Notified minorities

Topic: Safeguards for Vulnerable Sections: SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, Women and Children · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

A notified minority is a community that the Central Government has formally declared a "minority" under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992. Today there are six: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis (Zoroastrians) and Jains [2].

This matters because the Constitution never defines "minority". Central notification gives a clear list for central schemes and for the NCM. But for Article 30 (the right to run educational institutions), courts decide minority status state by state.

Explanation

Why a notification is needed

• The Constitution does not define "minority". It uses the word in Arts. 29, 30, 350A and 350B, but never says what it means.
• It recognises only two kinds of minority:
• Religious minority: a religious group with fewer followers than another religion in a given area.

• Linguistic minority: a group whose mother tongue is different from the main language of the state.

• Because there is no definition, the government needs a formal list to decide who gets the benefit of central schemes and who comes under the NCM. Notification (a formal government order published officially) gives that list.

How the list was built

• October 1993: the Centre notified five communities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) [2].
• Jains became the sixth:
• The Ministry of Minority Affairs first received many representations and RTI requests asking for Jains to be included [2].
• The Union Cabinet approved the inclusion on 20 January 2014 [2].

• The Centre notified Jains on 27 January 2014 [2].

• Total today: six notified minorities [2].

• All six are religious communities. Linguistic minorities are not covered by this national list. They are protected mainly through Arts. 29, 30, 350A and 350B.

What notification does, and its limits

• What it covers: central government schemes for minorities, and the work of the NCM.
• What it does not settle: minority status under Art. 30.
• In T.M.A. Pai Foundation (2002), the Supreme Court held that minorities for Art. 30 must be identified state-wise, not across all of India.
• So a nationally notified community can be a majority in some state. There it cannot claim Art. 30 protection as a minority.

• In the same way, a group that is the national majority can be fewer in number in some states or UTs.

• Not permanent in spirit: in Bal Patil v. Union of India (2005), the Court said minority status is not meant to last forever. As society becomes more equal, the need for minority protection may fade over time.

In the Constitution and practice

• Legal base: Section 2(c) of the NCM Act, 1992. It is a statutory power (one given by an Act of Parliament), not a constitutional one.
• Who uses it: the Central Government issues the notification. The Ministry of Minority Affairs handles requests for inclusion [2].
• The NCM and its link to notification:
• 1978: a Minorities Commission was set up by a government resolution (an executive order, not a law).
• 1992: it became a statutory body under the NCM Act, 1992.
• It has a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and five members, all from minority communities.

• It checks whether minority safeguards are working and looks into complaints. During an inquiry it has civil-court powers, such as summoning people. But its advice is not binding on the government.

• Constitutional rights that sit alongside the list:

• Art. 29(1): any section of citizens with a distinct language, script or culture can conserve it. This includes majorities.
• Art. 30(1): all minorities, religious or linguistic, can establish and administer educational institutions of their choice [3].
• Art. 30(1A) (44th Amendment, 1978): if the state compulsorily takes over the property of a minority institution, the compensation must not be so low that it restricts or abrogates (cancels) the Art. 30(1) right.

• Art. 30(2): when giving aid, the state must not discriminate against an institution because a minority runs it [3].

• Key cases:

• T.M.A. Pai Foundation (2002, 11 judges): the state is the unit for identifying minorities under Art. 30.
• Bal Patil (2005): the "fading minority" idea.

• AMU v. Naresh Agarwal (8 November 2024, 7 judges, 4:3): to claim Art. 30, the minority must prove that it established the institution. The Court set a test of ideation, purpose, implementation and administration [1]. So being on a list is not enough. The community must also show it actually founded the institution.

• Pending issue: cases asking for state-level minority status for Hindus or other national-majority groups, where they are fewer in number in a state or UT, are still being heard (verify current).

Don't confuse with

• Notified minority vs minority under Art. 30: notification is done by the Centre, for the whole country, under the NCM Act. Art. 30 status is decided state by state (T.M.A. Pai, 2002).
• Religious minority vs linguistic minority: all six notified minorities are religious groups. Linguistic minorities are identified by state and protected by Arts. 350A and 350B (7th Amendment, 1956) and the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities.
• NCM vs NCSC/NCST: the NCM is a statutory body (1992), and its advice is not binding. The NCSC (Art. 338) and NCST (Art. 338A) are constitutional bodies.
• NCM vs NCMEI: the NCM watches over minority safeguards in general. The NCMEI (Act of 2004) grants minority-institution status certificates to educational institutions.

Prelims Hooks

• Notification is made under Section 2(c), NCM Act, 1992. It does not come from any Article of the Constitution.
• October 1993: five notified: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis [2].
• Jains were the sixth. The Cabinet approved on 20 January 2014, and the Centre notified them on 27 January 2014 [2].
• Trap: the Constitution does not define "minority". It recognises only religious and linguistic minorities.
• T.M.A. Pai (2002, 11 judges): the state, not India as a whole, is the unit for minority status under Art. 30.
• NCM: set up by resolution in 1978, made statutory in 1992. It is not a constitutional body.

Mains Points

• National list vs state reality: the Centre notifies minorities for the whole country, but T.M.A. Pai makes the state the unit for Art. 30. So a national minority can be a local majority, and a national majority can be a local minority. Commonly suggested reforms are a clear statutory definition of "minority" or a state-level notification process (verify current).
• Should minority status be reviewed? Bal Patil (2005) said the need for protection may fade over time. Two questions follow. Should the list be reviewed from time to time? And should inclusion be based on clear criteria rather than representations? The Jain inclusion in 2014 came after many representations and RTI requests [2].
• Making safeguards stronger: the NCM's advice is not binding, and its seats have often been vacant (verify current). Giving it constitutional status, like the NCSC and NCST, would make the monitoring of rights for notified minorities stronger. This links to GS-II themes of secularism and group rights.

Related concepts

• Religious minority
• Linguistic minority
• T.M.A. Pai Foundation case
• AMU minority status case

Read more

• Minorities I: cultural and educational rights and minority institutions