The illusion of establishing homogenous nationalism by provoking the sentiments of religious majority is an emerging trend that is visible and which is detrimental to the religious minority communities. The Central government’s pre-matric scholarship to students of minority communities will no longer apply to students from Classes I to VIII, and it will be continued only for students of Classes IX and X starting from 2022-23. This announcement may be construed as a conscious effort to slowly and steadily weaken the minority religious communities especially the poor and the downtrodden among them; this move is not in consonance with the spirit of the Constitution of India.

The country has many religious groups, of which Hindus are a majority, and Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains are minorities. The Constitution of India departed from the existing norms of secularism in Europe and elsewhere, which suggested separation of religion and state. Moreover, freedom of religion is a Fundamental Right guaranteed under our Constitution. With its distinct model of secularism and special provisions for religious minorities, our social cohesion arrangement needs special attention. On one hand, the distinct understanding of secularism in our context has led to the advancement of religious pluralism. At the same time, it has invited criticism for selective intervention in the affairs of religious communities from governments in power. The selective intervention has challenged the exclusivity of secularism. 

A report by the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) 2021-22 states that 18.5% students enrolled from Class I to VIII belonged to the minority communities. The data couldn’t be found on how many out of this actually avail the scholarship facilities. The unprecedented hurry to cancel the scholarship will create difficulties for children from the minorities; it is sending a strong negative message about the majority rule which will affect the very fibre and ethos of a secular bounding.   A revisit may be required before the implementation of this decision. It will reassure the religious minority communities that they are very much part of this nation and have contributed to the building of the nation.

Our democracy, which was once considered remarkable in scale and duration, has been weakened by the rise of xenophobic nationalism and threats to religious minorities. Although these trends were evident in the past, they have dramatically increased amidst the growth of majoritarian nationalism. The protection of democracy and religious freedoms are closely inter-twined. In a resolution moved by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the Constituent Assembly on December 13, 1946, unanimously adopted by Constituent Assembly on January 22, 1947, it was decided that a safeguard mechanism will be adopted for minority communities, depressed backward classes and tribal areas of the nation.

Article 29 of the Constitution ensures protection of interests for minorities. Its clause (1) states that any group living within the jurisdiction of India is entitled to preserve and promote its own language, script or literature and culture; Clause (2) of it prohibits denial of admission to educational institutions that are aided by the state on the ground of race, caste, religion or language protection.

The number of complaints received by the National Commission for Minorities, according to its report for the last 10 years, from 2010 to 2020, seems to be gradually reducing. in 2010-2011, it received a total of 2,375 complaints while in 2019-2020 it received only 1,670. This trend can be considered as positive or negative depending on its interpretation and current happenings in the country. 

The safeguards for the protection of interests of minorities are mandated in the following provisions of the Constitution and reported by the National Commission for Minority:    

(i) Article 15 (1) & (2) - Prohibition of discrimination against citizens on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; 
(ii) Article 16 (1) & (2) - Citizens’ right to ‘equality of opportunity’ in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State, and prohibition in this regard of any discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; 
(iii) Article 25 (1) - People’s freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion – subject to public order, morality and other Fundamental Rights; 
(iv) Article 26 - Right of every religious denomination or any section thereof – subject to public order, morality and health – to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes, manage its own affairs in matters of religion, and own and acquire movable and immovable property and administer it in accordance with law; 
(v) Article 28 - People’s freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in educational institutions wholly maintained, recognized, or aided by the State; 
(vi) Article 29 (2) - Non-denial of admission to any citizen to any educational institution maintained or aided by the State, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them; 
(vii) Article 30(1) - Right of all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice; 
(viii) Article 30 (1A) - State laws providing for compulsory acquisition of property of minority educational institutions shall ensure that compensation amount to be paid does not restrict or abrogate the right guaranteed above; 
(ix) Article 30 (2) - Freedom of minority-managed educational institutions from discrimination in the matter of receiving aid from the State.

The Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities as reported by Press Information Bureau on February 7, 2022,  has an overarching programme which covers various schemes/initiatives of the participating Ministries/Departments with an aim to ensure that the underprivileged and weaker sections of six centrally notified minority communities have equal opportunities for availing the various Government welfare Schemes and contribute to the overall socio-economic development of the Country.  

The programme has the following broad objectives: (i) Enhancing opportunities for education; (ii) Ensuring an equitable share for minorities in economic activities and employment, through existing and new schemes, enhanced credit support for self-employment, and recruitment to State and Central Government jobs; (iii) Improving the conditions of living of minorities by ensuring an appropriate share for them in infrastructure development schemes; and (iv) Prevention and control of communal disharmony and violence.

Have the programs for the welfare of the minorities remained as programs or have they been translated into reality with a strategy and assessment, measuring the impact on the beneficiaries. The first broad objective is to enhance opportunities for education and if the scholarship is cancelled from Class I to VIII, how will this objective be achieved?

The ebbs and flows in the fate of democracy and minority rights call its citizens to revisit and redefine itself in the context of 21st century, as the country is built on myriad of cross-cutting social cleavages based on religion, ethnicity, language, and caste. We have historically mirrored the system of checks and balances in the political realm but an exclusionary conception of national identity based on religion is threatening our multi-cultural and multi- religious identity. 

It is time to expand our understanding of democracy to include social justice and economic redistribution. It means re-understanding religious freedom to mean freedom for all religious communities. It means redefining the terms majority and minority, so that they are not determined by people’s religious identities, but a host of other criteria, including class, which are broadly defined. As things stand today, one encounters educational disadvantages, economic subordination, and political under-representation of minority communities at every level of society. The decision to partially cancel the scholarship may further cement the idea of victimization of minorities.