Debates on minority rights in India: Liberal perspective

This article tries to situate the minorities, especially the Muslims in the context of their rights and liberties guaranteed in the democratic constitutional set up. This paper intends to bring about the problems and challenges before the minorities in terms of asserting their rightful claims as a citizens of liberal democracy. In the first part, this article throws light on how liberal democracies in Europe cope with the conflicts arising out of multiple diversities and cultural ethos owing to multi-culturalism. Therefore, minorities’ rights have gained greater visibility and relevance in India too. It is in this context that minority rights have assumed added significance in post-independent India right from the inception of Indian Constitution. In the second part, this paper discusses on India's experience and its constitutional arrangements in providing various kinds of political safeguards to its minorities. Last part of this paper focuses on some of the major aspects of majority- minority conflicts that strain the relationships among the communities leading to communal conflicts and perpetuating the rival interests.