Centre submits views of 24 States to Supreme Court

On Hindus being a Minority

New Delhi – The Delhi Government has suggested that the Centre can grant ‘Migrated Minority’ status to Hindus who have moved to Delhi from places such as Jammu & Kashmir or Ladakh where they are a religious Minority.

The suggestion by the Delhi Government is part of a compilation of views collected by the Centre from 24 States on whether religious and linguistic Minority communities should be identified and notified by the Union or the respective States. It is part of an affidavit submitted by the Centre in the Supreme Court.

Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Zorastrians (Parsis) have been notified as Minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992.

The suggestions have come on a petition filed by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay in the Supreme Court challenging the ‘exclusive’ power given to the Centre under Section 2(f) and Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI) Act, 2004 and the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, respectively, to notify a Minority community.

Advocate Upadhyay has argued that the followers of Judaism, Baha’ism and Hinduism – who are the real minorities in Ladakh, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Kashmir, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Manipur – cannot even establish and administer educational institutions of their choice in these States.

Advocate Upadhyay has argued that religious and linguistic minorities were spread all over the country and not restricted to any single State or Union Territory. He has sought a clear answer from the Government whether it is the Parliament or the State legislatures who have the powers to notify a Minority community and protect its interests in accordance with the constitutional guarantees.

Identification of minorities: Centre files report in the Supreme Court with views of 24 states and UTs, most states seek right to identify minority groupshttps://t.co/wfrS27br5A

— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) January 13, 2023