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Exploitation, Religion, Culture and Education (Articles 23–30)

Fundamental Rights · Part 3 / 4 · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

The Right against Exploitation (Articles 23–24), the Right to Freedom of Religion and what Indian secularism means (Articles 25–28), and the Cultural and Educational Rights of minorities and other groups (Articles 29–30).

This part covers three groups of Fundamental Rights. The Right against Exploitation (Articles 23 and 24) protects the weakest people, such as bonded labourers and children, from being used by others. The Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25 to 28) lets every person follow their faith while keeping the State neutral among religions. The Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29 and 30) protect groups with their own language, script or culture, and let minorities run their own schools and colleges. The common thread is protection: of the vulnerable against the powerful, and of India's diversity against pressure to conform.

Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings, begar and other similar forms of forced labour, and makes any breach an offence punishable by law. Traffic in human beings covers buying and selling people, including trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. Begar is the old feudal practice of making people work without payment. The article protects citizens and non-citizens alike, and it applies against private persons as well as the State. Parliament has given effect to it through laws such as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 and the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. In People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (1982), a case about workers building facilities for the 1982 Asian Games, the Supreme Court held that paying a worker less than the minimum wage amounts to forced labour under Article 23.

Article 23 has one exception. Under Article 23(2), the State may impose compulsory service for public purposes, such as military service or social service. When it does, it must not discriminate on grounds only of religion, race, caste or class. So a law calling up citizens for national service in a crisis does not violate Article 23, but a law that called up only members of one caste would. Notice the difference from ordinary forced labour: compulsory service is imposed by law, for a public purpose, and applies equally to everyone in the class covered.

Article 24 says no child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. Parliament's main law here is the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. Its 2016 amendment renamed it the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and went further than Article 24: it bans the employment of children below fourteen in all occupations, with narrow exceptions such as helping a family enterprise outside school hours, and bans adolescents aged fourteen to eighteen from hazardous occupations. Article 24 works together with Article 21A, which promises these same children free and compulsory schooling.

Before reading Articles 25 to 28, it helps to understand what Secular means in India. The word was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment (1976), but the idea was in the Constitution from the start. Indian secularism does not mean a wall between religion and the State, as in the United States. It means the State has no religion of its own, treats all religions with equal respect, and does not discriminate on the basis of religion; at the same time, it may step in to reform social practices linked to religion, such as untouchability or exclusion from temples. In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) the Supreme Court held that secularism is part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

Article 25 gives all persons, not only citizens, the freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion. This freedom is subject to public order, morality, health and the other provisions of Part III. Article 25(2) lets the State regulate economic, financial, political or other secular activities associated with religious practice, and provide for social welfare and reform, including throwing open Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus. Two explanations are attached: wearing and carrying kirpans is part of the profession of the Sikh religion, and 'Hindus' here includes persons professing the Sikh, Jaina or Buddhist religion. In Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1977) the Supreme Court held that the right to propagate does not include a right to convert another person, so laws against forced conversion are valid.

Article 25 protects individuals; Article 26 protects groups. Every religious denomination, or any section of it, has the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes, to manage its own affairs in matters of religion, to own and acquire movable and immovable property, and to administer that property in accordance with law. These rights are subject only to public order, morality and health; unlike Article 25, the text does not add 'other provisions of this Part'. Courts protect what is essential to a religion and allow the State to regulate the rest. This 'essential religious practices' test was laid down in the Shirur Mutt case (1954), where the Supreme Court said a denomination decides for itself which rites are essential to its religion, while the State may regulate the secular side, such as the management of temple property.

Article 27 protects people's money from being used to favour a religion. No person can be compelled to pay any taxes whose proceeds are specifically appropriated to pay for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination. The key word is 'tax'. A tax goes into general revenue and is compulsory for all; using it for one religion would make followers of other faiths pay for it. A fee is different: it is charged for a specific service. So the State may charge pilgrims a fee for facilities it provides at a shrine, but it cannot levy a tax to fund the temples or mosques of one community. This is the financial side of Secular government.

Article 28 deals with religion in schools and colleges, and the answer depends on who runs and funds the institution. In an educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds, no religious instruction may be given at all. This rule does not apply to an institution that the State administers but that was established under an endowment or trust requiring religious instruction. In an institution recognised by the State or receiving aid from State funds, religious instruction or worship may take place, but no person can be required to take part without their consent, or the consent of their guardian if they are a minor. The idea is that public money must not be used to push religion on students, and no student should be made to attend religious teaching against their will.

Article 28: religious instruction depends on the type of institution
Type of institutionReligious instruction
Wholly maintained out of State fundsNot allowed
Administered by the State but set up under a trust requiring religious instructionAllowed
Recognised by the State or receiving State aidAllowed, but only with the consent of the student (or guardian, for a minor)

Article 29 protects culture. Under Article 29(1), any section of citizens living anywhere in India that has a distinct language, script or culture of its own has the right to conserve it. Note the words 'any section of citizens': the article is not limited to minorities, so a linguistic group that is a majority in one state but a minority elsewhere is protected everywhere. Article 29(2) adds an individual right: no citizen can be denied admission to an educational institution maintained by the State or receiving State aid on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them. So a government-aided college cannot refuse a student because of the language they speak.

Article 30 gives all minorities, whether based on religion or language, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Article 30(1A), added by the 44th Amendment (1978), says that if the State compulsorily acquires the property of such an institution, the compensation must not restrict or abrogate this right. Article 30(2) says the State shall not discriminate against an institution in granting aid because it is managed by a minority. The Constitution does not define 'minority'. In T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka (2002), an eleven-judge bench held that religious and linguistic minorities are to be identified state by state, and that the right to administer is not a licence to maladminister: the State may regulate standards, such as teachers' qualifications. At the national level, six communities are notified as minorities under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains.

Article 29 and Article 30 compared
Article 29Article 30
Who is protectedAny section of citizens with a distinct language, script or cultureMinorities, religious or linguistic
What it protectsConserving language, script, culture; admission without discriminationEstablishing and administering educational institutions
Limited to minorities?NoYes

To keep these articles straight, group them by what they protect. Articles 23 and 24 protect people from being exploited, and both apply against private persons. Articles 25 to 28 protect faith: Article 25 for individuals, Article 26 for denominations, Article 27 for taxpayers, and Article 28 for students. Articles 29 and 30 protect culture and education: Article 29 for any section of citizens with a distinct language, script or culture, and Article 30 only for religious and linguistic minorities. Remember also how these rights connect to Part 1: Article 15(5) keeps minority educational institutions outside reservation in admissions, which reflects the special protection Article 30 gives them.

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Consider the following statements about Article 23:
1. It protects people only against action by the State.
2. The State may impose compulsory service for public purposes, such as military service.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Statement 2 is correct under Article 23(2). Statement 1 is wrong: Article 23 applies against private persons as well, for example an employer who keeps bonded labourers.

Q2. In People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (1982), the Supreme Court held that paying a worker less than the minimum wage violates which article?

  1. Article 19, as a restriction on the freedom of profession
  2. Article 23, as forced labour
  3. Article 24, as child labour
  4. Article 17, as a form of untouchability
Show answer

Answer: B. Article 23, as forced labour

The Court treated work for less than the minimum wage as forced labour under Article 23. The case was about adult construction workers, so Article 24 did not apply, and it concerned wages, not untouchability or the freedom of profession.

Q3. For the purposes of Article 25, the reference to 'Hindus' includes persons professing which of the following religions?
1. Sikh
2. Jaina
3. Buddhist
4. Parsi
Select the correct answer using the code below.

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 1, 2 and 3 only
  3. 2, 3 and 4 only
  4. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Show answer

Answer: B. 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanation II to Article 25 says 'Hindus' includes persons professing the Sikh, Jaina or Buddhist religion. Parsis are not included, so options containing 4 are wrong.

Q4. Consider the following statements:
1. The freedom of religion under Article 25 is expressly subject to the other provisions of Part III.
2. The rights of religious denominations under Article 26 are expressly subject to the other provisions of Part III.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Article 25(1) begins 'Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part'. Article 26 is expressly subject only to public order, morality and health, so statement 2 is wrong.

Q5. A state government charges pilgrims a fee for the facilities it maintains at a shrine. Another state levies a tax whose proceeds go only to maintaining temples of one community. Which statement is correct under Article 27?

  1. Both are valid
  2. Both violate Article 27
  3. The fee is valid; the tax violates Article 27
  4. The tax is valid; the fee violates Article 27
Show answer

Answer: C. The fee is valid; the tax violates Article 27

Article 27 bars taxes whose proceeds are specifically appropriated to promote or maintain a particular religion. A fee is a charge for a service, not a tax, so it does not fall under Article 27.

Q6. With reference to Article 28, consider the following statements:
1. No religious instruction can be given in an educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds.
2. In a State-aided institution, students can be required to attend religious instruction.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is Article 28(1). Statement 2 is wrong: under Article 28(3), attendance in recognised or aided institutions needs the consent of the student, or the guardian for a minor.

Q7. According to the Supreme Court in T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka (2002), at what level is a religious or linguistic minority to be determined for the purposes of Article 30?

  1. The whole of India
  2. Each state
  3. Each district
  4. Each institution
Show answer

Answer: B. Each state

The eleven-judge bench held that because states were reorganised on linguistic lines, minorities for Article 30 are to be identified state by state, not on a national, district or institution basis.

Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. Article 29 protects only religious and linguistic minorities.
2. Article 30 covers both religious and linguistic minorities.
3. The Constitution defines the term 'minority'.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 2 only
  2. 1 and 2 only
  3. 2 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: A. 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is wrong: Article 29 protects any section of citizens with a distinct language, script or culture. Statement 3 is wrong: the Constitution does not define 'minority'.

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