Title: Conceptualisation of minority and minority rights in India

Authors: H. Theresa Darlong

Addresses: Department of Sociology, Maharaja Bir Bikram College, Collegetilla, Agartala, Tripura 799004, India

Abstract: In India the framers of the constitution were aware of the need to secure the rights of the minorities. The nature of the rights given to minorities and the very understanding of who are the 'minorities' came to be shaped by various historical reasons. The term 'minority' itself did not have a fixed meaning at the time of drafting of the Indian Constitution. The paper aims to give meaning to the term 'minority' as understood in the Indian context and also analyse whether the term 'minority' has itself undergone a change. The paper will also briefly dwell into the subject-matter of minority rights to analyse whether such rights have proved to be effective in preserving minority cultures and ensuring their development.

Keywords: constitution; minority; rights; constituent assembly debates; national commission; Equal Opportunity Commission; EOC; affirmative action.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2021.117953

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2021 Vol.8 No.4, pp.258 - 266

Received: 15 Aug 2020
Accepted: 13 Nov 2020

Published online: 05 Oct 2021 *

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