Ghettoisation
SEMINAR PAPER ON
MINORITIES AND GHETTOISATION: COMMUNITY PERCEPTION, COPING MECHANISM AND EVERYDAY STRUGGLE
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INTRODUCTION
Minorities constitute religious minorities, racial minorities; sexual minorities so on and so forth. With the passage of time, the meaning of the term “minority” has undergone a change. In the past, the minority of mere number was rather the privileged class with full control over resources possessing material advantages and means of power against which the majority needed protection.
There is no authoritative definition of a minority, at times it has been identified as a community with a separate tradition, culture and history and sometimes being presented as a “numerical inferior” group in the total population of the country. According to the general definition of a minority given in the dictionary, a minority is considered to be a group differing especially in terms of race, religion, ethnic background from the majority population.
In a world where there are numerous races, cultures, traditions, religions etc. conflict is inevitable which often leads to discrimination and marginalization of the minority groups. However, Prof. Imtiaz Ahmed rightly argues that “minorities are not based on religious difference alone. They are based on social disadvantage and deprivation.” The word “ghettoisation” refers to the process whereby people belonging to minority groups are made to live in particular areas of cities and towns due to factors relating to their religious, ethnic or racial background.
Since the 1870s the Jews had been the object of a new wave of “demonization” and conspiracy theories. On the whole this wasn 't taken too seriously in Germany, but in Austria anti-Jewish conspiracy theories were spread by extreme right-wing politicians and also by the Roman Catholic Church, which knew perfectly well that these theories were rubbish
In the 1930’s there was a lot of anti-
MINORITIES AND GHETTOISATION: COMMUNITY PERCEPTION, COPING MECHANISM AND EVERYDAY STRUGGLE
[pic]
INTRODUCTION
Minorities constitute religious minorities, racial minorities; sexual minorities so on and so forth. With the passage of time, the meaning of the term “minority” has undergone a change. In the past, the minority of mere number was rather the privileged class with full control over resources possessing material advantages and means of power against which the majority needed protection.
There is no authoritative definition of a minority, at times it has been identified as a community with a separate tradition, culture and history and sometimes being presented as a “numerical inferior” group in the total population of the country. According to the general definition of a minority given in the dictionary, a minority is considered to be a group differing especially in terms of race, religion, ethnic background from the majority population.
In a world where there are numerous races, cultures, traditions, religions etc. conflict is inevitable which often leads to discrimination and marginalization of the minority groups. However, Prof. Imtiaz Ahmed rightly argues that “minorities are not based on religious difference alone. They are based on social disadvantage and deprivation.” The word “ghettoisation” refers to the process whereby people belonging to minority groups are made to live in particular areas of cities and towns due to factors relating to their religious, ethnic or racial background.
Since the 1870s the Jews had been the object of a new wave of “demonization” and conspiracy theories. On the whole this wasn 't taken too seriously in Germany, but in Austria anti-Jewish conspiracy theories were spread by extreme right-wing politicians and also by the Roman Catholic Church, which knew perfectly well that these theories were rubbish
In the 1930’s there was a lot of anti-
References: Ahmed.A.S.(2003). Introduction, Islam Under Siege.New Delhi:Vistaar Publishers. (pp-1-23). Banerjee.S.(1999). Minority Rights in India: constitution and reality. Nepal: South Asia Forum for Human Rights. (pp. 143-173). Dalal.M.N.(1940). Evolution of the problem, whither minorities. Lehri.C.R. (1997). Status of Muslims in the context of Indian Society,socio-demographic profile of Muslims –study of Bhopal city. New Delhi and Jaipur: Rawat Publications. (pp 15-25). Puniyani.R.(2004). Communalism: An Illustrated Primer. Mumbai: J&P Publications. Sheth.D.L & Gurpreet Mahajan. (1999). Introduction &the nation-state and minority rights. New Delhi: Oxford university press. (PP.1-38) Vikas Adhyayan Kendra Kaur.N.(2003).Mumbai: a decade after riots. Retrieved on July 09, 2009, from frontline: official site web site: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fline/fl2014/stories/20030718002704100.htm