Article 30 of Indian Constitution | Meaning, Features, Concepts,

Article 30 of Indian Constitution

This write-up will talk about Article 30 of Indian Constitution. Explore the meaning of Article 30 and what it is all about.

Explore what provisions and features does the Article has. Alongside this, explore the relation between Article 30 and 29.

There have been several minorities and groups in Indian since ages based on race, religion, language and/or culture.

Many of them have been discriminated against or suppressed. To strengthen and promote the secular values of India, it is essential to safeguard the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.

One of the several provisions of the Indian Constitution is Article 30. This ensures the preservation of minority rights.

Must Read:- Salient Features of Indian Constitution

What is Article 30?

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution lays down the provisions that ensure the preservation of the rights of minorities.

Under Part III of the Indian Constitution that throws light on the fundamental rights imparted to the citizens, Article 30 is present.

The rights are provided irrespective of caste, sex and religion.

Also, it holds the minority rights to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

As per Article 30(1), linguistic or religious minorities have two rights as follows:-

• Right to establish, and

• Right to administer educational institution of their choice

However, this provision is imparted only to the linguistic and religious minorities. No other section of the Indian citizens can avail of this benefit.

The minority as mentioned under the Article may be either linguistic or religious and it does have to be both. Being either one of the two would be sufficient.

Article 30 can be described as a minority-specific provision that safeguards the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions. It applies to all the minorities based on religion or language.

Article 30 (2) puts forth provisions that the state shall not discriminate in matter of providing help or assistance to any educational institution based on the fact that it is established or administered by a religious or linguistic minority.

Related Topic :- Preamble to the Constitution of India

What are the features of Article 30?

• It has provisions that protect the rights of linguistic or religious minority communities in the country considering the equality principle alongside.

• The linguistic or religious minorities can establish and administer, according to their choice, educational institutions.

• The amount which is required to acquire the property should not exceed the community budget.

• The educational rights established by linguistic or religious minorities shall not be discriminated against any educational institutions irrespective of being run by any group or language or religion.

Things to Know:- Fundamental Rights and Duties of Indian

What is the concept of minorities?

The Constitution of India has not discussed or defined the term “minority”. Under Article 29, the word “minorities” is used.

However, it is used in its marginal heading and states minority as ‘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’.

Under section 2 clause (c) of the National Commission of Minorities Act, there are six communities identified and declared as minority communities that are as follows:-

• Muslims

• Christians

• Buddhists

• Sikhs

• Jains

• Parsis (Zoroastrians)

However, Article 30 only deals with religious and linguistic minority communities.

The classification is as follows:-

Religious Minorities

The six religious groups identified as minorities in India are classified as religious minorities. Of these, the communities with greater numbers are majority communities.

The numerical strength of the community determines its eligibility to be identified and considered as a minority.

Linguistic Minorities

Linguistic minorities are those groups of people whose mother tongue or language is different from the majority groups in India.

To the children belonging to linguistic communities, Article 350-A of the Indian Constitution puts forth provisions for states to provide enough facilities for instructions in mother language at the primary educational level.

Also, there is a language which the majority of the residents of the state speaks.

As per the National Commission of Linguistic Minority’s 38^th file, the residents who do not communicate that majority language of that state are categorized as a linguistic minority.

What is the current news and objection against Article 30?

There is wrath in the country concerning Article 30 of the Indian Constitution. Certain leaders of the leading parties of the country have attributed Article 30 as discriminatory.

The Article allows minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.

The wrath was owing to the secularism principle and ideology of the country.

There have been claims that the Article had harmed the right to constitutional equality in India.

If India is a secular country, the need for protection of minority rights does not arise.

Also, among the growing concern of the pandemic, Article 30 of the Indian Constitution was stated as an attempt to whip communal passions.

Also Read:- Union Parliament of India