Introduction The constitution of India grants and guarantees to us certain fundamental rights which include the right to equality. Article 14 of the Indian constitution states that no person shall be denied equality or equal protection before the law. It basically implies that everyone should be treated alike and no one must be discriminated against. It ensures that in similar situations, people are treated equally. Discrimination shouldn’t be on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, etc. This is stated in Article 15 of the constitution. However this does not outlaw the creation of special provisions for women and children. The state has the liberty to make special provisions for socially backward classes and for the educationally backward classes. This includes the SC and STs. When it comes to equal opportunities in the matter of employment, article 16 says that there cannot be any discrimination based on …show more content…
A pro-rata reservation of 22.5% (SC 15% and ST 7.5%) has been made for them in educational institutions which come under the administrative control of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and other Central Ministries. Similar reservations, directly proportional to their population, have also been provided by the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. The schedules caste and the schedule tribes also do not have to worry about their age being appropriate for an examination or for other institutions as the government is lenient when it comes to their age, i.e., the upper limit age restrictions which are present for other citizens are more lenient when it comes to them. It is also easier for them to get into universities as they have been given a concession of a lower cut-off qualifying mark as compared to the qualifying mark for others. Apart from SC and SC candidates, seats are reserved for other backward communities