culture, traditions, religion or language. Any group coming within the terms of this definition shall be treated as an ethnic, religious or linguistic minority.13 In this definition, the requirement of citizenship has been omitted because citizenship should not be a requirement for basic human rights. Analysis of these definitions shows that the term “minority” is a combination of five elements: (1) number, (2) subordinate status, (3) ethnic or religious or linguistic traits, (4) a will/wish to safeguard or preserve or strengthen the patterns of lifestyle, and (5) in some cases citizenship. The most acceptable of these definitions is that minority people, who are in a subordinate position due to their numbers, have to be different by “ethnic or religious or linguistic traits” from the majority people.14 In the context of the definition of national minority, the Swedish-speaking Finns are the largest linguistic minority in Finland, the Jews are a religious minority in Germany, and South Asians, Chinese and African blacks are ethnic minorities in the United States. In Austria, the Roma are an ethnic minority group, and Asian and West Indians are racial minorities in London. 15 In this way, minority groups in different countries can be identified in multiple ways, but in all cases, these minority groups are part of the larger national identity. Bengalis form the majority ethnic group in Bangladesh with 85 per cent of the total population. There are also a number of ethnic groups that are considered ethnic minorities. These minority groups are Chakma, Marma, Rakhain, Kol, Vil, and Shaontal. They are ethnically different from the majority Bengalis. They usually live in a particular geographical location (mountainous areas) and maintain their distinct ways of life, culture, religion, language, traditional customs and values. Together they constitute about 15 per cent of the total population. Apart from ethnic identity, religious denomination is also applied to identify minority status. Accordingly, there are various religious minorities in Bangladesh such as Hindus (10.5 per cent), Christians (0.32 per cent) and Buddhists (0.59 per cent).16 The Bihari community in Bangladesh also has the minority characteristics outlined in the definitions provided earlier. They are ethnically different as they speak in different language. Internally they maintain Bihari cultural values in social life. Due to these characteristics, they maintain a different ethnic identity despite practicing the religion of the Bengali majority. Yet, the Bihari community in Bangladesh is not considered a minority group. The Biharis have been given a peculiar status which is “artificial,” that makes them neither refugees nor minorities. It is artificial because it is a product of an historical legacy of 1947, and of a political context of 1971, which made them live in artificially designated areas (camps) under international agreement. Yet they are literally a “minority” because they are insignificant in number. This arrangement separated them from the rest of the society and gave them an artificial identity. As noted earlier, due to their crisis of identity, the Bihari people are deprived of both citizenship privileges as well as refugee benefits from the international community. The consequence is that they have to shoulder the impact of this unwanted and unresolved identity in their social, political and economic life.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:47:51 +0000
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