Minority Rights Day 2021: Every nation in the world has its share of minorities, be it linguistic, cultural or ethnic. Preserving and protecting their rights is a challenge for almost all governments.
In India, we observe Minorities Rights Day every year on December 18 with an aim to create awareness about their rights. The day also focuses on the issues facing the minorities in the country.
This day also helps us in having a better understanding of the issues of minorities and their safety concerns. The Constitution of India guarantees equal rights for all its citizens including safeguarding the rights of people from religious, linguistic, ethnic minorities.
History of the Minority Rights Day:
The Minorities Rights Day in India was first observed on December 18, 2013. On 18th December 1992, the United Nations had declared the Statement on the Individual’s Rights belonging to Religious or Linguistic National or Ethnic Minorities.
The UN statement emphasized that the rights of minorities shall be respected, protected and preserved by the states and within individual territories.
Minority Affairs Ministry in India:
For the first time in 2006, a Ministry of Minority Affairs was set up. This ministry was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The communities that have been notified as minorities in India are Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Zoroastrians (Parsis), Jains, and Buddhists.
National Minorities Commission (NMC):
The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) was established under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
Minority Rights Day 2021 Theme:
The Minority Rights Day in India 2021 is celebrated annually on 18th December by conducting debates and seminars on the same topic. The plight and situation of the minorities are thoroughly studied to make India free of discrimination.
Every citizen must make India free and open for the people belonging to the different strata of the society. The Minority Rights Day in India 2021 aims to uplift the minority section of society. The development of the nation is in the hands of both minor and major sections of society.
Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains are considered as the common minorities in India which occupy 19% of the population of India. In 2006 the ministry of the Minority Affairs founded schemes for the welfare of the country.
The national community of minorities was established under the National Commission for Minorities Act of 1992. The campaigns, rallies, public demonstrations, orientation programs and welfare fund collection etc are the activities conducted to celebrate the minority rights day in India.
Minorities Rights Day Quotes:
- “It is always the minorities that hold the key of progress; it is always through those who are unafraid to be different that advance comes to human society.” -Raymond B. Fosdick
- “No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of minorities.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.” -Ayn Rand
- “The minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.” -Thomas Jefferson
- “It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority.” -Lord Acton
- “Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.” -Martin Luther King, Jr
- “Discrimination has a lot of layers that make it tough for minorities to get a leg up.” -Bill Gates
