{"id":26235,"date":"2025-12-10T20:26:40","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T20:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/10\/who-really-is-a-minority-in-india-vhp-sparks-debate-on-islam-christianity-politics-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T20:26:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T20:26:40","slug":"who-really-is-a-minority-in-india-vhp-sparks-debate-on-islam-christianity-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/10\/who-really-is-a-minority-in-india-vhp-sparks-debate-on-islam-christianity-politics-news\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Who Really Is A Minority In India’: VHP Sparks Debate On Islam, Christianity | Politics News"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Last Updated:<\/span>

After its Kendriya Marg Darshak Mandal meeting ended, the VHP said the Constitution grants “special privileges” to religious minorities but does not define the term<\/h2>\n
\n
\"The<\/p>\n

The two-day Kendriya Marg Darshak Mandal meeting of the Vishva Hindu Parishad concluded in New Delhi on December 10, 2025. (Image: News18)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Vishva Hindu Parishad has given a unanimous call for the Centre to clearly define what constitutes a \u201creligious minority” in India \u2013 a question the organisation said has long remained unaddressed despite the constitutional framework around minority rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two-day Kendriya Marg Darshak Mandal meeting of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) concluded in Delhi with a statement, in which it argued that the Constitution grants \u201cspecial privileges” to religious minorities but does not define the term.<\/span><\/p>\n

President of the VHP, Alok Kumar said this ambiguity has allowed the central government \u201cunbridled power” under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, to declare any community as a minority without fixed parameters.<\/span><\/p>\n

CALL FOR NEW CRITERIA TO DETERMINE MINORITY STATUS<\/h4>\n

The VHP has proposed two criteria for any community to qualify as a religious minority: one, a history of religious persecution in India, or two, falling behind the rest of society in measurable socioeconomic indicators.<\/span><\/p>\n

In its statement, it argued that neither criterion fits Islam nor Christianity. \u201cIt must be acknowledged that at no point in Indian history the followers of Islam or Christianity had to suffer persecution or discrimination on the basis of religion. They are not behind the rest of society,” the VHP statement read.<\/span><\/p>\n

Citing census trends, the organisation noted that Muslims formed over 14 percent of the population in 2011 and are \u201csaid to have now increased to 18 to 20\u00a0 percent”. It argued that India\u2019s secular framework rejects discrimination on religious grounds, making a reassessment of minority status necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

NOT A CALL TO SCRAP MINORITY STATUS<\/h4>\n

At present, Muslims and Christians are recognised as religious minorities in India along with Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains (who were added to the list in 2014).<\/span><\/p>\n

Minority communities are notified under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act. States can also declare minorities at their level, but national minority status is granted by the Union government.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the VHP raised pointed questions about whether this classification should continue, it stopped short of demanding an immediate withdrawal of minority status. Instead, the marg darshak mandal \u2013 effectively the outfit\u2019s highest decision-making and ideological council \u2013 has asked for a larger debate over the issue across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe VHP marg darshak mandal has not rushed to any decision. We only seek a discussion before the government arrives at a proper decision,” said one participant to <\/span>News18<\/span><\/i>, requesting anonymity.<\/span><\/p>\n

A DEBATE THAT COULD STIR CONVERSATION<\/h4>\n

The VHP\u2019s intervention is likely to trigger conversations within policy circles, legal forums, and political parties, particularly with minority rights being a sensitive constitutional and electoral issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any attempt to redefine \u201creligious minority” will require revisiting the National Commission for Minorities Act, judicial precedents, and long-standing administrative frameworks. For now, the outfit has placed the subject on the national table \u2013 signalling a push for re-examination but leaving the final call to the government.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n

December 10, 2025, 22:30 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

News<\/a> politics<\/a> ‘Who Really Is A Minority In India’: VHP Sparks Debate On Islam, Christianity<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Updated:December 10, 2025, 22:32 IST After its Kendriya Marg Darshak Mandal meeting ended, the VHP said the Constitution grants “special privileges” to religious minorities but does not define the term The two-day Kendriya Marg Darshak Mandal meeting of the Vishva Hindu Parishad concluded in New Delhi on December 10, 2025. (Image: News18) The Vishva…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}