Multiculturalism

MULTICULTURALI
SM
Contemporary India : Issues and Debates
Unit 1, topic 1, sub topic 4
Neha Pande
Meaning and Concept
■ Multiculturalism can be defined as a state’s capacity to effectively and efficiently deal with cultural plurality within
its sovereign borders.
■ Sociological resources more often define multiculturalism as “a system of beliefs and behaviours that recognizes
and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their
sociocultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural
context which empowers all within the organization or society” (Rosado, 1997).
■ To eliminate culture-related discrimination in liberal democratic polities, multiculturalism recommends policies
that enhance cultural diversity in society. Protecting and promoting cultural diversity is a primary value within
multiculturalism and it strongly favours them for the sake of i) minimizing minority discrimination; ii) creating
conditions in minority cultures survive and flourish. Multicultural theorist argue that policies of liberal state put
external pressure on minorities to assimilate into the minority culture.
■ According to Charles Taylor, if we cannot contribute to our inheritance we must at least
ensure that diversity that exists survives and does not perish. Multiculturalism
advocates that the presence of several cultures contributes to the "overall' richness
of society.
■ The central theme within of multiculturalism is that individual identity is culturally
embedded, in the sense that people largely derive their understanding of the world and
their framework of moral beliefs from the culture in which they live and develop.
Distinctive cultures therefore deserve to be protected or strengthened, particularly when
they belong to minority or vulnerable groups, thus, practices politics of recognition.
■ Multiculturalism assumes special logics and emerges as an instrument of inter-group
cooperation aimed at maintaining specific culture and providing individuals and groups
with capability to take equal part in all spheres of social life: from politics to culture.
Characteristics of Multiculturalism
■ Multiculturalism reflects, most basically, a positive endorsement of communal diversity, usually arising from
racial, ethnic and language differences. As such, multiculturalism is more a distinctive political stance than a
coherent and programmic political doctrine.
■ Multiculturalism begins with the assumption that minority cultural groups are disadvantaged in relation to
majority, as state policies embedded in majority culture do not take into account culture specific needs of
minorities.
■ Multicultural theorists advance two broad sets of arguments in favour of communal diversity, one based upon its
benefits to the individual and the other based upon its benefits to society. For the individual, multiculturalism
recognizes that human beings are culturally embedded and derive their understanding of the world and sense
their of personal identity from the culture in which they live and develop. Distinctive cultures therefore deserve
to be protected or strengthened, particularly when they belong to minority or vulnerable groups.
■ This leads to the idea of minority or multicultural rights, including the right to representation, the right of
respect for cultural, and usually religious, practices that may otherwise by prohibited by law or regulations, and
the right to recognition through the preservation of symbols that help to promote collective esteem.
■ For society, multiculturalism brings the benefits of diversity: a vibrancy and richness that stems
from cultural interplay and encourages tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions, while
at the same time strengthening insight into one’s own culture
■ Multicultural theorist consider recognition of different cultural identities as first step towards
recognition of specific needs of minorities.
■ Multiculturalism argues different measures to ensure cultural diversity, for example. recognition
and respect to cultures, different set of rights to minorities such as self government rights,
polyethnic rights and representation rights.
 Poly‐ethnic rights is a term used by Canadian political theorist, Will Kymlicka. He

uses the term to refer to group‐specific claims made by minority ethnic and
religious groups.
Critical Evaluation of Multiculturalism
■ At the core of these criticisms is the concern that multiculturalism emphasizes divisions among people
rather than what unites them: particularism displaces universalism; minority rights take precedence over
majority interests; and the stress upon ethnicity weakens national or civic unity.
■ Multiculturalism’s model of group identity pays insufficient attention to diversity within cultural or
religious groups and risks defining people on the basis of group membership alone. Even though cultural
diversity is now inevitable in modern societies, multiculturalism may also promote political instability by
emphasizing particularism rather than national cohesion.
■ Multiculturalism may be incoherent in so far as it both proclaims the advantages of cultural embeddedness
and holds that society benefits from exchanges among cultures that will tend weaken their distinctiveness.
■ Conservatives view, multicultural societies are, by their nature, fractured and conflict- ridden. As society is
a fragile and organic entity, successful and stable societies must be underpinned by shared values and a
common culture.
Multiculturalism in India
■ India, socially and culturally most diverse country of the world, has imbibed the philosophy of
multiculturalism by flourishing its own policy of “peaceful coexistence” based on ancient Indian
tradition of “live and let live” and “unity in diversity”.
■ Values of multiculturalism can be traced in Tagore’s idea of “true freedom” in which he has
contended that true freedom seeks to simplify the complexities involved in the understanding,
sorting and harmoniously adjusting old and new ideas and objects leading to progressive
development in the human civilization.
■ Real freedom seeks to create the propitious conditions for the development of peoples as the
“supreme person”.
■ Mahatma Gandhi’s views on composite religion and culture has profoundly accorded equal
place and mutual respect to all cultures. He contended that we were all leaves of majestic tree
whose trunk could not be shaken off its roots which were deep down in the bowels of the earth.
■ He stated in Hind Swaraj that different faith represented different path towards truth. In fact,
Mahatma Gandhi has contended that state must create only propitious circumstances for the
development of individuality regardless of any particular eligibility including culture.
■ It is noteworthy that Gandhiji ,in his idea of non-violence, concedes two aspects of nonviolence:
negative aspect is refraining from causing harms and destruction to living being and positive
aspect is promoting well being of the people and even love to dissenters i.e. He has asserted to
express love and affection in lieu of hatred with the person of distinct culture too.
■ Though Gandhi ji and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar were insisting for different ways for reservation
for vulnerable classes in legislature but undoubtedly, both were of the view to insure appropriate
representation through reservation as multiculturalism seeks.
■ Swami Vivekananda contended that any religion that divides man from man, or supports
privileges, exploitation, and wars could not commend itself. He further coined the concept of
“Daridra Narayan” in which he has raised service of the poor to the level of worship, and at that
level, harmony among different faiths automatically becomes prerequisite i.e. reconciliation of
human beings pursuing different cultures.
■ It is noteworthy that different ancient kings including Emperor Ashok, had imbibed the idea of
mutual respect and behaved with people of other cultures cordially. But most importantly,
Mughal emperor Akbar had inculcated the religious tolerance policy and constructed the
Ibadatkhana devoted to inter-religious discourses rather than adopting Islamic fundamentalism
and stimulating merely religious conversions to Islam.
■ Furthermore, after promulgation of Indian council act-1909, British colonizers had insured the
appropriate representation of Muslims and all other vulnerable classes later. Thus despite many
prevalent adverse ambitions of colonizer, this step has manifested the inherent multicultural spirit
in Indian political system of that time.
Multiculturalism and contemporary India
■ Contemporary India is a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious country, wherein

augmenting ethnolinguistic and ethnoreligious dominance in every province is prevalent
separately.
■ Multiculturalism helps in a complex way since it involves a set of issues pertaining to
amenities of community, a sense of belonging to it, the importance of a secured identity,
status and recognition, and the need to recognize and maintain differences with others.
Rajeev Bhargava identified problems with more insistence on multiculturalism in India:
• Overemphasis on identity can be a reason behind exclusion of people from an essential identity.
• Encouraging cultural particularity deepens division and undermine the common foundation for
viable society.
• Aggressive community powers over individual liberty can be the consequence.
Concept of Minority in the Indian
Constitution
■ Both Article 29 and Articles 30 guarantee certain right to the minorities. Article 29 protects the interests of the
minorities by making a provision that any citizen / section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture
have the right to conserve the same. Article 29 mandates that no discrimination would be done on the ground of
religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
■ Religious minorities
While Article 30 and Article 29 of the Constitution do not specify 'minorities' in India, it is classified into religious
minorities and linguistic minorities.
■ Religious Minorities in India
The basic ground for a community to be nominated as a religious minority is the numerical strength of the
community. For example, in India, Hindus are the majority community. As India is a multi-religious country, it becomes
important for the government to conserve and protect the religious minorities of the country.
■ Section 2, clause (c) of the National Commission of Minorities Act, declares six communities as minority
communities. They are:
Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and Zoroastrians (Parsis)

■ Linguistic Minorities
Class or group of people whose mother language or mother tongue is different
from that of the majority groups is known as the linguistic minorities. The
Constitution of India protects the interest of these linguistic minorities.

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MULTICULTURALI

 Poly‐ethnic rights is a term used by Canadian political theorist, Will Kymlicka. He

■ Contemporary India is a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious country, wherein

Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and Zoroastrians (Parsis)

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