Note: Work in progress article Legend Article: The Article number under Part III of the Constitution Focus: The particular ‘area’ of Rights that the Article focuses on Form: Whether the wording of the Article is in the form of a grant of Right, restriction on the State, prohibition of an ‘evil’, protection from exploitation, etc... Continue Reading →
League of Nations And The Intent Of Minority Rights
In an earlier article, we had taken a look at the minority rights provided in the Constitutions of several European countries in the early 20th Century, specifically after World War I. That previous article was in response to a post that claimed the type of privileges given in the Indian Constitution was similar to the... Continue Reading →
Minorities in India: Who Decides?
In the year 2017, Sri Ashwini Upadhyay, a lawyer and senior BJP leader had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court of India asking, primarily, for section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act of 1992 to be declared as void and unconstitutional. He later withdrew the petition stating that he would approach... Continue Reading →
Hinduism and Religious Denominations
Once every 12 years, the Kumbha Mela takes place at Prayaga in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly three other Kumbha Melas take place at Haridwara, Nashik and Ujjain. Depending primarily upon the placement of Jupiter in the vedic astrological chart, the timings of these melas are determined. The mela at Prayaga is the world’s largest religious congregation... Continue Reading →
The Non-severability of Economic, Financial and Religious Practices in Hindu Temples
Link to an article arguing how Government takeover of Hindu temples is unconstitutional.
The 93rd Amendment vs Article 15(1)
Introduction This is part-2 of a two-part article that attempts to show why the 93rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution, that inserted Article 15(5), is discriminatory and against Constitutional principles. The first part shows the origins of Article 15(1) and explains how its intent was to have an over-arching principle of non-discrimination across all provisions,... Continue Reading →
Constitution Day: Five Reforms We Hope to See
The 26th of November is celebrated every year, since 2015, as the ‘Constitution Day’. On this occasion, here is a short post on 5 changes that, IMHO, would make the Constitution truly secular and republic. Equality under Article 30 Expand the scope of Article 30(1) and make it applicable to all, agnostic of religious or... Continue Reading →
The Source Document(s) for Article 30(1)
Introduction In a previous article, we had seen how the initial Draft versions of the Indian Constitution prepared by Dr K M Munshi had guaranteed a very different form of educational rights to its citizens. It was based on the Polish Treaty of World War I and proposed explicit, and equal, educational rights to all... Continue Reading →
Attempts at Core1 Prior to the Debates in the Constituent Assembly
Introduction Before proceeding further with this article, it would be better if the following two articles are read, and their context understood. The initial version of Article 30(1) proposed by one of the key members of the Constituent Assembly Experts Committee The modifications that happened to (the eventual) Article 30(1) before it was officially included as... Continue Reading →
The Original Form of Article 30
In an earlier article, I had blogged about the evolution of the Cultural and Educational Rights of the Minorities in the Indian Constitution in the form of Articles 29 and 30. In that post, I had covered the modifications that the relevant Articles underwent from the time the first draft of the would-be Articles was... Continue Reading →
Pranasutra 