AMU: Department of Political Science organises symposium on International Minority Rights Day
By Naved Ashrafi
The Department of Political Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh organised an online symposium to commemorate the International Minority Rights Day that falls on the 18th of December.
Dr. Md. Aftab Alam, Associate Professor, welcomed the speakers and the participants and emphasised why minority rights are important for democracy in his welcome note.
Prof. Arshi Khan focussed on the importance of minorities and minority rights in nation-building. He said that the process of nation-building required a 'national identity'. National identity must be a 'shared identity' based on socio-political diversity. It should not be based on schism and separation. The onus of construction of a shared identity lies in our federal government. Governments must facilitate and should take steps to cherish socio-political diversity.
Prof. Khan further emphasised that 'representation' and 'participation' are the two main pillars of democracy. While the representation of minorities is ensured by the electoral process, their participation in the democratic process falls short of a remarkable stage. Democratic participation simply means the representation of diversities which, in turn, are represented by minorities.
Dr. Parvez Alam, Assistant Professor, said that in the modern concept of a nation-state, there is an inherent bias against celebrating diversity. Here sameness is cherished, the majority is favoured and sometimes the majority resorts to violence against minorities. For the well-functioning of democracy protection of minorities is essential; their existence as an equal citizen, their identity should be acknowledged. The state should ensure that they are not discriminated against and that their participation in the democratic processes is improved.
Dr. Alam refuted those liberal claims which rule-out any need for minority rights in the presence of individual rights. 'Success of democracy and that of the constitution lies in sustaining minority rights', said Alam. To secure social justice for all its citizens, a democracy should ensure individual rights as well as the rights of the underprivileged. Minority rights are not a privilege and hence to secure a level-playing field they must be upheld at any cost.
In his concluding remarks. Prof. Asmer Beg, former head of the department, talked about the minority rights in the constitutional scheme of India. He praised the wisdom of constitution-makers for placing Article 29 and Article 30 after major rights in the constitution. He said that while the state ought to ensure all rights preceding Article 29 to all of its citizens including minorities; Article 29 and 30 impart special rights to minorities in addition to other fundamental rights.
The symposium witnessed participation from all over India.
No comments: