Minorities Rights Day observed in Assam's Guwahati

GUWAHATI: Like elsewhere in India, the 'Minorities Rights Day' was also organized in the NEF College in Guwahati's Saukuchi. Organised by Brahmaputra civil society, today's ceremony saw the participation of minorities from all walks of life, including Assam MP Abdul Khaleque, who belongs to the Muslim faith.

What is the Minorities 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.

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The UN statement emphasised that the rights of minorities shall be respected, protected and preserved by the states and within individual territories. 

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.

5 key points of constitutional provisions for minorities

• "Prohibition of discrimination against citizens on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth "Citizens' right to 'equality of opportunity' in employment and prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth"
• "People's freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion - subject to public order, morality and other Fundamental Rights"
• "Right of all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice"
• "Freedom of minority-managed educational institutions from discrimination in the matter of receiving aid from the State"

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