The word 'minority' is very frequently encountered in discussions on affirmative action. In the heat of any debate, often absurd definitions are attributed to common sense terms. One would think that a 'minority' group is one that constitutes a small percentage of the total population compared to the larger groups. I remember that during the last storm over the reservation issue in India, somebody commented that anything less than 50% is a 'minority'. I was reminded of this again when a guest on CNN-IBN live said 'women are the most oppressed minority'.
So why is 'minority' such a sacrosanct word? If I were to believe the news bites in the media, India has a sizable oppressed majority - that of the OBCs, which some claim constitute about 54% of the Indian population.
So why not just say that 'women are the most oppressed section of society', or if we want to be really honest, that 'women constitute the largest and the most oppressed section of society'. Why bring in the M word for nothing?
So why is 'minority' such a sacrosanct word? If I were to believe the news bites in the media, India has a sizable oppressed majority - that of the OBCs, which some claim constitute about 54% of the Indian population.
So why not just say that 'women are the most oppressed section of society', or if we want to be really honest, that 'women constitute the largest and the most oppressed section of society'. Why bring in the M word for nothing?
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