Who are the minorities?
Opinion
The Hindu - Feb 18, 1999

Sir, - There is an accusation that certain privileges are enjoyed by Muslims as a
minority community and, when challenged what those privileges are, the answer is
personal law and Article 30 of the Constitution. Every community in this country
has its own personal law pertaining to its faith. Having that personal law does not in
any way interfere with loyalties or responsibilities or allegiance. The personal law
mainly deals with marriages, inheritance, etc. What is wrong in that? In fact many of
the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law have been adopted by the secular law
such as divorce, women remarrying after divorce, widow remarriage, rights of
women to inherit property, to mention just a few. Article 26B says ``to manage its
own affairs in matters of religion,'' provided it does not clash with public order,
morality and health. So, there is enough protection in the Constitution to safeguard
the interests of the nation if ``managing its own affairs in matters of religion'' is
detrimental to the welfare of the state. Secondly, there is a wrong notion that
Article 30 relates only to the Muslims. Nothing can be farther from the truth and
nothing can be nearer to ignorance.

Article 30 says: ``Right of minorities to establish and administer educational
institutions: All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right
to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.'' By what stretch
of imagination can one think that this Article refers only to the Muslims? A Bengali
or a Punjabi or a Keralite or a Maharashtrian is a minority in Tamil Nadu. This
article protects their interests. A Tamilian or a Maharashtrian or a Keralite or a
Telugu-speaking person or a Kannadiga is a minority in U.P., Bengal, or Punjab.
The Article protects their interests. Therefore, it is totally wrong to say that Article
30 is only for the Muslims. It specifically says religion or language, so where does
any particular community come in? The framers of our Constitution were men of
vision, foresight, erudition, thorough knowledge and macro outlook, qualities which
are rare today.

Our politicians are quarrelling over insignificant matters. There are things happening
in the world which are of great significance to India, such as imposition of no-fly
zones in Iraq, the right of a nation to decide to strike if it thinks something is against
its interest or not to its liking. Another report says that troops will move into
Kosovo to provide maximum self-rule for a three-year trial period with a right to
Kosovo to decide about its future after three years. Does this not ring a bell?
Tomorrow the U.S. will try to apply the same yardstick to Kashmir using Iraq or
Kosovo as an example. Instead of looking at these dangerous developments, we
Indians are fighting over petty things and, in the process, harming our own interests.

M. Z. Chida,Chennai