STATE AS A UNIT

The Supreme Court of India in the matter of TMA Pai Foundation and others vs State of Karnataka [Writ petition(Civil)No.317 of 1995 ]on October 31 , 2002 decided that 'minority' within the meaning of Article 30 which provides right to the minorities to establish and administer educational institutions is "...for the purpose of determining the minority, the unit will be the State and not the whole of India. Thus, religious and linguistic minorities, who have been put at par in Article 30 , have to be considered State-wise". And at the same time, it said that "Article 30 is a special right conferred on the religious and linguistic minorities because of their numerical handicap and to instill in them a sense of security and confidence, even though the minorities can not be per se regarded as weaker sections of underprivileged segments of the society."(emphasis added) This is not the end of the criteria to identify the linguistic minorities. There are other criteria too.