Daily Times

To call someone a minority is in itself an insult to a human. The concept of a majority and a minority are relatively new in the arena of international law. However, in reality, distinction and discrimination among communities and societies have existed throughout the history of the world. In the era of the Ottoman Empire, a degree of religious and cultural autonomy was given to the non-Muslim communities. The French and American revolutions proclaimed the free exercise of the religions because it’s their fundamental right but they had not addressed the broader issue of minorities and their protection. Congress of Vienna in 1815, that dismantled the Napoleonic Empire, recognised and documented the minority rights to some extent, as did the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, which accepted and recognised special rights for the religious community of Mount Athos. Across the world, there are millions of people waiting for their basic rights as a minority but the UN and the rest of the civilised world have not prioritised this.

We are indeed all born equal. It is unfair to divide the world between rich and poor. It can be said that a few are good enough and the rest are junkies. Such things can only boost prejudice, adversities, bigotry, sorrow, distress and miseries. Human rights have become the most debatable issue in the world. The concept of human rights was given by Islam during the seventh century A.D. while in West and Europe, human rights related to Magna Carta, which was signed in 1215 in England. In the recent world, constitutions of almost all democratic states assure human rights yet there is a big question mark over the minority rights. The world has not been considering the point that at the end of this game, the pawn and the king would both go back in the same box.

The last sermon of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on nine Zill Hajj was the first human rights charter in the history of man. The main points of a sermon noted that human blood, life, property and honour were sacred, revered and inviolable for everyone. He focused on the point: “O people! Verily your Lord is one and your father is one. All of you belong to one ancestry of Adam, and Adam was created out of clay. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab over an Arab; neither for white over the black or for the black over the white except in piety.”

The first significant and noteworthy attempt to spot internationally recognised minority rights was through the signing of many “minority treaties” by the League of Nations. After the establishment of the UN, attention primarily shifted to decolonisation and universal human rights. The UN had developed several norms, values, procedures, structures and mechanisms associated with minority-related issues. In 1992, the UN Declaration on the human rights, belonging to national, cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, was signed as the radical and fundamental instrument, which gave an overall direction to all. But still, the issues of minorities exist at large. They are badly treated in many countries. We can simply say that again; the UN couldn’t gain the success to treat humans equally at the world level. Even the member countries of the UN face the same issue related to the minorities yet all efforts were in vain.

Minority rights are a global issue. The world doesn’t realise that though people have the skin of different colours the colour of human blood is always red. It’s just plain wrong to hate people because of their colour, ethnicity, race, religion and region. It is a common phenomenon that people across the world learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can also learn to love and love is closer to the human heart than its opposite. But a few say that hate is purer than love. In this era of modernisation and globalisation, the masses hate the others; those they have never even met and see.

Pakistan has been facing issues related to ethnicity, race, caste, and religion. The society is polarised and the unrest is penetrated. Bringing peace in society is never possible through violence. Violence increases the crime rate that destabilises or weakens society. We must desire a society without discrimination; a democratic society. Article 36 of the constitution of Pakistan is all about minority rights. This article stated that the state would provide safe, security, protection and safeguard the legitimate rights of minorities.

In the world, racism, xenophobia, ethnicity and unfair discrimination have spawned slavery. It is the worst that capitalism has no care about human rights and, particularly, the rights of minorities. The division has been done in the world based on ethnicity, prejudices, racism, discrimination and religion. For example, in Pakistan, many Christians work for cleanliness and sanitation. Similarly, in many other countries, Muslims are doing the same. This is a perplexing case to be highlighted in the world.

The world doesn’t realise that though people have the skin of different colours, the colour of human blood is always red

Human rights and the fundamental principles of equality and non-discrimination are based in universality. Thus, it is required to promote and protect the human rights of all and everywhere. The protection and promotion of minority rights are an integral commitment, responsibility and significant priority of the UN. There is an interesting theory, the frustration-aggression theory; also called scapegoat theory. It narrates that the dominant group of people (majority) displaces its unfocused aggression on dominated or subordinated group. History is full of such incidents of the scapegoating of the dominated group.

Now, look at the current situation of Pakistan. The minorities comprise of Hindus (1.60 per cent of the total population), Christians (1.59 per cent of the total population), Qadyanais (0.22 per cent of the total population). The others are 32 per cent of the total population. It shows that the overall minority represents eight per cent of the total population. Pakistan has been facing the challenges of the war on terror, corruption and weak institutions. The minority issue is another problem that exists but not highlighted as much as it should be. Hindus have claimed many times that the Muslims of Pakistan have been forcing their communities to be converted into Islam. Otherwise, they will have to face a miserable condition and circumstances. They claimed that Hindus girls are forcefully converted to Islam and then married. This is the exploitation of human rights. If it is happening, it’s against human rights and the same can happen with the Muslims abroad.

When Pakistan was established, so many propaganda has been made about the future of minorities who were in Pakistan. But the constitution of Pakistan protects and promotes the rights of minorities. Now, many non-Muslims philosophers, politicians, doctors, engineers, lawyers, judges, army persons, bureaucrats and teachers are serving in Pakistan because they enjoy the freedom of religion, freedom of thoughts, freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of profession. So, this myth can be nullified that minorities are in miserable condition in Pakistan. In a nutshell, Pakistan is a safe place for minorities.

The writer is a PhD scholar in media and crime; a CSS coach and an author of different books on international relations