Jan-March 2006 - Institute of Sikh Studies

60ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : JAN-MARCH 2006 / 537-38 NSonly a denigration of Jainism, Buddhism and Sikkhism but also anaffront to the status of Islam and Christianity and “Other Religions”which are recorded in every Census.Having wandered through philosophy and religion, Mr JusticeDharmadhikari propounds his constitutional thesis for redefining thestatus of various religious groups as minorities and conferring it onlyto those which had to be re-assured of their religious and culturalrights in the background of Partition “in order to maintain the integrityof the country”. He opines that the process of the Constitution didnot contemplate any addition to the list of religious minorities otherthan those identified in the course of independence negotiations orthose which are materially well-off.He seems to think that recognition of the religious identity of agroup by the State is a favour, a privilege, a prerogative of the executiveor the legislature in accordance with the political compulsion at a giventime. Obviously, he has not studied the Constituent Assembly Debates.Dr Ambedkar forcefully argued for the recognition of the absoluterights of the religious minorities. And the first right of a minority isthe right of recognition, followed by the right to equality before law.The Fundamental Rights, the finest crystallization of political thoughtand constitutional theory, are independent of time and place. TheUniversal Declaration of Human Rights had an impact on ourConstitution but the International Covenants and, above all, the UNDeclaration of Rights of Minorities, 1993, all reflect what theConstitution gave to the religious, linguistic, racial and culturalminorities. Today minority rights are universally accepted as indivisiblefrom and essential to human rights, because almost every nation-stateis multi-religious, multilingual and multicultural.But Mr Jutice Dharmadhikari sees assimilation in Hinduism asthe alternative and desirable goal of religious groups in India whilethe international community recognises multi-religiosity as the naturalstate of things. Any majoritarian pressure to erase the identity and toabsorb and assimilate their distinctive personality goes against theconcept of freedom and equality.Constitutional safeguards under the Constitution and ininternational law shall be reduced to zero if the distinct identity ofany religious group, howsoever small, is denied and any group is forcedto relate to Hinduism as a sect or sub-sect.¤