SPEAKING FREELY The Muslim problem in India By Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing.
The constitution of India envisages a system which seeks to promote political unification of the society while giving the ethnic groups in it a wide range of rights to preserve and develop their own distinct cultures. Important particularly for religious minorities are those provisions of the constitution that deal with the right of freedom of religion.
Religious groups are not only given the freedom to pursue their religion but also the right to propagate it. Additionally, they have the right to manage their own religious affairs and to establish and maintain institutions for imparting religious instruction. The latter are also entitled to receive financial assistance from the state.
No constitution, however, can resolve complex social issues all by itself. It merely provides a normative basis for their resolution. The task of resolving social problems is ultimately that of politics. It does so by translating the broad normative statements of the constitutions into concrete policies and actions. In an open society like ours the political realm, however, is above all the realm of public preferences and pressures, with those in power compelled to act within the constraints of public opinion.
