Cultural and Educational Rights

29.Protection of interests of minorities:

(1) Any section of the citizens living in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.

(2) No citizens shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State funds on grounds only of religion, caste, race, language or any of them.

COMMENTS

The Article though titled for minorities, it extends in clause (1) to all communities. But residents of a State having different script, language or culture may also object to illegal migration from a neighbouring country resulting in adverse impact on the language, culture or script of that State. Thus, State has to perform its duty to prevent illegal migration.

The right conserve one’s script is that citizens have the right to agitate for the protection of their language. Not holding an entrance examination (pre-medical test), in any particular language, viz. Hindi or any regional language, does not violate Article 29(2). Clause (2) is more specific and relates to admission into educational institutions which are maintained or aided by State funds.

In St. Stephen’s College Vs. University of Delhi, the Supreme Court held that minority community may reserve upto 50 per cent seats for the members of its own community. Later, it has been relaxed by the Court that minority educational institutions should permit admission of citizens belonging to the non-minority class to a reasonable extent based upon merit though the institution admits students of the minority group of its own choice for whom the institution was meant.

The Constitution’s 93rd Amendment further enlarged scope for non-minority students by asking minority educational institutions to admit 25 per cent students from the economically weaker sections of the society in the age group of 6 to 14 under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

30.Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions:

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

(1A) In making any law providing for the compulsory acquisition of any property of an educational institution established and administered by minority, the state shall ensure that the amount fixed by or determined under such law for the acquisition of such property is such as would not restrict or abrogate the right guaranteed under that clause.

(2) The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions,discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.

COMMENTS

An institution retains its minority character as long as it continues to achieve two objectives, viz.:

(i)to enable such minority to conserve its religion and language, and

(ii) to give a thorough, good, general education to children belonging to such minority.

The right to establish and administer would include the right to have choice of medium of instruction. The Supreme Court has laid down general principles relating to establishment and administration of educational institutions by minorities.

(a) to choose its governing body;

(b) to appoint teaching staff and heads; and non-teaching staff and to take action for their dereliction of duty;

(c) to admit eligible students of their choice and to set up a reasonable fee structure;

(d) to use its properties and assets for the benefit of the institution.

However, they cannot discriminate against majority students.

Further, these institutions are subject to regulatory measures by the State for ensuring educational character and standards and maintaining academic excellence. Subject to the eligibility conditions/qualifications prescribed by the State being met, the unaided minority educational institutors will have the freedom to appoint teachers/lecturers by adopting any rational procedure of selection. “However, the Government, the University and the Court could go behind the claim of a minority institution. Where the claim was a mere cloak or pretension and the real motive was business adventure, the protection of Article 30(1) would not be available.

However, autonomy of a minority institution cannot be completely taken away.

31A.Saving of laws providing for acquisition of estates, etc.:

Notwithstanding anything contained in Article 13, no law providing for –

(a) The acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguished or modification of any such rights, or

(b) The taking over of the management of any property by the State for a limited period either in the public interest or in order to secure the proper management of the property, or

(c) The amalgamation of two or more corporations either in the public interest or in order to secure the proper management of any of the corporations, or

(d) The extinguishment or modification of any rights of managing agents, secretaries and treasurers, managing directors directors or managers of corporations, or of any voting rights of shareholders thereof, or

(e) The extinguishment or modification of any rights accruing by virtue of any agreement, lease or license for the purpose of searching for, or winning, any mineral or mineral oil, or the premature termination or cancellation of any such agreement, lease or license, shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by Article 14 or Article 19:

Provided that where such law is a law made by the Legislature of a State, the provisions of this Article shall not apply thereto unless such law, having been reserved for the consideration of the President, has received his assent:

Provided further that where any law makes any provision for the acquisition by the State of any estate and where any land comprised therein is held by a person under this personal cultivation, it shall not be lawful for the State to acquire any portion of such land as is within the ceiling limit applicable to him under any law for the time being in force or any building or structure standing thereon or appurtenant thereto, unless the law relating to the acquisition of such land, buildings or structure provides for payment of compensation at a rate which shall not be less than the market value thereof.

(2)In this Article –

(a) The expression “estate” shall, in relation to any local area, have the same meaning as that expression or its local equivalent has in the existing law relating to land tenures in force in that area and shall also include –

(i) any jagir, inam or muafi or other similar grant and in the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, any janman right;

(ii) Any land held under ryotwari settlement;

(iii) Any land held or let for purposes of agriculture or for purposes ancillary thereto, including waste land, forest land, land for pasture or sites of building and other structures occupied by cultivators of land, agricultural labourers and village artisans;

(iv) The expression “rights”, in relation to an estate, shall include any rights certifying in a proprietor, sub-proprietor, under-proprietor, tenure-holder, raiyat, under-raiyat or other intermediary and rights or privileges in respect of land revenue.