Problems of Religious Minorities in India

Relevance: Sociology paper II: Religion &Society: Problems of religious Minorities In India

Problems of Sikhs Minorities

• Social Problems: Sex ratio among Sikhs is poor despite relatively high affluence of the community. High rate of Drug Addiction among youth and Alcoholism are the other problems. The problem of drug addiction in Punjab is not an issue of law and order. While it certainly has been aided and abetted by the governments of the day, the issue is an economic one. This issue needs a wider debate on a strategy to gainfully employ both the youth who are moving out of agriculture and the new entrants to the labour force.
• Inadequate employment opportunities: The menace of drug addiction is only a symptom of the larger malaise afflicting our economic policy which has failed to create adequate employment opportunities. Unfortunately, there is hardly a recognition of the problem, leave alone a strategy to deal with it
• With migration abroad slowing in recent years and lack of alternative employment The process of ‘Depeasantization’ has led to a situation where the farming Sikh community is increasingly moving out of agriculture. A majority of the cultivating castes and groups are still averse to manual labour and have not been able to find work in the non-farm sector.
• Political Problem: The question was “How could the Sikhs retain their distinct and separate identity in a state nominally pledged to secularism but in actual practice increasingly Hindu?” Their relations also became strained with the majority in the wake of events related to Khalistan Movement, Operation Bluestar, the consequent assassination of Indira Gandhi and ensuing communal
• Economic Problems: opportunities within in Punjab, the problem of employment has only gone from bad to worse among Sikh Community. There are now enough anecdotal as well as field studies documenting the crisis in Punjab’s agriculture and the associated employment problem among the youth.

Problems of Christian Minorities

• A Lucknow study showed, after independence, Christians of that city had the lowest per capita income of the ten communities. Reservation provisions are also non-uniformly applied across the religious groups. For example, there is Scheduled Caste reservation for the converted Buddhists and Sikhs, but not for Dalit Christians.
• Christian leaders report that the proportion of government employment has decreased after sharply independence from the Christian community. In civil service jobs is actually less than 2% of their population.
• Christian minority groups also face identity problem in many areas.
• Religious conversions have assumed a very sensitive form in India and missionaries are often alleged of forced conversions and are subjected to attacks. The brutal murder of Christian missionary Grahm Stein by a fanatic is such an example.

Problems of Parsi Minorities

• The real problem confronting the community is not political but demographic – one of the steadily declining numbers. They are the most affluent minority community in India, but their numbers are dwindling. The 2011 Census found that the Parsi population has declined by 18 per cent to 57,264 in a decade, virtually reducing them to the status of an urban tribe while in the same decade total population of India increased by around 17.64 per cent.
• Socially, they are well off with the literacy rate of 97.9 per cent and a sex ratio of 1050 as per 2011 Census figures. This is a highly inward looking group with a prohibition on entry to the community by way of conversion and no permissions for exogamy.
• Inbreeding, reduction of fertility rate, late marriages, and out of community marriages.
• Moreover, The Parsis in Assam, Bengal and Bihar are a minority, but they control trade and business in these states. They are treated as ‘outsiders’ and ‘exploiters’, ‘Sons of the Soil’ movement have been reported in Assam, Bengal, Orissa and Karnataka, and subsequently Parsis were looted, killed in Bolangir (Orissa).
• According to Roy and Unisa, childlessness and migration are big contributors to their dwindling numbers.