a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

expression, belief, faith and worship and “equality of status and of opportunity.”’ 5
India has not only recognized the existence of minorities, and has given them
official status, but has also offered special safeguards and rights to the minorities,
including religious groups.
‘Unity in Diversity’ is the basic principle upon which the Indian Constitution
stands. The balance between national unity and cultural, religious and social
diversity is addressed in the Constitution. James Massey, a former Member of the
National Commission for Minorities in India, commented that the founders of the
Indian Constitution introduced the theory ‘Unity in Diversity’ because they could
foresee an ongoing tension between majority and minority groups. Majority
groups tend to have a perception that ‘the separate identity of a minority will
endanger national unity,’ while minority groups harbour a notion that ‘the
majority will absorb them and one day, ultimately, they would lose their
identity.’ 6
4.1.2. Minority Welfare and Rights
The concept of minority welfare existed in India even before independence.
According to K.S. Durrany, an Indian scholar in Philosophy and Religion, the idea
of the Welfare of Minorities can be traced back to the Government of India Acts
of 1919 and 1935. Up until independence there was provision even for a separate
electorate for diverse religious minorities. However, after independence such
5 National Commission for Minorities, ‘Constitutional Provisions,’ http://ncm.nic.in/
constitutional_prov.html (accessed 12 November 2006). In the Indian context, a secular state is
meant to protect all religions equally and does not uphold any religion as the state religion.
6 Massey, Minorities in a Democracy, 67.
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