Right to Equality (Articles 14 - 18)

The right to equality provides for the equal treatment of everyone before the law, prevents discrimination on various grounds, treats everybody as equals in matters of public employment, and abolishes untouchability, and titles (such as Sir, Rai Bahadur, etc.).

The types of equality are:

1. Natural
2. Social
3. Civil
4. Political
5. Economic
6. Legal

The Right to Equality is one of the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution of India. It is crucial to understand what this right entails and includes.

The right to equality is provided in  Articles 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the constitution. It is the principal foundation of all other rights. (https://www.india.gov.in/sites/upload_files/npi/files/coi_part_full.pdf)

Article 14: Equality before the law: Article 14 of the constitution guarantees that the country's laws shall equally protect all people. It means that the State will treat people in the same circumstances alike. This article also implies that individuals, whether citizens of India or otherwise shall be treated differently if the events are different.

Article 15: Social equality and equal access to public areas: Article 15 of the constitution states that no citizen of India shall be discriminated based on religion, race, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity and /or place of birth. Every person shall have equal access to public places like public parks, museums, wells, bathing ghats, etc. It states, however, that the State may make any special provision for women and children. Special provisions may be made to advance any socially or educationally backward class or scheduled castes or scheduled tribes.

Article- 16: Equality in matters of public employment: Article 16 of the Constitution lays down that the State cannot discriminate against a citizen in employment matters. All citizens can apply for government jobs; however, there are some exceptions. The Parliament may enact a law stating that specific jobs can be filled only by applicants domiciled in the area. This may be meant for posts that require knowledge of the locality and language of the area. The State may also reserve posts for members of backward classes, scheduled castes or scheduled tribes that are not adequately represented in the State's services to bring up the weaker sections of the society. Also, laws may be passed that require the holder of any religious institution's office to be a person professing that particular religion. According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2003, this right shall not be conferred to India's overseas citizens.

Article- 17: Abolition of untouchability: Article 17 of the constitution abolishes the practise of untouchability. The practice of untouchability is an offence, and anyone doing so is punishable by law. The Untouchability Offences Act of 1955 (renamed to Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976) provided penalties for preventing a person from entering a place of worship or from taking water from a tank or well.

Article 18: Article 18 of the constitution prohibits the State from conferring any titles. The State shall not grant any titles except those which are academic or military titles. The article also prohibits citizens of India from accepting any titles from a foreign State. The article abolishes the titles that were awarded by the British such as Rai Bahadur, Khan Bahadur, etc. Awards like Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna and military honours like Ashok Chakra, Param Vir Chakra do not belong to this category.

Though equal rights are mentioned in the Indian Constitution, we tend to follow social norms to fit in the society or due to our unconscious biases while hiring, promoting, paying, or even firing at the workplace. 

It will be nice to go through our constitution where Rights of Equality are mentioned and take individual responsibility to follow. 

????????????: Dr. Aparna Sethi is founder of Protouch Corporate Training and conducts insightful corporate training sessions /webinars/ guest sessions on the various topic to name the few POSH, Women Leadership, Diversity, and Inclusion in the workplace. You can reach her on 8800003366/77.