90.7 6.0
Source: Socio-economic status of Minorities", Survey conducted by the Centre for Research Planning & Action,
New Delhi, 2006 in the States of Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal and Census
2001
5. SCHEMES:
Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK)
Scholarship
Maulana Azad National Fellowship
Padho Pardesh
Naya Savera
Nai Udaan
Scheme for Education of Madarsas and Minorities (SPEMM)
Skill Development Initiative for Minorities "Seekho Aur Kamao" (Learn & Earn)
USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development)
Nai Manzil
Nai Roshni
Jiyo Parsi
Hamari Dharohar
Haj Management

