WHAT IS ARTICLE 30 OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

What is Article 30 of the Indian Constitution

 

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution states the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.

 

It says: “All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”

 

When was Article 30 adopted

 

Article 30 was adopted on December 8, 1948.

 

Features of Article 30 of the Indian Constitution

 

Article 30 of the Indian constitution consists of provisions that safeguard various rights of the minority community in the country keeping in mind the principle of equality as well.

 

Article 30(1) says that all minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

 

Article 30(1A) deals with the fixation of the amount for acquisition of property of any educational institution established by minority groups.

 

Article 30(2) states that the government should not discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language, while giving aid.

 

Debate around Article 30

 

On December 8, 1948, the Constituent Assembly debated around the need for imparting primary education in one's mother tongue. One of the members of the Assembly moved an amendment to restrict the scope of this article to linguistic minorities. He argued that a secular state should not recognise minorities based on religion.

 

Another member of the Assembly proposed to guarantee linguistic minorities the fundamental right to receive primary education in their language and script. He was concerned about the status of minority languages, even in regions which had a significant minority population.

 

The Constituent Assembly rejected the proposals.

 

What is Article 29 of the Indian Constitution?

 

Both Article 29 and Articles 30 guarantee certain right to the minorities. Article 29 protects the interests of the minorities by making a provision that any citizen / section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same. Article 29 mandates that no discrimination would be done on the ground of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

 

Concept of Minority in the Indian Constitution

 

Religious minorities

 

While Article 30 and Article 29 of the Constitution do not specify 'minorities' in India, it is classified into religious minorities and linguistic minorities.

 

Religious Minorities in India

 

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.

 

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)

 

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.