The Constitution provides safeguards to religious and linguistic minorities as part of our Fundamental Rights. The term minority is most commonly used to refer to communities that are numerically small in relation to the rest of the population. However, it is a concept that goes well beyond numbers.
It encompasses issues of power, and access to resources and has social and cultural dimensions. The Indian Constitution recognized that the culture of the majority influences the way in which society and government might express themselves. In such cases, size can be a disadvantage and lead to the marginalisation of the relatively smaller communities against the possibility of being culturally dominated by the majority.
They also protect them against any discrimination and disadvantage that they may face. Given certain conditions communities that are small in number relative to the rest of society may feel insecure about their lives, assets, and well-being. This sense of insecurity may get accentuated if the relations between the minority and majority communities are fraught.
The Constitution provides these safeguards because it is committed to protecting India's cultural diversity and promoting equality as well as justice. The judiciary plays a crucial role in upholding the law and Enforcing Fundamental Rights. Every citizen of India can approach the courts if they believe that their Fundamental Rights have been violated.
Muslims and Marginalisation
Muslims are 13.4 percent of India's population and are considered to be a marginalised community in India today because in comparison to other communities, they have over the years been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic development.
Recognizing that Muslims in India was lagging behind in terms of various development indicators, the government set up a high-level committee in 2005. Sachar, committee report discusses in detail the marginalisation of this community. It suggests that on a range of social, economic, and educational indicators the situation of the Muslim community is comparable to that of other marginalised communities like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Economic and social marginalisation experienced by Muslims has other dimensions as well. Like other minorities, Muslim customs and practices are sometimes quite distinct from what is seen as the mainstream. Some not all Muslims may wear a bura, a sport a long beard, wear a fez and these become ways to identify all Muslims.
Because of this, they tend to be identified differently and some people think they are not like the `rest of us'. Often this becomes an excuse to treat them unfairly and discriminate against them. This social marginalisation of Muslims in some instances has led to them migrating from places where they have lived, often leading to the ghettoisation of the community. Sometimes, this prejudice leads to hatred and violence.
In the case of the Muslim community, there is a link between economic and social marginalisation. The experiences of all these groups point to the fact that marginalisation is a complex phenomenon requiring a variety of strategies, measures, and safeguards to redress this situation. All of us have a stake in protecting the rights defined in the Constitution and the laws and policies framed to realise these rights. Without these, we will never be able to protect the diversity that makes our country unique nor realise the States's commitment to promote equality for all.
Conclusion
There are different reasons for each of these communities being marginalised. Each experiences marginalisation in different ways. We have also seen that marginalisation is linked to experiencing disadvantage, prejudice, and powerlessness.
In India, there are several more marginalised communities, like Dalits, Marginalisation results in having a low social status and not having equal access to education and other resources. Yet, the lives of marginalised people can and do change.
Thus, no one is marginalised all the time in exactly the same way. Each of these groups has a long history of struggle and resistance. Marginalised communities want to maintain their cultural distinctiveness while having access to rights, development, and other opportunities.
