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Situating Federalism, Minorities and Communalism in the Indian Polity

Situating Federalism, Minorities and Communalism in the Indian Polity Arshi Khan * I. Introduction The diversity of India's social realities and historical identities, as well as its centuries of experience with social cohabitation, has brought about an evolving recognition of the political necessity of pluralism and multiculturalism in national and subnational governance. Diversity is well-recognized in India's Constitution, in relation to both national minorities living in traditional areas and those who are dispersed in areas dominated by the majority religious community. Despite adhering to the principle of `common citizenship', the concept of group cultural rights is also embedded in the constitution. On the other hand, India's territorial vastness and regional variations have been dealt with by federal political arrangements, both symmetrical and asymmetrical, for the states of the Indian Union on the basis of cultural, linguistic and ethnic factors. Besides accommodating various rights under federal arrangements for states and the seven Union territories, the Indian Constitution and several later statutory developments envisaged compensatory measures for economically weak, historically discriminated people, as well as for alienated tribal populations of the country, in terms of reserving seats in elected bodies, employment, job promotions and, in many areas, community development schemes. India is the world's largest parliamentary democracy, based on http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png European Yearbook of Minority Issues Online Brill

Situating Federalism, Minorities and Communalism in the Indian Polity

Khan, Arshi
European Yearbook of Minority Issues Online , Volume 4 (1): 85 – Jan 1, 2004
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright 2006 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1570-7865
eISSN
2211-6117
DOI
10.1163/22116117-90000005
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Arshi Khan * I. Introduction The diversity of India's social realities and historical identities, as well as its centuries of experience with social cohabitation, has brought about an evolving recognition of the political necessity of pluralism and multiculturalism in national and subnational governance. Diversity is well-recognized in India's Constitution, in relation to both national minorities living in traditional areas and those who are dispersed in areas dominated by the majority religious community. Despite adhering to the principle of `common citizenship', the concept of group cultural rights is also embedded in the constitution. On the other hand, India's territorial vastness and regional variations have been dealt with by federal political arrangements, both symmetrical and asymmetrical, for the states of the Indian Union on the basis of cultural, linguistic and ethnic factors. Besides accommodating various rights under federal arrangements for states and the seven Union territories, the Indian Constitution and several later statutory developments envisaged compensatory measures for economically weak, historically discriminated people, as well as for alienated tribal populations of the country, in terms of reserving seats in elected bodies, employment, job promotions and, in many areas, community development schemes. India is the world's largest parliamentary democracy, based on

Journal

European Yearbook of Minority Issues Online – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2004

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