Q. Consider the following statements regarding the Cultural and Educational Rights provided under Part III of the Constitution:
1. The rights guaranteed under Article 29 are extended to both minority as well as majority religious communities.
2. The right to conserve the language covers the right to agitate for the protection of the language.
3. The right to establish educational institutions has been extended to religious minorities but not to linguistic minorities.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer.
Article 29 and 30 of Indian constitution provides for the cultural and educational rights available to the citizens.
Statement 1 is correct: Article 29 grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities. However, the Supreme Court held that the scope of this article is not necessarily restricted to minorities only. This is because of the use of the words ‘section of citizens’ in the Article that include minorities as well as majority.
Statement 2 is correct: The Supreme Court held that the right to conserve the language includes the right to agitate for the protection of the language. Statement 3 is incorrect: Article 30 grants certain rights to minorities, whether religious or linguistic. Under Article 30, all minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
Important Tips
Article 350 A: • It says there shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President. • “It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under this constitution and report to the President upon those matters.”
