Of 110 nations, India tops global minority index, finds study

Durga Nand Jha, CPA executive chairman and author of the report, said their approach has been mathematical and the grading of countries was done on the basis of approach of the State towards minority religions, and the extent of their inclusiveness.

This report only takes into account macro parameters to analyse the status of religious minorities in a country, and the approach of a state towards them, said Jha. (Representational/File) 

Patna-based research institute Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA) has put India on top of the ‘global minority index’, followed by South Korea, Japan, Panama and the US, in its Global Minority Report tabulating 110 countries. Maldives, Afghanistan and Somalia figure at the bottom of the list, while the UK is ranked 54, and the UAE 61.

Durga Nand Jha, CPA executive chairman and author of the report, said their approach has been mathematical and the grading of countries was done on the basis of approach of the State towards minority religions, and the extent of their inclusiveness. 

This report only takes into account macro parameters to analyse the status of religious minorities in a country, and the approach of a state towards them, said Jha. “Only those parameters have been taken into account to assess the status of religious minorities which relate to Constitutional provisions, policies of a government, and other broader indicators, such as the laws of the land,” he said. 

Unveiling the report, former vice president of India M Venkaiah Naidu, said India, through the centuries, has been a cradle of cosmopolitan culture, and a melting pot of belief systems, religions, dogmas, ideologies and cults. “India is a living example of our ancient belief of ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is a family),” he said.

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