Harshaa Kawatra
LPPYF Law and Public Policy Youth Fellowship is an Online National Summer School Program, a Two- Month Online Immersive Legal Awareness & Action Research Certificate Training Course and Internship Program, from June-August 2023 by IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute. An informative and interactive panel discussion on “Inclusion, Laws and Policies” was held on the 30th of June, 2023 by Adv Dr Albertina Almeida, who is a lawyer and a human rights activist based in Goa.
She started her session with a brief about the previous session which was on historical backdrops, reservations and inclusionary policies. In this session, actual legal provisions were highlighted and how they have been enacted.
She said that the provisions were applicable to the public sector. They are not yet applicable to the private sector, however there has been a demand for the same. She stated that there is a constitutional mandate for inclusion covered under Article 15, 16, 46, 330 and 335.
Inclusion and Articles of the Constitution
Article 15
(1) The state should not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
(2) No citizen shall on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to-
- Access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or
- The use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly by State funds or dedicated to use by the general public.
Exceptions
(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.
(4) Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision by law for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens for Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
and many more
Continuation (Economically Weaker Sections)
Nothing in this article or sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 or clause (2) of article 29 should prevent the State from making certain provisions.
Article 16
Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
(1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State.
(2) No citizen shall on grounds of religion etc be discriminated against in respect or any employment or office under the State.
(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament from making any law prescribing, in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office under the Government of, or any local or other authority within, a State or Union territory, any requirement as to residence within that State or Union territory prior to such employment or appointment
(4) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.
(5) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any law which provides that the incumbent of an office in connection with the affairs of any religious or denominational institution or any member of the governing body thereof shall be a person professing a particular religion or belonging to a particular denomination.
Article 46
Promotion of educational and economic interests of SCs, STs and other weaker sections.
The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
Article 330 discussed reservations for SC and ST along with sub-clauses.
Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People
(1) Seats shall be reserved in the House of the People for
- the Scheduled Castes;
- the Scheduled Tribes except the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam; and
- the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam
(2) The number of seats reserved in any State or Union territory for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes under clause(1) shall bear
as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats allotted to that State or Union territory in the House of the People as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or Union territory or of the Scheduled Tribes in the State or Union territory or part of this State or Union territory, as the case may be, in respect of which seats are so reserved, bears to the total population of the State or Union Territory.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2), the number of seats reserved in the House of the People for the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam
shall bear to the total number of seats allotted to that State a proportion not less than the population of the Scheduled Tribes in the said autonomous districts bears to the total population of the State Explanation In this article 332, the expression population means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published: Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2000 have been published, be construed as a reference to the 1971 census.
Article 335
The claims of the members of SCs and STs shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with affairs of the Union or of a State.
Article 341
Definition of Scheduled Caste:
(1) The President may with respect to any State or Union territory, and where it is a State after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Castes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case may be.
(2) Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Castes specified in a notification issued under clause (1) any caste, race or tribe or part of or group within any caste, race or tribe, but save as aforesaid a notification issued under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequent notification.
Article 342
Definition of Scheduled Tribe:
(1) The President may with respect to any State or Union territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case maybe.
(2) Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Tribes specified in a notification issued under clause (1) any tribe or tribal community or part of or group within any tribe or tribal community, but save as aforesaid a notification issued under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequent notification.
Moreover, the state of reservations, its impact, proportion of representation, backward classes, the creamy layer, religious bar, post-based reservations, legal provisions, jurisprudence and current reservation policy in India were also discussed. Later, remarks of Adv Shalu ma’am were taken who gave an overall summary of the day. She highlighted the main learnings and insights of both the lectures from the respective speakers. The floor was opened for questions which was an interactive and active segment.
Vote of thanks was proposed thanking the speakers and various participants for an enhancing session.
Harshaa is a research intern at IMPRI.
Youtube Video of Inaugural session for Law and Public Policy Youth Fellowship Programme: https://youtu.be/fT0XLKGJ6LY
Read more session reports for Law and Public Policy Youth Fellowship:
Social Security, Law & Public Policy
Bureaucracy, Laws & Public Policy
