Can give migrated minority status to Hindus: Delhi govt

Subject : Polity

Section: Constitutional Framework

Concept :

Hindus who migrated to the national capital from other regions may be accorded “migrated minority” status if they were a religious minority in their state of origin, the Delhi government has suggested as part of an ongoing case in the Supreme Court on granting minority status to Hindus in certain circumstances.
Of the 24 states and Union territories (UTs), Delhi was the only government that explicitly backed granting minority status to Hindus in any form at the state or UT
Some other states — including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, West Bengal and Uttarakhand — favoured identification of a “minority community” at the state level but didn’t name any particular faith or group in particular.
Most states conveyed their satisfaction with the existing regime where six minority faiths are identified and notified at the national level.
The Centre was asked to take a categorical stand on the issue after a public interest litigation by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay challenged the validity of Section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI) Act .

Constitutional and Legal Provisions Related to Minorities

The National Commission of Minorities Act defines a minority as “a community notified as such by the Central government.”
The Government of India has declared six religions namely, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis (Zoroastrian) and Jain as religious minorities in India.

National Commission for Minority Education Institution (NCMEI) Act, 2004:

It gives the minority status to the educational institutions on the basis of six religious communities notified by the government.
The term “minority” is not defined in the Indian Constitution. However, the Constitution recognizes religious and linguistic minorities.

Article 29:

It provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.
It grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities.
However, the Supreme Court held that the scope of this article is not necessarily restricted to minorities only, as use of the word ‘section of citizens’ in the Article includes minorities as well as the majority.

Article 30:

All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
The protection under Article 30 is confined only to minorities (religious or linguistic) and does not extend to any section of citizens (as under Article 29).

Article 350-B:

The 7th Constitutional (Amendment) Act 1956 inserted this article which provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India.
It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution.