Why rights of minorities matter in any civilized society?

The rights of minorities in any society are very often a controversial or sensitive issue. This minority can be a particular gender, religious group, people of a particular sexual orientation, people with different abilities, or any group that belongs to the majority. Historically, most rules and traditions are designed to suit the needs of the majority. If we look at various cultures around the world we can easily notice that the majority rules, their needs, and concerns always prevail. A few examples to cite in this regard are; most musical instruments or electronics are designed keeping in mind right-handed users, in some sports (like boxing, football) the commercially available kit is designed mostly suitable for males, the laws related to food and marriage are mostly reflect majority's preferences, one can look around and can find many examples like this. The main point here is that the majority always gets their way just because of their statistical dominance, one can not ignore them just because of their number. But then what happens with the minority? Who will care for them and why? Don't they also have their own needs and requirements like the majority? Of course, they do, and these are as relevant as the needs or requirements of the majority. At least a civilized society thinks in this way, and that is why it is the job of the majority to be sensitive towards the minority's needs and requirements. But this doesn't mean there should be a policy of minority appeasement. Appeasement of any section of society is wrong, doesn't matter if it's for the majority or minority. Being sensitive towards the rights and needs of some sections of society is different than appeasement.

As I said, most of the time majority's rights are protected just because of their statistical dominance but the minority doesn't have this number advantage, so they are always dependent on the goodwill of the majority. Even in any democracy majority always rules, they have the strength of numbers on their side. In a scenario where there is a substantial majority and a weak minority (as far as numbers are concerned), it is easy for the majority to ignore the rights of the minority. But fortunately, this is not what happens in most of civilized and developed countries. We can see that in most cases enough care and attention is given to protect the minority's rights and address their grievances. Actually, the treatment offered to minority groups is often an indicator to see how developed, civilized, and sensitive that culture is. Another issue related to this is that minority communities tend to live in more cohesive manure to protect their identity or for the sake of their security. Knowingly or unknowingly they form a minority vote bank which becomes a politically attractive option for political parties. Every party tries to lure such vote banks as they know their votes come in a bunch. This may start minority appeasement and vote bank politics. There is nothing wrong with sticking together to protect your interests but when this turns into vote bank politics then things become complicated and may turn ugly. Often this vote bank politics creates polarization in society where every party tries to cater demands of their own vote bank. No matter how rational or irrational those demands are they become part of local or national politics and then the whole political battle is turned into pity vote bank politics. Many irrational demands are accepted just to keep their vote bank happy and this becomes a vicious cycle from which neither political parties nor voters come out. As much as I support minority groups for their demand to have equal rights in any society I oppose this vote bank politics, no matter which party is engaged in it. Also in the name of protecting your own identity any group or religion should not pressure the government to allow some age-old, outdated, and discriminatory traditions. Any type of discriminatory practices and animal cruelty should not be allowed under the name of religion, traditions, or culture. 

The rights of minorities are a very important issue in any country. It represents tolerance and inclusiveness. All minority groups should get proper representation so that their voices are also heard while making any important decisions. A clear distinction also should be made between protecting minority's rights and minority appeasement, both are not the same. I hope that our political fraternity and common people both understand the importance of this issue and act accordingly. Our society will be more vibrant, progressive, and tolerant if we learn to listen and respect each other's values and ideas. The sooner it happens better for us.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]