Context: A public interest litigation (PIL) under the consideration of the Supreme Court of India has challenged the power of the Centre to notify minority communities at a national level.
Minorities in India

• The minority is not defined in the Indian constitution.
• A minority can be defined as a group that is numerically smaller than the majority in a society.

What does PIL state?

• He said that Hindus are in a minority in some states and are not able to avail the benefits of schemes meant for minorities.
• He challenged the validity of section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minority Education Institution Act, 2004.
• He alleged that it gives unbridled power to the Centre and termed it manifestly arbitrary, irrational, and offending.
• Section 2(f) of the NCMEI Act confers power to the Centre to identify and notify minority communities in India.
• Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992 also gives the Centre similar powers. 
• He said that minorities whether based on religion or language shall have the right to establish-administer educational institutions of their choice.
• He said that denial of minority rights to actual religious and linguistic minorities is a violation of the rights of minorities enshrined under Articles 14 and 21.
• The petition seeks the SC to curtail the Centre’s power to notify national minorities or direct the Centre to notify followers of Hinduism, Bahaism and Judaism as minorities in States/UTs where they are fewer in numbers.

Government’s response

• The Centre has not taken a position about continuing the national list of minorities.
• The Centre had pointed out that it had concurrent powers with states to take welfare measures regarding minorities.
• The Maharashtra government has notified 'Jews' as a minority community within the state.
• The Karnataka government has notified Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Tulu, Lamani, Hindi, Konkani and Gujarati languages as minority languages within the state of Karnataka.

Special rights

• Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or, place of birth.
• Article 17 Prohibits untouchability.

Articles 25 to 30 preserve the right of minorities on grounds of religion.

• Article 25 provides the right to practice any religion.
• Article 26 allows religious institutions to be opened.
• Article 27 provides that no person shall be forced to pay any taxes which is not mandatory.
• Article 28 provides that there shall be no religious instruction to be followed in any particular educational institution.
• Article 29 provides that no citizen shall be denied admission to any educational institution on grounds of religion race caste.
• Article 30 provides that minorities shall not be prohibited from any educational institutions.

Article 350(A) says there shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President.
National Commission for Minorities

• The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
• The original notification of 1993 was for five religious’ communities; Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians, and Muslims, later in 2014, the Jains community was also added.

TMA Pai Foundation v State of Karnataka (2003)

• With regard to State law, the unit to determine a religious or linguistic minority can only be the State.
• Any regulation framed in the national interest must necessarily apply to all educational institutions, whether run by the majority or the minority.

By: Shubham Tiwari