Page 160 - SST Class 06

Quiz Time aptitudes and attitudes. It means that equal status
Fill in the blanks :
1. All Indians have one ___________ .
2. ___________ may exist at different levels.
3. A farmer and a shopkeeper are ___________
but not ___________ . people, the Constitution of India has made other
4. Our ___________ respects diversity of different
people.
5. The people of the so-called lower castes are
often ___________ against.
Provisions for Diversity and Equality of
People
The Constitution of India ensures that no
discrimination is practised on grounds of religion,
region, language, caste, community, gender etc. It
is necessary for the government that it respects
diversity of people and deal with all people
without any discrimination. For this purpose, the
Constitution makes suitable provisions. Its
Preamble says :
“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA,
having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a
SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC,
and to secure to all its citizens;
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and
worship;
EQUALITY of status and opportunity;
and to promote among them all FRATERNITY
assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity
and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth
day of November, 1949,
do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES
THIS CONSTITUTION.”
The Constitution clearly says that all citizens will
be given equality of status and opportunity. It does
not mean that all people are equal because all
people have varying abilities, potentialities, Scheduled Tribes.
Contemporary Social Science-6
160
and opportunity will be given to all people. Thus,
all people are given equal rights.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
In order to ensure equality and diversity of all
provisions also. The Fundamental Rights are the
most important of them.
The Constitution of India gives six Fundamental
Rights to the citizens. These are the basic rights
which every citizen of India enjoys. No
government authority or person can deprive any
citizen of these rights. These are :
1. Right to equality,
2. Right to freedom,
3. Right against exploitation,
4. Right to freedom of religion,
5. Cultural and educational rights, and
6. Right to constitutional remedies.
We shall discuss these rights very briefly :
Right to Equality
The right to equality has been provided in Articles
14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the Constitution. These
Articles provide the following :
(a) Equality Before the Law : Article 14 says that
the State shall not deny to any person equality
before the law or equal protection of the law. No
person can be discriminated against.
(b) Prohibition of Discrimination : Article 15
declares that the State shall not discriminate
against any citizen on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
Also, a citizen cannot be denied access to shops,
public restaurants, wells, tanks, bathing ghats,
roads and places of public resort maintained
wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to
the use of general public. This Article also makes
special provisions for the socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or for
the members of the Scheduled Castes and the