INTRODUCTION:

It is of exceptional international political significance that the minority issue has been recognized as an element of European security. The concrete content of the stipulation in the final act which relate to national minorities is of lesser significance, as a document of international law. In any case, this is a document of exceptional international political importance. Also, it is formulated as an international political importance. Also, it is formulated as an international-political declaration. As for its content, it contains stipulations which are already de lege lata a part of international law as well as stipulation which for the present do not reach beyond a declaration of political principles.

Affecting conversions

If we restrict ourselves to just the three stipulation in question, we could, bearing in mind other sources of international law, particularly the united nationals charter and other conventions relating to the guarantee to enjoy equal human rights, and to the elimination of discrimination, and with particular reference to the existing practice of European states-claim the following :

(a) The stipulation concerning national minorities contained in article VII of the declaration of principles to be observed by European states in their mutual relations 13 by its factual content, which is grosso modo the obligation of individual countries to secure for person belonging to national minorities’ formal equality, in its essence already constitutes international law de lege lata.

(b) The two almost identical stipulations 14 within the framework of the document entitled Co-operation in humanitarian and other fields, which underlines that the countries participating at the conference aim at making it easier for national minorities and regional culture to contribute towards international co-operation in the field of culture and education, are at least for the present of declarative political nature only. This in no way diminishes their significance in the final act, which itself, as mentioned above, is in the purely formal sense of the term not an international legal act.

Although it is beyond the scope of this paper to make a detail-ed examination of the legal nature of the final act, we would take the opportunity at this stage of pointing out a few facts. First, this is a document that is based on a consensus reached by all the countries participating at the conference. This is understandably also the reason for the looseness of some of the formulations including those referring to national minorities, since any country among the 35 participants was able, by expressing disagreement, to preclude a particular formulation in the final act represent and expression of the unanimous will of the participating states. This is in its actual weight –irrespective of the form of the document-very close to multilateral international treaties, if in fact it is not just such a treaty what is then virtually an international treaty also represent ‘’unanimously’’ expressed will of the parties to a particular contract.’’15 in any case the final act is binding at least as much as for instance resolution and declaration passed by the united nations general assembly, especially those not passed by an unanimous vote. It should also be noted that the countries themselves in no way object to the binding nature of the final act.

UN System belonging To the Minorities

The United Nations charter and the universal declaration of human rights 16 contain no stipulation concerning the rights of national minorities or their members. The same is true of the two international covenants on human rights as well as of some other conventions adapted within the framework of the UNO system. The international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination 17 does anticipate as a possible basis for discrimination also national or ethnic origin-and hence covers also the discrimination of national and ethnic groups-but it does not explicitly formulate the rights of national minorities or their members. It is also true that the UNO international covenant.

On civil and political rights, signed in 1966,which contains in article 27 modest stipulation about the rights of members of ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities, came into force only last year among the states that have ratified it. In view of these facts the significance of the final act stipulations concerning national minorities is of course exceptional also from the point of view of the development of international law de lege ferenda as regards the protection of the rights of national minorities and the rights of their members.

Critique of Indian experience

In India it was mostly a pluralistic tradition that prevailed in the society. Religion always plays a major role among all classes of the Indian society. In any ordinary residential location the first community project is often the building of a temple, or a mosque or a church. Giving space to others to grow is a great quality in any religion and, by and large, that was what was practiced in the religious tradition of India, which is different from what is practiced in many of the modern middle eastern nations who do not give sufficient free space for other religions in the name of preserving the purity of one particular religion.

India’s proclaimed secular policies are an acceptance of the country’s ethos of ‘unity in diversity’. It implies that different social groups live together side by side within Indian society as equal citizens of one country. Therefore the best thing for majority-minority religions to have relevant meaning for today’s India is to rid themselves of obscurantism, bigotry and use of religion for political gains. If the religions of India try to harmonize themselves with modern science and human reason, and by what inquiry will spirituality which is far from being an amalgam of myths, fetishes, superstitions, anachronistic customs and rituals to the faithful.

John Paul II, in his visit to the United States in 1995, stated that all religions must share and learn from each other mutually because, “nobody is so poor that he has nothing to give; nobody is so rich that he has nothing to receive”. This is true of all world religions and that is why the holy Quran says: “it may well be that god bring about (mutual affection) between tou and some of those whom you face as enemies”. In the run up to the indo-Pakistan Agra summit meet on July 14-15, 2001, one of the special invitees for luncheon with Pakistan president parvez Musharraf, the noted film star shah rich khan said

“The message board of a church caught my attention recently. The lines read: ‘we are so different. That is why we have so much to share’. I feel that it is because of differences in ideology as regards religious beliefs and political affiliations that we should meet.”2

Shah Rukh’s observation is an apt reason why we should promote inter-religious dialogue and fellowship because we have so much to learn and share from each other’s faith experience for the good of all. Therefore, inter-religious cooperation, popularly known as inter-faith dialogue’ is essential for religious harmony, which is our concern in this section.

When Islam reached India, it found a fertile ground, took roots and grew. Already during the caliphate of Umar the first Muslim merchant fleet appeared in Indian waters. Before kutub-ud-din aibek took the reigns in Delhi, Muslims of Malabar had established themselves and were controlling the maritime trade. Muslim Arabs first settled on the Malabar Coast at about the end of the 7^th century. Most of the Muslim conquerors who established rule in India, adopted a policy of tolerance. From 1000-1001 AD till the death of emperor Aurangzeb, the Muslim empire of India spread from the Sind regions in the west of India till the region of Bengal and from Kashmir to Ceylon. Mostly it was the Persianized Islam that dominated the political and social scene in India where Persian prose and poetry flourished. During this time the mystical leaders contributed to the spread of Islam. Many new things were introduced to India like Unani system of medicine, textiles industries and newer forms of agriculture.

Akbar’s rule saw the golden period of Muslim civilization in India. His universalism and catholicity resulted not only in the evolution of a cosmopolitan court adorned by soldiers, statesmen, scholars and poets but also in the evolution of a perfect blend of Indi-Islamic and Saracenic styles whose architectural expression is self-evident in many places like Fatehpur sikri. The stability of the empire during this period was mainly attributed to the policy of toleration during Akbar’s time

CONCLUSION:

Like the un human rights regime, the Indian constitution makes the ‘individual’ the focus of its human rights framework. Every Indian citizen, irrespective of his/her religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, is entitled to these rights. Some of these rights are available to all persons, citizen or foreigner, living in India. Most of the human rights articles in the constitution use phrases such as ‘no person shall be denied of…’, or ‘all citizens’ have these rights. Moreover, Article 15 provides a general non-discrimination clause.

The Indian experience with regard to the rights of the people of minorities reveals that despite India’s numerous national and international obligations to promote the rights of person of minorities, the record of the Indian state and society is not satisfactory. As far as the constitutional law and the record of judiciary in upholding minorities’ rights is concerned, it rep-resent the best secular values/traditions in the world. Only some statutory laws, as our analysis above revealed, advertently or inadvertently deviate from the spirit of these traditions. Also, some of the policies and practices of the government and certain religious and other groups (including those of minorities) are not only a source of dissatisfaction but also violative of many international and national norms and standards promoting and protecting the rights of minorities and its people. Much can be achieved hopefully with their efforts and cooperation

REFERENCES:

1. "Overpopulation in India". Serendip.brynmawr.edu. Retrieved 2013-08-24.

2. "Overpopulation in India and China". Web.archive.org. 27 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. Retrieved 17 August 2013.

3. "Over-population warning as India's billionth baby is born". The Guardian (London). 11 May 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2010.

4. "Manas: History and Politics, Indira Gandhi". Sscnet.ucla.edu. Retrieved 17 August 2013.

5. "One-third of world's poor in India: Survey". The Times of India. 27 August 2008.

6. "World Bank's new poverty norms find larger number of poor in India". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 28 August 2008.

7. "Opinion”. The Times of India. 30 August 2008.

8. Iqbal A. Ansari (ed.), Book Title: “Readings on Minorities Perspectives and Documents”, Vol.: 1, Publisher: Institute of Objective Studies (I.O.S.), New Delhi, Publishing Year: 1996.

9. The Hindu, New Delhi, November 27, 1998

10. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'jump to navigation, search. This orticle is about republic of India's religious demo graphics, for religious originating in the India sub continent.

11. Carens Joseph H.1997 liberalism and cal tune; constellations, vol-4. No.1, PP-35-47

12. Kumlicka will 1995, multicultural citizenship ox ford: clarendon press.

13. Constitutional protection of minorities educational institutions in India, 1986, deep & deep publications-D-1, 24 Rajouri Garden, New Delhi,-110027.

Received on 18.05.2014 Modified on 25.06.2014

Int. J. Rev. & Res. Social Sci. 2(2): April-June 2014; Page105-107