Saturday, September 13, 2008

Minorities in India

Minorities is the name given to that section of the people of a country which constitue the smaller proportion of the residents of the country. Now, every country has its minority population, and everywhere this lot has a right to live and grow in the country. However, in all countries it is seen that they do suffer some sort a setback, real or even may be just psychological.
For instance, in the United States we love to ape in all its aspects, and a country that is known to be most advanced also has a different attitude towards their minorities. The minorities in America are the Negroes who, did not even have voting rights upto the middle of this century. Is this not blatant differentiation of the minorities? Now of course, these rights have been given to the blacks as they are called, and they have been now permitted entry into the mainstream of governance, but, they are still not given the privileges and status of the Americans. Another example of treatment of the minorities can be seen in our neighbourhood, in Pakistan. In Pakistan, their own Muslims are treated as minorities just because they are original Muslims of India. These minorities are called the MQM, and they have been struggling since 1947, for equality with other Muslims of Pakistan. Just fancy the situation of treating their own Muslim brethren as discards in a Muslim country.
This is the position on minorities in two major glaring examples of other countries of the world, how can, I wonder India vouchsafe and recommend any pleas of the minorities in India. Seeing the condition of this section in other countries, I personally feel that, minorities in India are a privileged calss, instead of being differentiated against, as in other countries. In the last fifty years, there has been a constant and continuous rise in the status of the minorities in India, to the extent that, here the minorities have become a pampered lot. The proof of this lies in the fact that the minority have become a pampered lot . The proof of this lies in the fact that the minority classes are increasing by leaps and bounds. If they did not feel and advantage in being of this class, they would not strive to join the bandwagon of minorities.
In India the minorities are getting reservations for them in all spheres of development. In educational institutions, in jobs and so much so, even in promotions. The extent of their privilege is now more than their so called majority brethren. Where in the world have the minorities been given so much on a platter, so many privileges, considerations, and all the pampering.
I personally feel that in India so much is being done for the minorities that, that it seems the day is not far when the so called majority may have no place in the sequence of events. It would not be a surprise if the majority finding it more beneficial to be in this class, may switch on to this class.
However, so much having been given to the minorities, they are still apparently not very satisfied with their lot in India, and are found to be for eve complaining. Why is this so? Let us analyse the situation. Both viewpoints i.e. their, of being dissatisfied and the one I have expressed, of their being over privileged are correct in their own right. The view that in India the minorities are more privileged than anywhere else in the world is correct because, it is not only a viewpoint, it is a fact of statistics. On the other hand, the viewpoint of the minorities is also correct, when we see the reality on the ground, regarding their living. The question that now arises is that, where has the Government gone wrong in their dealings with the minorities. For this also we do not have to go far to seek.
On the ground, the reality is that, for the last fifty years Government has talked a lot about gifts to the minorities but, in reality nothing has been done for them. The politician of the past fifty years has only used these minorities to give their names for developmental works, and excited them with promises of well being. This has been done merely to catch the votes of these teaming millions of minorities. This, the Government has done very successfully for the last five decades, and all this in thin air, only to get the votes.
It is thus, the folly of the Government that has ruled for the last five decades that has led to the present situation. This has led to a dual and contradicting understanding and thinking of the problems of minorities in India. It is true that, in the last fifty years, precious little has been done for the minorities, though a lot has been promised to them. In the process they have only developed into sold vote banks. It is this demeaning policy of the said Government which now makes the minorities feel as a discarded lot, when they have all the privileges or even more that what is granted to the so called majority.
In order to bridge the gap created in the promises and the ground reality of achievement now, the Government has to see that at least now, the minorities get their share of the progress of the county, and not remain in just hollow promises. They need not be pampered but, they must be treated at par with the rest of the citizens. If this can be achieved, the minorities in India will be an enviable lot and a status hard to meet through the annals of world history.

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