Ancient India is considered to be a land of minorities from previous times which
consists of various groups- racial, religious, linguistic and cultural. In
India, people were divided by difference of religion, language, race, culture
and socio-economic factors. one of the important tasks of the constitution
makers was to construct a constitutional arrangement that protects number of
minorities from discrimination and promises to safeguard those characteristics
which have divided them apart from the rest. The unclear idea of rights of
minorities to establish and administer educational institutions promised in good
faith to reassure India’s agitated minorities at the time of partition. It has
now taken such root in India that it has become the prime source of inequality.
The main purpose of the study is to deal with the present scenario of the
minority groups. Article 30 of the Indian constitution proclaims that: (1) All
minorities, whether or not they are based on religion or on language, they shall
have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their own
choice. (2) The state shall not discriminate against any institution in granting
aid to them on the bottom that it's beneath the management of a minority,
whether or not it's supported faith or language. The essence of article 30 is
that it is intended to ensure are not discriminated against or denied equal
treatment. But in practice it has started to mean that non-minority institutions
can be denied the right to "establish and administer" institutions in their own
way. This study deals with the state of protection given to the minorities to
the state of going towards autonomy of institutions. India is a nation of
minorities. It should be driven by universal rights, not by the minority rights.
Introduction
Protection of rights of the religious and ethnic minorities is the backbone of
India's secular values. With a legacy of bringing all religions under its fold,
India has always advocated the principle of equality. The Article 30 of the
Indian constitution is one of the many provisions that ensure preservation of
minority rights. Article 30 is classified under Part III of the Indian
Constitution that throws light on the fundamental rights provided to the
citizens of India irrespective of their caste, religion and sex. Article 30
promises the rights of minorities "to establish and administer educational
institutions".
Article 30 has two clauses:
Article 30 (1) promises to all linguistic and religious minorities the ‘right to
establish’ and the ‘right to administer’ educational institutions of their own
choice. The right is provided by this clause on two types of minorities, namely,
religious and linguistic minorities. The right vested in the above minorities is
to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The word
"establish" indicates the right to bring into existence, while the right to
administer an institution means the right to effectively manage and conduct the
affairs of the institution. The administration implies management and affairs of
the institution. The management must be free of control and restrictions so that
the founders of their community can frame the institution as they think fit in
correspondence with their views and ideas of how the interest of the community
in general and the institution will be delivered. Thus it gives choice to the
minority community to establish such educational institutions as it will serve
both purposes, that is, the purpose of protecting their religion, language or
culture, and also the purpose of giving through general education to their
children in their own language.
Article 30 (2) restricts the State from making discrimination in the matter of
providing help to any educational institution on the ground that it is managed
by a religious minority or linguistic minority.
The term minority needs to be discussed in detail as it is not adequately
defined in the Indian Constitution. The word "minority" has been derived from
the Latin word "minor" and the suffix "ity" which denotes ‘small number’.
According to Cambridge Dictionary, minority means, any small team in society
that is exclusive from the rest because of their race, religion, or political
beliefs, or an individual who belongs to such a crew or a group of people who
share some characteristic with the aid of birth that makes their team smaller
than some other companies in a society and may cause others to deal with them
unfairly. The Constitution of India uses the word minority but does not define
it.
Article 29 of the Indian Constitution uses the word ‘minorities’ in its marginal
heading but it speaks about "any section of the citizens inhabiting the
territory of India or any part of the country should have the right to protect
their language or script or culture which is different and varied. It also says
that citizens should be allowed to take admission in any educational institution
which is maintained by the State or getting help from State funds whether they
vary in religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
Section 2, clause (c) of the National Commission of Minorities Act, declares six
communities as minority communities. They are:
Muslims
Christians
Buddhists
Sikhs
Jains and
Zoroastrians (Parsis)
Article 30 of the Constitution of India, in which we are dealing, talks only
about religious and linguistic minorities.
Classification of Minorities Under Article 30
Religious Minorities
The six community groups existing in India are Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains,
Christians and Zoroastrians. These communities have been nominated as minorities
by the union government. India is a multi-religious country. Out of these
communities some of the community groups are greater in number and they are
stated as majority communities. The basic ground for a community to be nominated
as a religious minority is the numerical strength of the community. For example,
in India, Hindus are the majority community. As India is a multi-religious
country, it becomes important for the government to conserve and protect the
religious minorities of the country.
The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) was established by the government
in 1992 to protect the rights and interests of the minority groups.
Linguistic Minorities
Class or group of people whose mother language or mother tongue is different
from that of the majority groups is known as the linguistic minorities. The
Constitution of India protects the interest of these linguistic minorities.
Article 350-A of the Indian Constitution imposes an obligation on the states to
try to provide enough facilities for instruction in the mother language at the
primary level of education to children belonging to the linguistic minority
community.
According to thirty eighth file of the National Commission of linguistic
Minority (NCLM), "there is a language in every state which is spoken by means
of
the majority of the residents of that state, all other residents who now no
longer communicate that majority language belongs to the linguistic minority".
Article 29 (1) of the Indian Constitution provides to any section of the
citizens living in any part of the country having different language, script or
culture of its own, should have the right to conserve their language, script or
culture. A minority group or community can protect or safeguard its language,
script or culture by an educational institution and through an educational
institution. Therefore the right to establish and hold and keep establishments
of their very own desire is vital belonging to the right to conserve its
exclusive language, script or culture. Article 30(1) of the Constitution
guarantees the right to the minorities. It says that all minorities, whether the
kind is non secular or linguistic shall have the right to set up and administer
instructional establishments of their private choice. This right is moreover
conserved by Article 30 (2) which shelters the State in providing help to the
educational institutions on the basis that it is under the governance of a
minority whether it is based on religion or language. This right is although
subject to clause (2) of Article 29, which states that citizens belonging to
different religion, race, caste, language or any of them, shall not be
disallowed to take admission into any educational institution which is under the
supervision of the State or getting help out of State funds on the basis of
religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
Article 29 concerns or applies only to citizens while Article 30 applies to both
citizens and non-citizens.
In S.P. Mittal v. Union of India, the community questioned the
reasonableness of Auroville (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1980 based on that it
was infringing the rights guaranteed under Articles 29 and 30 of the
Constitution of India. The Supreme Court stated that the benefit of Article 30
can only be demanded by the religious or linguistic minority community and their
organization. Since the Auroville community was not the religious or linguistic
minority one and it was established in Pondicherry to spread the ideas and
teachings of Sri Aurobindo and mothers through its various centers in India and
abroad. Taking over their designation based on their religion does not
constitute to the violation of Article 29 and 30.
Article 30
Article 30 (1): This Article provides or assures the right to establish or bring
into existence educational institutions of their personal choice and to
administer or effectively manage and conduct the affairs of those institutions.
The management and conduct of the institutions by the minorities should be free
of unnecessary control and restrictions. It enables the establishers of the
institutions to give shape to the institutions according to their thinking and
ideas so as to serve and protect the interest of the community as a whole. It
gives them freedom to exercise their right and conserve their respective
religion, language or culture and also to provide their children education in
their own language.
In D.A.V. College, Bhatinda v. State of Punjab, the University ordered
that Punjabi would be the one and only medium of instruction in affiliated
colleges. The Court held that the right provided to minorities under Article 30
guarantees them to establish and administer educational institutions of their
own choice which also includes the right of giving instructions in their own
language and the University Circular was directly violating their right to have
instructions in Hindi as their own language and therefore infringing the Article
30 (1). A University has the authority to suggest the qualification of their
academic staff but the selection and recruitment of teachers remains in the
hands of the minority educational institutions.
Article 30 (2) restricts a State from discriminating any type of minority
section on the grounds of religion or language in the matter of providing help
to any educational institutions run by them.
In Bramchari Sidheswar v. State of West Bengal, also called as the Ram
Krishna Mission case, it was decided by the Supreme Court that the Ram Krishna
Mission was set up by Swami Vivekananda to spread the idea and values of Vedanta
as explained by Ram Krishna is not considered as a religion that falls under the
minority community and it is not apart from Hindu religion but it is a religious
section or a branch of Hindu religion. Therefore they are unable to exercise the
fundamental rights provided under Article 30 (1) of the Indian Constitution. Sri
Ram Krishna could be considered and recognized as a religious mentor who
explained, applied and delivered the concepts and ideas of Vedanta which is the
basic block for the foundation of Hindu religion. Three judge bench consisting
of Justice Kuldip Singh, Justice N. Venkatachara and Justice S. Saghir Ahmed
decided not to consider the judgment passed by the Calcutta High Court which had
declared that Ramkrishna Mission is a religion different form the Hindu religion
and that’s why should be considered as minority religion in West Bengal.
Every institution requires a regular check and cooperation among the management
of the institution and the Government. As they are having varying interests and
motives, as a result classes arises between them. The other reason for clashes
among the institution and the Government is the different explanations of
Article 29 and 30. The State experiences a doubt on the Minority communities
regarding the misuse of the rights provided to them under Article 29 and 30.
Control should be there by the Government on the minority institutions otherwise
they will misuse their rights and exploit the rights of the other people or
employees working under those institutions. Control is also practiced to check
the academic status and maintain the standards required in the institutions. The
Administration has the power to take disciplinary actions within the institution
to control the employees of the institution and make them follow the rules and
regulations of the institution. The State has authority to make directive
policies and take actions for the welfare of the academic as well as the
non-academic staff of the organization. The State is responsible for keeping eye
of these institutions for the effective management and proper functioning of the
institutions.
But it was held in many cases that Government cannot impose restrictions and
cannot interfere in the functioning of the institutions as it will lead to the
infringement of the rights of the minorities guaranteed under the Article 30
Indian Constitution.
In the case of TMA PAI v. State of Karnataka, the judgment stated was, "…it
was suggested that the State does have the right to intervene or make policies
or rules or regulations related to the administration of the minority
institutions. Particularly the protest was taken to the selection or nomination
by the state on the administration of private institutions as well as to provide
rights regarding the issue of admission of students, setting up of fee structure
and short listing, selecting and appointing faculties by channels of the State."
The institutions run by the minority communities spreading formal education
falls under the formal education system of India. For that reason, the
government forms set of rules and regulations for rest private organizations and
the same applies to the institutions run by the minority groups unless it is
stated differently.
The extent of Article 30 is like it also includes right to recognition and
affiliation, which comprises of rights to acquire help in terms of money or
finance from the State, right to choose management bodies, staff, and students,
and right to pick the content or subject matter of the education. By the
clarification of Supreme Court Judgments it can be concluded that these rights
are not perfect or complete. Justice Reddy had explained the place or post of
these rights. He stated that, "the one and only motive or intention behind the
fundamental right guaranteed under Article 30(1) is that the minorities has the
authority to bring their institutions into existence, make their own terms and
policies, own syllabus and subject matter of the education, to make choice in
providing instructions in the subjects, to carry out examinations and award
degrees and diplomas. Those institutions exercise the right to obtain
acknowledgment to their degrees and diplomas and ask for help where help is
provided to the rest educational institutions giving same kind of education on
the ground of the merit won by them."
Article 30, considered to be a mixture of the advantages as well as the
limitations. on one side and it guarantees special immunity and advantages to
the minorities of the nation, on the other side it includes some disadvantages
also. The limitations consist of the Government role. It have to provide such
position and incorporation or affiliation to those minority groups who are
attempting to obtain the affiliation. If the Government fails to do so then a
three members committee will be called and the members of the committee belongs
to the minority only, it have the authority to give the ultimate and permanent
decision. This committee is known as the National Commission for Minority
Education Institution. Its primary function is to give final and unbreakable
decision, recommend powers, authority and to give advice.
During the rule of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, some of the
central universities were provided direct and immediate incorporation. The UPA
government came up with the national common minimum program. Let us also note
that during UPA government the states under the rule of the Bhartiya Janata
Party (BJP) were hugely differentiated and harassed many minority educational
institutions. The discrimination faced was due to the objection of the BJP to
the provisions guaranteed under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution.
Article 30 provides certain educational rights to minority institutions but also
results in disadvantages to the Hindu and other majority institutions. There is
no government interference over the management of educational institutions run
by the minority community. They have complete control over their institutions
and that is the main reason for the misuse of their rights by the minorities.
If any malpractice arises among these types of institutions then government is
having no right to interfere or control the situation. Article 30 of the Indian
constitution releases the minority institutions to maintain the criteria of
reserving 25% of the seats for the poor according to Right to Education Act and
it is again contradictory to the fundamental rights as guaranteed under the
Constitution of India.
Additionally, Clause 1(A) of Article 30 discharges the minority institutions
from the obligation to carry out the implementation of the reservation policy
for the backward classes and again it infringes the rights of the backward
classes as provided by the Indian Constitution. The main purpose behind creation
of Article 30 is to make sure the equal treatment of the minorities but now it
the situation is reversed and this provision is violating the fundamental rights
of the non-minority groups to establish and administer their institutions. Or we
can say that it is preventing the non-minority groups to exercise their right of
formation and management of their institutions properly.
The one more instance of the discrimination of non-minority institutions is the
autonomy of minority groups which exempts them from government control and
non-minority groups again has to face the government intervention and control
over their institutions. This creates and imbalance between both the
communities.
Conclusion
The current scenario of Article 30 is very depressing as it only frames out a
tolerating behavior of government towards the minority institutions rather than
an encouraging one. This is because the minority institutions have absolute
autonomy on the institutions run by them and government authorities have no
right to interfere in their management activities and they cannot control the
workings of the minority institutions. Government control is zero in the affairs
of the minority institutions as compared to the non-minority institutions.
Non-minority institutions have to face a greater amount of government
intervention and control and are not able to exercise their right of creating
and managing their institutions properly. Government cannot even control any
situation of malpractices by the minority institution which is the main reason
for the discrimination among both the minority and non-minority groups. The
reason behind the provision for the minority communities was only to provide
them equal treatment in the aspects of establishing and managing the affairs and
activities of the educational institutions run by them. The provision has now
turned into a disadvantage for the non-minority groups and the minority groups
are under complete autonomy regarding the matter of establishing and
administering educational institutions of their choice. Article 30 is now
turning into the main source of inequality and discrimination of the
non-minority communities. It is creating a communal imbalance in the society and
preventing the non-minority groups to exercise their right to establish and
administer educational institutions properly as they have to follow all the
orders and confront the restrictions and obligations imposed by the government.
How To File For Mutual Divorce In Delhi Mutual Consent Divorce is the Simplest Way to Obtain a D...
It is hoped that the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which intends to inc...
One may very easily get absorbed in the lives of others as one scrolls through a Facebook news ...
The Inherent power under Section 482 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (37th Chapter of t...
The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a concept that proposes the unification of personal laws across...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various sectors of the economy, and the legal i...
Please Drop Your Comments