Other Problems Related to Minorities:

Prejudice And Discrimination

1. As far as prejudices are concerned, prejudices and stereotyped

thinking are common features of a complex society. India is not
an exception to this. Commonly used statements such as –
“Hindus are cowards and Muslims are rowdies; Sikhs are
dullards and Christians are converters “, etc. – reflect the
prevalent religious prejudices.

 Such prejudices further widen the social distance among the

religious communities. This problem still persists in India. Except
in some sensitive areas, this problem of prejudice is not
disturbing the routine life of different communities, including
that of minorities.

 This act of discrimination against the minority isn’t limited to

India but is a global problem and Women get the worst of it,
minority women often experience discrimination from both
within and outside their communities and suffer
disproportionately from the economic, social, and political
marginalization affecting their communities as a whole.

 Minority women are often subjected to abuse, discrimination, and

stereotypes for instance, manual scavenging is often reserved for
Dalit women, in both urban and rural areas and they are paid
menial wages for this degrading and unsanitary task.

 These women are forced into doing undignified and ill-suited jobs
and are intimidated if they try to adopt any alternative
livelihoods.
  Their daily lives are immersed with hate speeches, anti-minority
sentiments, violations, and discrimination and they are not able to
take any action in spite of having various legal rights and lack of
awareness, poverty, and fear add more factors to this problem.

2. Problem of Communalism and Communal Riots:

Communal tensions and riots have been incessantly increasing since

independence. Whenever communal tensions and riots take place for
whatever reason, minority interests get threatened.

3. Failure to Stick to the principles of Secularism

 India has declared itself as a “secular” country. The very spirit of our
constitution is secular.
 But in actual practice there is a lack of commitment to secularism,
purely religious issues are often politicized by these parties.

4. Problems of Separatism

 Some of the demands put forward by some religious communities in

some areas are not acceptable to others.
 This has widened the gap between them and others, Examples: The
separatist tendency present among some Muslim extremists in
Kashmir and their demand for the establishment of Independent
Kashmir is not acceptable to others.
 Such a demand is regarded as anti-national. Similarly, some of the
Christian extremists in Nagaland and Mizoram are demanding
separate statehood for their provinces.
 Both these demands are supportive of “separatism” and hence cannot
be accepted.
 Supporters of such demands have been causing a lot of disturbances
and creating law and order problems in the respective states.

5. No Common Civil Code:

Another major hurdle that we find in the relationship between the
majority and the minority is related to the failure of Governments
that have assumed power so far, in the introduction of a common
civil code.