The National Minorities Rights Day is observed in India, every year on December 18, to safeguard the Constitutionally-guaranteed rights of religious minorities in the country.
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities has been adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1992.
National Commission for Minorities
India is known for its diversity. National Commission for Minorities was set up by the Government of India was envisaged in the Ministry of Home Affairs Resolution dated 12.01.1978. In 1984. the Minorities Commission was detached from the Ministry of Home Affairs and placed under the newly created Ministry of Welfare. National Commission for Minorities Act was enacted in 1992 and the Minorities Commission became a statutory body and was renamed as National Commission for Minorities.
The Ministry of Minority Affairs was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and created on 29th January, 2006 to ensure a more focused approach towards issues relating to the notified minority communities namely Muslim, Christian, Budhist, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains.
As per the 2011 Census, the following six religious minority communities constitute 19.30% of the country’s population.
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains.
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