Edumarz

What is a ‘minority’? Why do minorities need protection from the state?

Facebook
WhatsApp
Twitter
LinkedIn

Solution:A perception of relative inferiority is frequently associated with being a minority.

1.Privilege minorities, such as the highly wealthy, are rarely referred to as minorities; when they are, the term is qualified in some way, as in the phrase “privileged minority.

“2.•The sociological sense of minority implies that members of the minority form a collectivity, i.e. they have a sense of group solidarity, togetherness, and belonging.

 3.This is linked to disadvantage because the experience of prejudice and discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty and interests.

4.People who are left-handed or born on February 29th may be minorities in statistical terms, but they are not minorities in sociological terms because they do not form a collectivity. Because of the majority’s demographic dominance, religious or cultural minorities require special protection. 5.Politically, these groupings are in jeopardy. They must contend with the possibility that the majority group would seize political power and use the state apparatus to crush their religious or cultural institutions, forcing them to give up their identity.

However, there are some exceptions:

Religious minorities www.edumarz.comsuch as Parsis and Sikhs may be economically well-off, but due to their tiny numbers in comparison to the overwhelming majority of Hindus, they may nevertheless be culturally disadvantaged.

The fact that India’s state is committed to both secularism and minority protection adds to the issue.

Minorities must be given special consideration in situations where the usual functioning of the democratic system puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to the majority.

As a result, accusations of favoritism are leveled. However, advocates argue that without this safeguard, secularism can be used as a pretext to impose the beliefs and practices of the dominant society on minorities.

Leave a Reply