Protecting the Rights of Minorities under International Law: An Overview of the Indian Context

  • Chitra Sharma And Dr. Sanjula Thanvi
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  • Chitra Sharma

    Ph.d Research Scholar at Department of Law, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.

  • Dr. Sanjula Thanvi

    Head & Associate Professor at Department of Law, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.

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Abstract

The concept of majority rule and respect for minority rights is demonstrated in several Constitutions of the world. Today, democracy is mostly a method of government of the people that is ruled by the people. The issue of minority rights is at the center of the concept of civic rights. Minority protection, thus, operates on the hypothesis that religious, cultural, and linguistic affiliations are essential features of the very notion of a civic, just society. International minority rights speak to the wrongs that international law itself produces by organizing international political reality into a legal order. This article focuses on the uncertain effect of religious autonomy in India and the outcome of democracy in the country. The Constitution of India does not define the word ‘Minority’ and only refers to ‘Minorities’ and speaks of those ‘based on religion or language’. The research paper aims at understanding the ambit of the term “minority” and the rights of minorities under Article 29 & 30 of the Indian Constitution. The research paper aims to answer the question of the extent of autonomy granted to minority education institutions to protect and preserve their religion and culture. The Supreme Court, through various cases, has laid down the criteria and ambit to be covered under Article 30 grating minority community the right to establish and administer educational institutions for the betterment of their community. The objective of Article 30 is to prevent the majority to make legislation which takes away minority rights. The intervention of Supreme Court was due t0 the vulnerable position of minorities in the society. This article also explores the difficulties inherent in the conceptualization, legal definition, and use of the term "minorities," framing these issues in the context of global efforts toward human rights realization. This article urges laying aside the term "minority" as both a label and a concept and conceptualizing the mission in terms of collective human dignity protection, with this concept's deep roots in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This might well be linked to the urgently needed operationalization of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P).

Type

Research Paper

Information

International Journal of Law Management and Humanities, Volume 5, Issue 1, Page 1363 - 1376

DOI: https://doij.org/10.10000/IJLMH.112657

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