SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR MINORITIES

Constitutional Provisions

Constitutional rights and safeguards provided to the minorities in India 1. Constitutional safeguards for religious and linguistic minorities of India Though the Constitution of India does not define the word ‘Minority’ and only refers to ‘Minorities’ and speaks of those ‘based on religion or language’, the rights of the minorities have been spelt out in the Constitution in detail. 2. ‘Common Domain’ and ‘Separate Domain’ of rights of minorities provided in the Constitution The Constitution provides two sets of rights of minorities which can be placed in ‘common domain’ and ‘separate domain’. The rights which fall in the ‘common domain’ are those which are applicable to all the citizens of our country. The rights which fall in the ‘separate domain’ are those which are applicable to the minorities only and these are reserved to protect their identity. The distinction between ‘common domain’ and ‘separate domain’ and their combination have been well kept and protected in the Constitution. The Preamble to the Constitution declares the State to be ‘Secular’ and this is a special relevance for the Religious Minorities. Equally relevant for them, especially, is the declaration of the Constitution in its Preamble that all citizens of India are to be secured ‘liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship and ‘equality of status and of opportunity.’ 2.1 ‘Common Domain’, the Directive Principles of State Policy – Part IV of the Constitution  The Constitution has made provisions for the Fundamental Rights in Part III, which the State has to comply with and these are also judicially enforceable. There is another set of non-justiciable rights stated in Part IV, which are connected with social and economic rights of the people. These rights are known as ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’, which legally are not binding upon the State, but are “fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws”. (Article 37). Part IV of the Constitution of India, containing non-justiciable Directive Principles of State Policy, includes the following provisions having significant implications for the Minorities :- obligation of the State ‘to endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities’ amongst individuals and groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations;[Article 38 (2) ] obligation of State ‘to promote with special care’ the educational and economic interests of ‘the weaker sections of the people’ (besides Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes); [Article 46] and  2.2 ‘Common Domain’, the Fundamental Duties – Part IVA of the Constitution Part IVA of the Constitution, relating to Fundamental Duties as provided in Article 51 A applies in full to all citizens, including those belonging to Minorities. Article 51A which is of special relevance for the Minorities stipulates as under :- citizens’ duty to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India ‘transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; and  citizens’ duty to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.’ 2.3 ‘Common Domain’, the Fundamental Rights – Part III of the Constitution The Constitution has provided a definite space for both the ‘domains’ i.e. ‘common’ as well as ‘separate’. In Part III of the Constitution, which deals with the Fundamental Rights is divided into two parts viz. (a) the rights which fall in the ‘common domain’ and (b) the rights which go to the ‘separate domain’. In the ‘common domain’, the following fundamental rights and freedoms are covered: people’s right to ‘equality before the law’ and ‘equal protection of the laws’; [Article 14] prohibition of discrimination against citizens on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; [Article 15 (1) & (2)] authority of State to make ‘any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens’ (besides the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes); [Article 15 (4)] citizens’ right to ‘equality of opportunity’ in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State – and prohibition in this regard of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; [Article 16(1)&(2)] authority of State to make ‘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; [Article 16(4)] people’s freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion – subject to public order, morality and other Fundamental Rights; [Article 25(1)] right of ‘every religious denomination or any section thereof – subject to public order, morality and health – to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes, ‘manage its own affairs in matters of religion’, and own and acquire movable immovable property and administer it ‘in accordance with law’; [Article 26] prohibition against compelling any person to pay taxes for promotion of any particular religion’; [Article 27] people’s ‘freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in educational institutions’ wholly maintained, recognized, or aided by the State.[Article 28] 2.4 ‘Separate Domain’ of Minority Rights The Minority Rights provided in the Constitution which fall in the category of ‘Separate Domain’ are as under:- right of ‘any section of the citizens’ to ‘conserve’ its ‘distinct language, script or culture’; [Article 29(1)] restriction on denial of admission to any citizen, to any educational institution maintained or aided by the State, ‘on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them’; [Article 29(2)] right of all Religious and Linguistic Minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice;[Article 30(1)] freedom of Minority-managed educational institutions from discrimination in the matter of receiving aid from the State;[Article30(2)] special provision relating to the language spoken by a section of the population of any State;[Article 347] provision for facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage;[Article 350 A] provision for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities and his duties; and [Article 350 B] Sikh community’s right of ‘wearing and carrying of kirpans; [Explanation 1 below Article 25]  3. India’s multi-culturalism interwoven in the Constitution The various Articles of the Constitution providing rights to the minorities, clearly and firmly point out to only one direction: that of a multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-racial Indian society, interwoven into an innate unity by the common thread of national integration and communal harmony. By the yardstick adopted by the framers of the Constitution and crystallized into its provisions the Indian Nation is not just a conglomeration of individual inhabitants of this State; it comprises of two distinct categories of constituents. The two-tier commonwealth of Indian Nation includes, on one hand, every citizen of India individually and, on the other hand, the multitude of religious, linguistic, cultural and ethnic groups among its citizens. The Indian Nation is an enormous coparcenary in which the individual citizens are also members of their own respective branches taking the form of religious, cultural, linguistic and ethnic groups. And all these groups, like all individuals, have the same Fundamental Rights to enjoy and the same Fundamental Duties to discharge. 4. Protection of weaker sections in Indian pluralistic society The social pluralism of India, as fortified by the unique Constitutional concept of secularism, raises the need for the protection and development of all sorts of weaker sections of the Indian citizenry – whether this ‘weakness’ is based on numbers or on social, economic or educational status of any particular group. The Constitution, therefore, speaks of Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes and makes – or leaves room for making – for them special provisions of various nature and varying import.

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)

ALL ABOUT CAG 
In a democracy, those holding power and positions of responsibility must be answerable for their actions. For this purpose the Constitution has mandated several institutional mechanisms like the Judiciary, Vigilance bodies and an independent Supreme Audit Institution (SAI).The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IAAD) functioning under him, constitute the Supreme Audit Institution of India. The Constitution of India has mandated us as the auditors to the nation. We are thus an instrument for ensuring accountability. Articles 149-151 of the Constitution prescribe the unique role of the CAG. 
How is the independence of the CAG ensured?  
The Constitution enables the independent and unbiased nature of audit by the CAG by providing for: His appointment by the President of India Special procedure for removal (like a Supreme Court Judge) Salary and expenses Charged (not Voted) to the Consolidated Fund of India Disallowing his holding any other Government office after his term expires
What are the duties of the CAG?  
As envisaged in Article 149 of the Constitution, the Parliament enacted a detailed legislation called the CAG’s Duties, Powers and Conditions Act in 1971 which describes his mandate and puts almost every spending, revenue collecting or aid/grant receiving unit of the Government (the Centre and the States) under his audit domain. His duties are to audit and report upon:
         All receipts into and spending from the coffers (called the Consolidated Fund) of the Union and State Governments.
        All transactions relating to the Emergency expenses (called Contingency Funds) and relating to the monies of the public held by the Government e.g. Postal savings, Vikas Patras (called Public Accounts) at Central as well as State levels.
        All trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept in any Government department.
        All stores and stock accounts of all Government offices and departments.
        Accounts of all Government companies and Corporations e.g. ONGC, SAIL etc. Accounts of all autonomous bodies and authorities receiving Government money e.g. municipal bodies, IIM's, IIT's, State Health societies.
        Accounts of any body or authority on request of the President/Governor or on his own initiative.   The Act also provides for compilation of accounts of the State Governments from the subsidiary accounts maintained by the State Governments.
What powers does the CAG have to perform his role?  
In order to carry out his wide audit mandate in an unfettered manner the Act provides for:
   Power to inspect any office or organisation subject to his audit.
   Power to examine all transactions and question the executive.
   Power to call for any records, papers, documents from any audited entity.
   Power to decide the extent and manner of audit.
What types of Reports does the CAG bring out?  
The Audit Reports of the CAG submitted to the Parliament and State Legislatures consist of compliance and performance audit reports covering revenue collection and expenditure of Government, separate audit reports on the functioning of certain autonomous bodies as provided by legislation, reports on the Financial position of Central and State Governments and reports on the adherence to the Appropriation Acts passed by Parliament and Legislatures. The CAG also submits the certified annual accounts of the States, known as the Finance and Appropriation Accounts, to the State Legislatures.
What happens to the Audit Reports?  
The reports of the CAG are submitted to the President in case of the Union and to the Governor in case of the State who in turn cause them to be tabled before the House. Once tabled in the House, the Reports stand permanently referred to the Central and State Standing Committees on Public Accounts (PAC)/Committees on Public Undertakings (COPU). These specialised committees have been constituted to facilitate timely and intensive scrutiny of the Annual Accounts and the Audit Reports thereon. The Committees select those findings and recommendations from our reports that they judge to be the most critical to the public interest and arrange for hearings on them. We provide technical assistance to the Committees in this task. At the hearings of the Committees, the executive can be called to account for their actions/inactions. Based on their Examination, the Committees prepare and submit their reports to the Legislature that summarise the Committee's hearings, the action taken by the executive and include recommendations to improve administrative practices and procedures.