Nationwide, India takes pride in its rich ethnicity as well as its strong social and cultural bonding, and there are still many forms of discrimination prevalent in the country despite the provisions of the Constitution. Caste-based discrimination is still practiced in India and affects millions of individuals across the nation. Statutorily marginalized sections, specifically those belonging to incorporated and indigenous caste social groups, face ground realities that include discrimination and ostracism. Gender inequality, regardless of its constitutional guarantees, is still a scourge within Indian society; women suffer abuse and discrimination in almost every aspect of life. The struggles faced by these neglected groups are also exacerbated by systemic discrimination, lack of access to health and education services, and poverty.
Discrimination against any individual on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth is forbidden in Article 15 of the Constitution of India. It states that citizens shall not be discriminated against by the state on any of these grounds. In the context of the Indian Constitution, Article 15 is an important article that prohibits any form of discrimination. However, it is hard to achieve the objective of equal treatment for every person in India due to various reasons. Although Article 15 lays down the principle of equality, both the state and the people should take decisive steps to adopt it in practice. The need to provide equal opportunities for every person and to eradicate the hidden cultural norms and values in society is a continuous process at every level of individual and public administration.
To uplift the welfare of citizens who have been socially and educationally deprived, such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the statute allows for extraordinary measures by the state. The statute further empowers the State to reserve funds for a particular set of people in public sector employment and educational institutions. Besides, no law restricts the state from making special laws for women and children to bring betterment to them. Article 15 is a very important safeguard against discrimination. Here are some points that will indicate how vital Article 15 is to promote equality, egalitarianism, and social and economic justice.
Article 15 provides for equality; it stops people from being discriminated against on grounds of religion, caste, race, sex, and place of birth.
- Protection of Minorities: Article 15 safeguards minorities from unfair treatment since it forbids all kinds of discriminatory practices and vindicates their socioeconomic uplift through specific exceptions.
- Development Education Article 15 pushes forward the section that contains a provision that promotes and encourages policies for every child to acquire an access opportunity to basic education toward universal education and may eventually live their lives with dignity and freedom.
- Social and Economic Justice: Article 15 ensures social and economic justice, as discrimination is prohibited and special provisions are accorded to the economically deprived communities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Important Clauses of Article 15:
Article 15 of the Indian Constitution has protected discrimination grounds based on religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. It falls under three unique clauses concerning separately delineating provisions under each one of them as follows:
Article 15(1): mandates the state to refrain from treating any citizen unfairly based on the parameters stated above.
Notification according to the Police Act of 1861 that designated specific regions as disturbed and required the residents to pay for extra police stations there—while exempting all Hindus and Muslims—was held unlawful by the Supreme Court in the State of Rajasthan v. Pratap Singh case. Since the exemption was granted solely based on “caste” or “religion,” it violated Article 15(1). In another case of Nainsukdhdas v. State of UP a law that provided for elections based on separate electorates for members of different religious communities was held to be unconstitutional.
Article 15(2): No citizen shall, on grounds of any of the aforementioned grounds in this article, be discriminated against by any other citizen concerning access to public institutions for purposes of business, trade, profession, or shop, hotels, restaurants, and other related.
Article 15(3): It also empowers the state to take special steps in favour of women, children, socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes by permitting scholarships, reservations in education, and employment, along with other affirmative action plans. In Dattatraya v. State of Bombay , the Supreme Court held that the reservation of seats for women in a college does not offend Article 15(1).
Reservation Of OBC Under Article 15(4): As contemplated in Article 15, the Indian government introduced reservation policies to reserve portions of seats for educational institutions and government employment for people from the Other Backward Classes of society. Of course, historically, the OBCs had been marginalized with social and economic disadvantages due to their lower position in the caste hierarchy. The reservation percentage varies across states but typically hovers around 27% (Indira Sawhney v Union of India ), ensuring that a proportion of seats or positions annually are reserved for OBC candidates.
Reservation for EWS under Article 15(5): The government has further amplified the exclusive rights offered under Article 15 by introducing reservation benefits for economically weaker sections or EWS of society. This category was introduced through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 2019 and comprises those persons who are neither from any particular caste nor class but are still going through some economic difficulty. Candidates in the EWS category are eligible for 10% reservations in educational institutions and government jobs. Eligibility criteria would encompass annual household income below Rs 8 lakh and holding less than 5 acres of agricultural land. This quota will not add to the existing quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the Other Backward Classes, which will continue to avail their respective reservations.
Article 15(4) may seem like a sort of sweeping provision that allows for any form of beneficial discrimination, such as special provisions in favour of the classes referred to therein; however, aside from the issues, such as in respect of which particular class can be considered a backward class, such kinds of provisions may be held as unreasonable in the context of the present circumstances. Though Articles 15(4) and 15(5) seem to offend the right to equality enshrined in Article 14, they do not, as protective discrimination is inequality. The Constitution of India enshrines equality as one of its essential features, and any measure treating some persons who are equalled differently and those who are not would be contrary to the basic structure of the Constitution. Article 15 has always helped meet the interests of the most vulnerable parts of the population. This article since its inception in the year 1949 has elevated the position of the backward castes and classes significantly. It provides guidance for the formulation of legislative policies and processes that enhance and promote social interaction. Violence and discrimination against the oppressed class have been noticeably less, all of which serve to show that Article 15 was a very progressive step that gave birth to a resonant sociological formation in India that exists even today and lived harmoniously amid rich and varied forms of discrimination—gender, racial, and caste, amongst others.
This article is authored by Aditi Srivastava, Team Member at Lets Learn Law.
