Article 29: Protection of Interests of Minorities

Article 29 of the Indian Constitution talks about the Protection of Interests of Minorities. This article makes sure that any minority section should never be suppressed by the upper section of society. This article was introduced on 26 April 1975. Article 29 has two important divisions which first state that every citizen who is living in India and follows a distinct language, script, or culture has the right to conserve these, and second states that no citizen shall be denied admission into any institutional organization on the basis of religion, race, caste, language or any of them. Article 29 and 30 falls under the category of Cultural & Educational Rights.

What are Cultural and Educational Rights?

In our constitution, Cultural and Educational Rights are preserved under articles 29 and 30. The constitution makers were aware of the fact that a minor section of society would remain undeveloped or would be suppressed by the upper class of society. To avoid this situation it was necessary to protect the interests of minority groups. All sections of society who follow different cultures, religions, or languages should never be discriminated against.

Which Section of Society Falls Under the Minority?

The term minority is not mentioned in the Constitution. In the case of the Kerala Education bill, the court decided that any section of society having less than fifty percent of the total population of the state can be declared as a minority. We can define a minority group as a section of society that has less number of people than the majority group and they are different from the majority in terms of religion, language, race, and caste.

Article 29 of the Indian Constitution: Protection of Interests of Minorities

Article 29 protects educational rights of minorities. Article 29 provide rights to minority to conserve their language, culture and caste. Article 29(1) and Article 29(2) are present in Article 29 .

Article 29(1)

This state that every group of society who follows distinct culture and language have rights to protect their culture and language.

Article 29(2)

The state shall not deny admission of any person into an educational institution(whether it is maintained government or any private institution) on the basis of their race, caste, religion , language.

Case Raised Against Article 29

State of Madras vs Champakam Dorairajan (1951)

In this case , people of Madras challenged the order passed by Madras government for admission of students to state medical and engineering colleges. It was found that the order denying the admission of students based on religion and caste. This order was violating the article 29(2) and article 15 of the constitution.

Judgement of the Court

The court found that the order was violating article 29 of the constitution. After this , article 15 of constitution was amended to bring forward socially and educationally backward section of society.

State of Bombay vs Bombay Educational Society (1954)

In this case , people of Bombay challenged the Bombay government for passing the order which tries to ban the admission of those students whose mother tongue was not English. English medium school aided by government were compelled to do so. They told the schools that if they will take admission of those students whose mother tongue is not English , then they will cancel the fund provided by the government.

Judgement of the Court

The court ordered that students minority institutions have the right to give admissions to the students of their choice. Court also clarify that government does not have right to violate rights of minorities.

Similarity Between Article 29 and Article 30 of the Constitution

Cultural and Educational Rights are provided both under Article 29 and Article 30 of the Indian Constitution. Both these articles protects the language , culture and script of a minority section. Educational institutes have no rights to stop any person from following his culture , language and caste or deny admission based on these. Article 30 talks about the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutes and Article 29 talks about the Protection of Interests of Minorities. These rights are necessary for altogether development of minority section of society.

FAQs – Article 29 of the Indian Constitution

1. Is Article 29 only for Minorities?

No , it is not only for minorities. It is for every people who is citizen of India. Every citizen of India has the right to preserve a distinct language, script or culture and no State educational institute or any institute receiving aid from the state shall discriminate against anyone based on race, caste, creed, etc.

2. Is Article 29 an Absolute Right?

Article 29 is an absolute article only for minorities. Mainly minorities face discrimination on the basis of their culture, language , and religion they follow. But, this article subject to reasonable restrictions for the general public’s interests.

3. What is the History of Article 29?

Article 29 debated on 7 December 1948. Debate was on topic how to secure the cultural and educational rights of minorities? On 8 December 1948 the proposal was accepted by the assembly after contrast argument on this.

4. What is Article 29 of the Constitution of India?

Article 29 of the Indian Constitution : Protection of interests of minorities

(1) Any section of the citizens residing 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 citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

5. What does Article 29 Say?

Article 29 talks about Cultural and Educational Rights of every citizen of India especially for minorities group. Cultural And Educational Rights is one of the fundamental rights.