THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS AND MINORITY RIGHTS IN INDIA: A CRITICAL STUDY
Authors: TANIYA SALIM, Student of CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Bangalore.
Best Citation – TANIYA SALIM, THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS AND MINORITY RIGHTS IN INDIA: A CRITICAL STUDY, Indian Journal of Legal Review (IJLR), 3 (1) of 2023, Pg. 244-249, ISSN – 2583-2344.
ABSTRACT
“One of the benefits of a properly functioning democracy is minority rights and majority rule”
– Noam Chomsky
India is a secular state which does not have any state religion. People are absolutely free to practice any religion according to their wish. With the 42nd amendment of the constitution of India in the year 1976, the preamble to the constitution asserted that India is a “secular” nation. The meaning of a secular state is that it does not prioritize any one religion for the country and its people.[1] The persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in decisions on the national and, where appropriate, regional level concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live, in a manner not incompatible with national legislation. The persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, and use their own language, in private and public freely and without interference or any form of discrimination. Article 29 protects the interests of minorities by making a provision that any citizen or section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same. It also mandates that no discrimination would be done on the ground of religion race, caste, language or any of them and highlights the rights of minorities, different vulnerable groups in India, historical background of religious minorities in India and constitutional provisions for minorities as well.
KEYWORDS:Minority Rights, Secularism, Religious Rights, Personal Laws, Constitution of India, Non-Discrimination, Right to Equality
[1] S M A W Chishti, Secularism in India: An Overview, The Indian Journal of Political Science, April-June, 2004, Vol. 65, No. 2 (April-June, 2004), pp. 183-198, Indian Political Science Association, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41855808