2. A sociological minority is not necessarily a
numerical minority, it may include any group
that is subnormal with respect to a dominant
group in terms of social status
education, employment, wealth and political
power.
The term minority group often occurs alongside a
discourse of civil right and collective rights
which gains prominence in the 20th century
members of minority groups are prone to
different treatment in the countries and
societies in which they live.
A minority is a social group that does not make
up a politically dominant voting majority of a
total population of a given society.
3. Sociologist Louis worth defined a minority
groups;
“a group of people who
because of their physical or cultural
characteristics, are singled out from the
others in the society in which they live for
differential and unequal treatment and
who there for regard themselves as a
object of collective discrimination”.
4. Every large society contains Ethnic
minorities, style of life, language, and
origin can differ from the majority.
The minority status is conditioned
not only by a clearly numerical relation but
also by questions of political power.
5. Persons belonging to religious
minority have a faith which is different from
that held by the majority.
Most of the countries in the
world have religious minorities.
6. There is no theoretical legal definition
of national minorities in international law.
only in Europe is this exact definition
provided by the European charter for
regional or minority languages.
However national minority can be
theoretically defined as a group of people
within a given national state;-
7. Which is numerically smaller than the rest of
population of the state or a part of the state
Which is not in a dominant position
Which has culture, language, religion, race
etc…distinct from that of the rest of
population
Whose members have a will to preserve their
specificity
Whose members are citizens of the state
were they have the status of a minority.
Which have a long term presence on the
territory where it has lived.
8. At the end of the first World
War, "international protection of minorities" was
the great fashion…………
In accordance with the principle of protection of
minorities, minorities have a right to be
protected against physical
extermination, "assimilation" or "absorption";
they have a right not only to preserve but to
develop their specific characteristics and are
entitled for that purpose to special
rights, privileges and services, transcending
mere equality and non-
discrimination, transcending the mere guarantee
of human rights, due to all, majorities and
minorities.
9. The greatest development, from the point of
view of the evolution of international law,
was that certain states were bound by
international obligations vis-a-vis certain of
their own citizens, namely, those belonging
to minorities, whereas, under general
international law, their treatment belongs to
the "domestic jurisdiction" of those states.
The latter has even a small bureaucratic
niche in the huge apparatus of the United
Nations in the form of the "Sub-Commission
for the Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities," a sub-organ of the
Commission on Human Rights.
10. The Sub-Commission proposed "interim
measures" for the minorities, facilities to be
provided for them; proposed, in the way of
implementation, a right of petition by
individuals and groups; but no action was taken
by the superior bodies.
It proposed also a particular study of definition
and protection of political groups, and
suggested that the Economic and Social Council
prepare an international convention for the
protection of minorities.
also dealt primarily with prevention of
discrimination, particularly in education and
employment, it recommended also a world-wide
study by the United Nations of the present
position of minorities.
11. The term minority includes those non-
document group of the population which posses
and wish to preserve stable ethnic traditions or
characteristics markedly different from those
other rest of the population
Such minority should properly include the
number of persons sufficient by themselves to
reserve such tradition or charactistics; and
Such minority should be loyal to the state of
which they are nationals.
12. Article 26 as follows;
All persons are equal before the law and are entitled
without any discrimination to the equal protection of
the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any
discrimination and guarantee to all person equal and
effective protection against discrimination on any
ground such as
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political, or
other opinion national or social origin, birth
or other status.
Article 27 as follows;
In those state in which ethnic ,religious or linguistic
minorities exist ,person belonging to such minorities
shall not be denied the right ,in community with the
other members of their there group ,to enjoy their
own culture ,to profess and practise their own
religion ,or to use their own language.
13. Article 29…..protection of interest of minority
(1)any section of citizen residing in any territory of
India or any part their of having a distinct
language script or culture of its own shall have
the right to conserve the same
(2)no citizen shall be denied admission into any
educational maintained by the state or receiving
aid out of state funds on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India gives
linguistic and religious minorities a fundamental
right to establish and administer educational
institutions of their choice.
14. THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR MINORITY
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ACT, 2004
Section 2(g) Defines;
"Minority Educational Institution" means
a college or institution (other than a University)
established or maintained by a person or group
of persons from amongst the minorities; Minority
institution act”.
15. THE CENTRAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
(Reservation in Admission) ACT, 2006
Sec. 2 (f ) defines a minority educational
institution as under;
“Minority Educational Institution” means an
institution established and administered by the
minorities under clause (1) of article 30 of the
Constitution and so declared by an Act of
Parliament or by the Central Government or
declared as a minority educational institution under
the National Commission for Minority Educational
Institutions Act, 2004.
16. 10. Right of a Minority Educational Institution to
seek affiliation to a Scheduled University.-
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any
other law for the time being in force, a Minority
Educational Institution may seek recognition as
an affiliated college of a Scheduled University of
its choice.
(2) The Scheduled University shall consult the
Government of the State in which the minority
educational institution seeking affiliation under
sub-section (1) is situate and views of such
Government shall be taken into consideration
before granting affiliation.
17. The national commission for
minority educational institutions
3. Constitution of National Commission for
Minority Educational Institutions.-
(1) The Central Government shall, by notification
in the Official Gazette, constitute a body to be
known as the National Commission for Minority
Educational Institutions to exercise the powers
conferred on, and to perform the functions
assigned to, it under this Act.
(2) The Commission shall consist of a Chairperson
and two members to be nominated by the
Central Government.
18. 4. Qualifications for appointment as
Chairperson or other Member.-
(1) A person shall not be qualified for
appointment as the Chairperson unless he,-
(a) is a member of a minority community; and
(b) has been a Judge of a High Court.
(2) A person shall not be qualified for
appointment as a Member unless he,-
(a) is a member of a minority community; and
(b) is a person of eminence, ability and
integrity.
19. 5. Term of office and conditions of service of
Chairperson and Members.-
(1) Every Member shall hold office for a term of five
years from the date on which he assumes office.
(2) A Member may, by writing under his hand addressed
to the Central Government, resign from the office of
Chairperson or, as the case may be, of Member at any
time.
(3) The Central Government shall remove a person
from the office of Member if that person-
(a) becomes an undischarged insolvent;
(b) is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for
an offence which, in the opinion of the Central
Government, involves moral turpitude;
20. (c) becomes of unsound mind and stands so
declared by a competent court;
(d) refuses to act or becomes incapable of acting;
(e) is, without obtaining leave of absence from the
Commission, absent from three consecutive
meetings of the Commission; or
(f) in the opinion of the Central Government, has
so abused the position of Chairperson or Member
as to render that person's continuance in office
detrimental to the public interest:
Provided that no person shall be removed
under this clause until that person has been
given an opportunity of being heard in the
matter.
21. 11. Functions of Commission.-
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law
for the time being in force, the Commission shall-
(a) advise the Central Government or any State
Government on any question relating to the
education of minorities that may be referred to it;
(b) look into specific complaints regarding deprivation
or violation of rights of minorities to establish and
administer educational institutions of their choice
and any dispute relating affiliation to a Scheduled
University and report its findings to the Central
Government for its implementation; and
(c) to do such other acts and things as may be
necessary, incidental or conducive to the attainment
of all or any of the objects of the Commission.
22. 12. Powers of Commission.-
(1) If any dispute arises between a minority
educational institution and a Scheduled
University relating to its affiliation to such
University, the decision of the Commission
thereon shall be final.
(2) The Commission shall, for the purposes of
discharging its functions under this Act, have all
the powers of a civil court trying a suit and in
particular, in respect of the following
matters, namely:-
23. (a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of
any person from any part of India and examining
him on oath;
(b) requiring the; discovery and production of any
document
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) subject to the provisions of sections 123 and
124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of
1872), requisitioning any public record or
document or copy of such record or document
from any office;
(e) issuing commissions for the examination of
witnesses or documents; and
(f) any other matter which may be prescribed.
24. 13. Financial and administrative powers of
Chairperson.-
The Chairperson shall exercise such financial
and administrative powers as may be vested in
him by the rules made under this section:
Provided that the Chairperson shall have
authority to delegate such of the financial and
administrative powers as he may think fit to any
Member or Secretary or any other officer of the
Commission subject to the condition that such
Member or Secretary or officer shall, while
exercising such delegated powers, continue to
act under the direction, control and supervision
of the Chairperson.
25. It is true that it is only the
minorities, whose right to establish and
administer educational institution is mentioned in
article 30(1) it does not follow the same is denied
to the majority communities,.
Recognition and protection of minority right
under a legal framework has two fold objectives
firstly to prevent state from being oppressive
against the minorities as in a democratic set up
government is run by majority, secondly to
provide the minority a protective zone whereby
they can preserve their separate identity while
contributing in national development and
progress.
26. A Society or Trust consisting of members of
a minority community,or even a single member
of a minority community, may establish an
institution. The position has been clarified by
the Supreme Court in State of Kerala vs.
Mother Provincial AIR 1970 SC 2079, the
Supreme Court has observed:
27. “Establishment means bringing into
being of an institution and it must be by a
minority community. It matters not if single
philanthropic individual with his own
means, institution or the community at large
founds the institution or the community at
large contributes the funds. The position in law
is the same and the intention in either case
must be to found an institution for the benefit
of a minority community by a member of that
community. It is equally irrelevant to this right
that in addition to the minority
community, others from other minority
communities or even from the majority
community can take advantage of these
institutions.”
28. In St. Stephen’s College vs. University of Delhi (1992)
SCC 558,
The Supreme Court has declared the St. Stephen’s
College as a minority educational institution on the
ground that it was established and administered by
members of the Christian Community.
T.M.A. Pai Foundation vs. State of Karnataka (2002)
8 SCC 481
That a minority, whether linguistic or religious, is
determinable only by reference to demography of the
State and not by taking into consideration the
population of the country as a whole. The application
of numerical test with reference to religion in states
like Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland makes
Sikhism, Islam and Christianity, the majority religions
in those states respectively.
29. T.K.V.T.S.S. Medical Educational
andCharitable Trust vs. State of Tamil
Nadu AIR 2002 Madras 42
Held that “once it is established that the
institution has been established by a
linguistic minority, and is administered by
that minority, that would be sufficient for
claiming the fundamental right guaranteed
under Article 30(1) of the Constitution.”
30. Article 30(1) Of the Constitution, which was a
necessary concomitant to Art. 29(1) and gave
the minorities the right to establish and
administer their institutions, did not define the
word 'minority', nor was it defined anywhere
else by the Constitution, but it was absurd to
suggest that a minority or section envisaged by
Art. 30(1) and Art. 29(1) could mean only such
persons as constituted a numerical minority in
the particular region where the educational
institution was situated or resided under a local
authority.
31. Court upon certain questions
relating to the constitutional validity of some of
the provisions of the Kerala Education
Bill,1957, which had been passed by the Kerala
Legislative Assembly
four questions referred to this Court,
the first and third impugned cl.3(5)
read with cl.36 and cl.15 of the Bill as being
discriminatory under Art. 14,
the second impugned cls. 3(5), 8(3)
and cls. 9 to 13 Of the Bill as being violative of
minority rights guaranteed by Art. 30(1) and
the fourth, cl.33 of the Bill, as
offending Art. 226 of the Constitution.
32. As soon as we reach Art. 30 (1)
learned counsel for the State of Kerala at once
poses the question: what is a minority ? That is
a term which is not defined in the Constitution.
It is easy to say that a minority community
means a community which is numerically less
than 50 per cent, but then the question is not
fully answered, for part of the question has yet
to be answered, namely, 50 percent of what ? Is
it 50 percent of the entire population of India or
50 percent of the population of a State forming
a part of the Union ?
33. "There is yet another aspect of the question that
falls for consideration, namely as to what is a
minority under Art.30(1)
The state contends that Christians, a
certain section of whom is enthusiastic in its
objection to the Bill on the allegation that it
offends Art.30(1), are not in a minority in the
State. It is no doubt true that Christians are not
a mathematical majority in the whole State.
They constitute about one-fourth of the
population; but it does not follow there from
that they form a minority within the meaning of
Art.30 (1).
34. Learned counsel for the minority institutions;
obligation of the State towards
the minority communities.
We the people of India have given
unto ourselves the Constitution which is not
for any particular community or section but
for all.
Its provisions are intended to
protect all, minority as well as the majority
communities.
There can be no manner of doubt
that our Constitution has guaranteed certain
cherished rights of the minorities concerning
their language, culture and religion.
35. Minority for the purpose of this Act
means a community belonging to a religious
or linguistic minority as may be determined
by Government taking the State as a unit.
36. The minorities are to be a group of people who
are culturally linguistically scripturally different
from the rest and are identifiable
It is for the up keeps for their uniqueness that the
constitution strives to protect and promote them.
The above aspect of these group of people are
sought to be conserved by allowing them to setup
and maintain education institute to promote their
language culture or script.
The minority groups are also permitted under law
to set up their own educational institution.
37. Determining factors for according
recognition and conferring status as
unaided minority professional college or
institution.-
A minority unaided professional college
or institution established and maintained by
any linguistic or religious minority shall
be accorded recognition and conferred status of an
unaided minority professional college or institution
only if it satisfies all the following conditions of
demographic equivalence between the minority
community to which the college belongs and the
non-minority community of the State taken as a
single unit
namely:
38. (a) the population of the
linguistic or religious minority community in
the State which runs the professional college or
institution shall be lesser than fifty percent of the total
population of the State.
(b) the number of professional
colleges or institutions run by the linguistic
or religious minority community in the State to which the
college or institution belong shall be proportionately
lesser than the number of professional colleges or
institutions run by the non-minority community in the
State.
(c) the number of students
belonging to the linguistic or religious
minority community to which the college or institution
belongs undergoing professional education in all
professional colleges or institutions in the State shall be
proportionately lesser than the number of students
belonging to the non-minority community in the State.
