Part VII Rights—Substance and Content, Ch.51 Minority Educational Institutions

This chapter examines the right of religious and linguistic minorities to ‘establish and administer educational institutions of their choice’ as embodied in the Indian Constitution. Before discussing India’s constitutional experience with minority educational institutions, it considers the reasons that fuel the debate over the right of educational institutions under Article 30(1), including the Indian Supreme Court’s failure to provide an appropriate constitutional framework for the protection of such right. It explores whether, under Article 30, the right to establish and administer educational institutions is exclusive to religious and linguistic minorities or can be extended to other communities. It argues that the constitutional promise of Article 30(1) is yet to be fully understood and fulfilled.