Exp) Option c is the correct answer.

The National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 in Section 2(c) of the act defines a minority as “a community notified as such by the Central government”. In India, this applies to Muslim, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhist and Parsis (Zoroastrian), Jain religions.

Statement 1 is correct. The term “Minority” is not defined in the Indian Constitution. However, the Constitution recognises both religious and linguistic minorities. Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities. The protection under Article 30 is confined only to minorities (religious or linguistic) and does not extend to any section of citizens (as under Article 29)

Statement 2 is correct. Linguistic Minorities are group of individuals residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language or script of their own. The language of the minority group need not be one of the twenty-two languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. In other words, linguistic minorities at the State level mean any group or groups of people whose mother tongues are different from the principal language of the State, and at the district and taluka/tehsil levels, different from the principal language of the district or taluka/tehsil concerned. The linguistic minorities are therefore identified by the respective States/UTs.