Religious Minorities' Rights Evaluation

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE UNIVERSITY FAISALABAD
Department of Sociology

Title: The Evaluation of Religious Minority Rights in the Rural Areas of Tehsil Sheikhupura.


Name of Student: Muhammad Akram

Roll No. 1238

Name of Supervisor: Dr. Haq Nawaz Anwar


1.0 Introduction
A Minority is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant voting majority of the total population of a given society. A sociological minority is not necessarily a numerical minority.It may include any group that is subnormal with respect to a dominant group in terms of social status, education, employment, wealth and political power.
Sociologist Louis Wirth defined a minority group as "a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination.” (Wickypedia.com)
The term minority rights embodies two separate concepts: First, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or sexual minorities, and Second, collective rights accorded to minority groups.
The term may also apply simply to individual rights of anyone who is not part of a majority decision.
Minorities in all regions of the world continue to face serious threats and discrimination. They are frequently excluded from taking part fully in the economic, political and social life of their countries. Today, minority communities face new challenges, including legislation, policies for the country/nation. (Ms. Gay J. Mc Dougall, 29 July 2005).

Persons belonging to Religious Minorities have a faith which is different to that held by the majority. Most countries of the world have religious minorities. It is now widely accepted in the west that people should have the freedom to choose their own religion, including not having any religion (atheism or agnosticism), and including the right to convert from one religion to another. For example in Egypt, a new system of identity cards requires all citizens to state their religion - and the only choices are Islam, Christianity or Judaism.

In Pakistan, the voice of minorities has never touched the heart or mind of politicians. The tormenting experience of communal violence, transmigration of religious populations and the young and strident Muslim nationalism further muted the voice of minorities. In the bouts of political struggle for power, even liberal politicians remained silent on the issue of separate electorates. (Amir Taheri, New York Times, 11 July 2002)
There have been some positive developments in according basic rights to religious minorities, although in real terms their impact has been nullified by the growth of extremism and intolerance within the fabric of the society. Minorities kept the issue alive via the press, seminars and publications. In the past few years, two issues in Pakistan have received a lot of foreign attention: the status of women and the plight of minorities.
There are two main areas of challenge for the future of Pakistan's many minority groups:
 The growing influence of militant Islamic ideology.
 The continued discrimination against religious minorities in the provision of fundamental rights, including the right to education, employment, political participation and property rights.

The promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities contributes to political and social stability and peace and enriches the cultural diversity and heritage of the society. (2005 World Summit of Heads of State and Government, approved by the General Assembly)

Majority rule processes towards minorities are extremely threatening. The majority uses simply the power of minorities to win the election, and after that the majority exploits the rights of minorities. This is why effective mechanisms for protecting minority rights are essential to the success of any democratic dispute resolution process. (Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA)

Minorities frequently find democratic, majority rule processes to be extremely threatening. The danger is that the majority will simply use its power to win elections, and then take away the rights of the minority. This is why effective mechanisms for protecting minority rights are essential to the success of any democratic dispute resolution process.

1.1 Statement of Problems
When we talk or listen about minority, then some feelings of strange inferiority towards them arose in our mind. In general or theoretically, we claim that minorities should be provided with basic human rights, necessary for the smooth sailing of life. But in practical, our attitude towards them is almost totally different. Majority considers them as inferior and tries to suppress them in every race of life. It someone belonging to minority comes ahead in social life, then the majority considers it as condemn for themselves. In our areas, i.e. traditional, mostly minorities engage in bounded labor, for example, as brick laborers. Because of which the chances of their national mainstreaming seem rare. Minorities always claim that majority does not treat them well.

In case of minorities in Pakistan, the term ‘minority' is used in the 1973 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on several occasions. Successive federal governments take minorities religious not ethnic, racial or linguistic minorities. Main religions: Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Sikh.

According to the most recent (1998) census conducted by the Government of Pakistan, Hindus make up 1.20% of the population and Christians (Protestant and Roman Catholic) 1.9%, or around 2.3 million people and Sikh and Parsis are 0.31%. As according to the 1998 national census, 96.28 per cent of the population follows the Islamic faith. Non-Muslims constitute 3.72 per cent of the total population.

Regarding the role of Minorities in the development of Pakistan, No other non-Muslim religious community has contributed more to the social sector development of Pakistan than the Christians have. They work for the development of education and health throughout the country. They remain peaceful even in instable circumstances. Poor Christians have faced discrimination in both the urban and rural areas of the country. They have increasingly become the victim of religious intolerance and terrorism. (A.Rehman, 1998)

In Islamic point of view, Islam stresses the need for dialogue between the Muslim and other religious communities. Islam as a pluralistic religion considers dialogue legitimate. He said that Muslims and Christians are not effectively participating in addressing different problems like extremism, mistrust, lack of proper representation and authority. These can be addressed by comprising. And the success of interfaith dialogue depends much on its agenda. The agreement of participants on common points of agenda such as universal truth can be helpful in achieving the goals of interfaith dialogue. (Mehboob Sada, 2008).

Islam never supported communalism. The non-communal approach of Islam made it popular amongst the freedom-loving masses of the world. Islam emerged victorious over hearts and souls of people not by the sword but by its unique and humanistic moral teachings of mutual honor and respect. (Amit Chakraborty, 2006).
So, there is also less trend of social research towards them particularly in Pakistan. And because of these reasons, I feel the need to monitor and evaluate their rights so that necessary measures can be taken.

2.0 Objectives
 To find out the socio-economic characteristics of minorities.
 To explore the role of minorities in national integrity.
 To study the perception of minorities about government policies regarding minorities’ rights.
 To assess the perception of minorities about the attitude of majority towards them.
 To measure the satisfaction level of minorities about their rights.
 To suggest some measures for the protection f minority rights.

3.0 Review of Literature

The importance of the review of the literature lies in the fact that it highlights the background of the problem to be studied. It also provides further orientations about the problem and eliminates possibility of unnecessary duplication of efforts. In addition, valuable information on research techniques may be gained from reports of earlier research. However, some of available literature related to the problem under investigation is reviewed under the chapter.
Blair, 1994 said that; actual contribution of minorities in the development of the state plays a vital role to moderate and balance the state. The minorities also have some qualities as they are human beings. There is the need to explore their potentials so that genuine development in the society can be achieved.
Duffar, 1995 claimed that; the provision of basic rights such as education and liberty of language encourage the minorities to promote the state priorities. This thing is associated to the condition to protect their identity.
Rohmer, 1998 suggest that; the minorities are not provided with basic needs to live smoothly. They are trying to ignore in different sectors of life. As a result, they become more and more weakened. He said that, the provision of basic rights to minorities can be thus seriously question able.
Henrard, 2000 suggested that; a minority is a population group which has different ethnic, religious and linguistic characteristics from the rest of the population. Minorities are non-dominant in the society. They are less in quantity than the rest of the population. And they always have the wish to hold on to it separate identity.
Günther Rautz, 2005 concluded that; the disputes between majority and minority are threat to the stability and solidarity in the society. The settlement of these disputes is inevitable for the maintenance of peaceful environment in the society. Without this settlement, stability and solidarity can’t be achieved. The numerous national legal standards on minority protection differ greatly from state to state.

Ms. Gay J. McDougall, 2005 said that; Respect for minority rights assists in achieving stable and prosperous societies. In such societies, the social security is achieved and shared by all. The dynamics of majority/minority relationships lead to the emergence of a range of minority issues

U.S. Department of State publication, 2008 claimed that; Minorities are suppressed because of their religious beliefs, geographic location, and low level of income. They wish that the government will protect their rights and self-identity. Once this is accomplished, such groups can participate in, and contribute to their country's democratic institutions.

4.0 Methodology
Methodology is actually a conceptual sketch or it is track that how to collect and analyze the information.
According to Nichmias and Nichmias (1992), “The methodology is a system of explicit rules and procedures upon which research is based and against which claims for knowledge are evaluated.”
Universe:
Dixon and Mary (1957) said that; “Any set of the individuals/objects having common observable characteristics constitute a population/universe”. We can say that;
It is that area where you are going to conduct the research. The present study will be conducted in the rural areas of Tehsil Sheikhupura.

Sampling Frame:
“It is the actual set/list of units from which a sample has been drawn.” The sampling frame of the present study will be the list of all minority household living in Tehsil Sheikhupura.

Sampling:
“Sampling is a technique which is used in almost every field in order to collect information.” Two union councils having maximum households of minorities will be selected randomly at first stage. Afterward six villages (three from each union council) will be selected randomly at second level. I will use “Purposive Sampling” technique in the selection of respondents.
Sample:
According to Good and Hatt (1952), “A sample refers to small representation of the universe/population.” The sample of present study will be consisted of 120 respondents (60 from each union council).

Data Collection:
“The gathering of information (figures, words or responses) that describe some situation from which conclusions can be drawn”. According to Chaudhary, (1984), “The most important part of statistical work is perhaps the data collection.” The data will be collected by using survey method. The data will be collected by field surveyors which will be trained by the researcher.

Data Collection Tool:
The data will be collected by using a comprehensive and well structured “Interview Schedule”. According to Good and Hatt (1952), “Interview Schedule is a tool which is used by social scientists to get information accurately.” It will be developed in the light of the objectives of the study. It will be prepared both in English and Urdu.

Data Analysis:
“Data Analysis is a process of gathering, modeling and transforming data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions and supporting decision making.”
The collected data will be analyzed by using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Both the descriptive and inferential analysis will be conducted.

Interpretation of Data:
“It is the application of statistical procedures to analyze specific observed/assumed facts from a particular study.” The collected data will be interpreted by using graphs (linear graphs, bar graphs). At the end, conclusions will be drawn and suggestions will be made.


Bibliography:-

Ann Arbor 2003 Politics and Cultures of Legal Identities, University of Michigan Press.
Henrard Martinus 2000 Devising an Adequate System of Minority Protection, Nijhoff Publishers, Iraq.
Jackson Preece 2005 Minority Rights: Between Diversity and Community, Cambridge: Polity Press, Germany.
Kristin Henrard 2001 The Global Review of Ethno-Politics Vol. 1, University of Groningen, Netherlands.
Ms.Gay and J.McDougall 2005 Principles of Democracy, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Switzerland.
Pentassuglia 2002 Minorities in international law : An Introductory Study, Council of Europe Publications.
Principles of Democracy 2008 U.S. Department of State Publication, USA.
Research Consortium 2006 University of Colorado, USA.