Book Description
Plural societies all over the world are facing the challenge of integrating the minorities into mainstream polity and society. India is a land of many languages, cultures and religions. It is an ideal place where one can see the minorities in their different dimensions. It is the home to the second largest Muslim population in the world, and their integration into mainstream politics has remained a challenge to the secular polity of India. The present work ‘Muslim Minorities and the National Commission for Minorities in India’, deals with the Muslim situation in India and the institutional response of the state towards them. It locates the problem of Muslim minorities in the larger context of minority rights and discusses the efficacy of the redress mechanisms, like National Commission for Minorities, in forging the community within larger society. The study highlights that the institutionalization of minority rights and the safeguards, like the monitoring mechanisms, are not just enough, and should also be supported by strong appreciation for the principle of pluralism for the integration of minority communities in the plural societies. The book will be useful to academicians, researchers, students and general public interested in the study of political science, public policy, sociology, plural societies, and minority rights.
