5. For two reasons the application of the above principles to specific minorities was considered in detail by the committee. In the first place, it was known to us that minorities are by no means unanimous as to the necessity, in their own interests, of statutory reservation of seats in the legislatures. Secondly, the strict application of the above principles to a microscopic minority like the Anglo-Indians seemed to require very careful examination. We accordingly classified minorities into three groups- group ‘A’ consisting of those with a population of less than 1/2 per cent in the Indian Dominion excluding the States, group ‘B’ consisting of those with a population of more than 1/2 per cent but not exceeding 1 per cent and group ‘C’ consisting of minorities with a population exceeding 1 per cent. These three groups are as follows:
Group A.-Anglo-Indians, Parsees, and Plains tribesmen in Assam.
Group B.-Indian Christians and Sikhs.
Group C.-Muslims and Scheduled Castes.