Why Save Constitutional Rights Movement?

The Government of India, through ill intentioned legislations is pushing the country and the people away from the cherished goals, enshrined in our Constitution.  The following are the examples of misguided legislations which may undermine the very basis of our plural Indian Society.

Let us briefly analyze the Direct Taxes Code Bill 2010, which after its passage through the Parliament will be enforced in the place of the present Income and Wealth Taxes laws.  At present no tax is levied of places of worship, religious institutions and their properties.  In the Direct Taxes Code, the 7^th Schedule enlists persons, and entities which shall not be liable to income Tax. Clause 34 of this schedule lists public religious or charitable trusts or endowments (places of public worship) which are administered by a body or authority established, constituted or appointed by any Central or State Act.  It clearly means that all place of public religious worship shall not be exempted.  Who does not know that except for few, almost all places of public religious worship are not administered by any officially appointed body or authority and as such almost all public places of worship and religious institutions shall have to pay income tax, and also wealth tax.  Clause 39 of the schedule stipulates that for being exempted from the tax a public religious trust or institution should be a non-profit organization. (NPO).  NPO is defined in sub-clause (169) of the clause 314 of the Code.  According to it, NPO means an organization if it

a)      is not established for the benefit of any religious community

b)      does not provide any benefit to member of any religious community

c)      is established for benefit of general public

d)     is established for any charitable activity.

You can see that no religious place of worship, no religious institution and no religious trust can, by any stretch of imagination, be deemed as NPO because these are established by persons belonging to a particular religious community and for providing benefit to them.  Religious activity is totally excluded from the definition of a NPO and hence it is liable to taxation.

Ours is a religious society.  Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, i.e. all Indian citizens live by their respective religion, carry on charitable activities inspired by religious sentiments and their religions is dear to them than their lives and everything.  It is therefore that founding fathers of our constitution did not define secular character of our republic to mean anti-religion but they specifically provided for free profession, practice and propagation of religion by the citizens as their fundamental rights.  The Direct Taxes Code strikes at the basis of our society and undermines the religious character of its citizen. An Indian, true to his nation and true to his religion, cannot bear with this atrocious legislation.  Let be up and doing for obtaining exemption for place of public religious worship and religious institution and trust from taxation in the D.T. Code.

Now look into the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE).

Sec 3 of the RTE declares elementary education in a neighbour hood school a right (i.e. fundamental right) of every child of the age six to fourteen year.  Elementary education is defined in Sec.2 (f) as education from first to eighth class.  Sec.10 imposes the duty on every parent or guardian to provide for elementary education in the neighbourhood school.  Sec.29 lays down the curriculum of elementary education shall be laid down by government authority.  This should be borne in mind that the RTE was enacted to give effect for Article 21A of the Constitution which provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right.

In nutshell, education upto eight class, according to government prescribed curriculum in a neighbourhood school is the fundamental right and the parent/the guardian is duty bound to provide this right to the child.

Hence a child getting religious instruction in a Gorukul, Vedic Pathshala, Deeni Madarsa, Christian Seminary is being denied his fundamental right and the parents/the guardian are guilty of not performing his duty and the educational institution which imparts such religious instruction may be fined upto one lakh rupees and moreover a fine of ten thousand rupees for each day, the child is taught there.  This RTE though enacted with laudable aim of educating each and every child is a lethal strike on institutions of religious instruction.

Ponder, should we silently bear with this death penalty to religious instruction or stand up for it as it is our Fundamental Right as per Articles 25 and 26 and other provisions of the Chapter III of the Constitution.

The RTE also strikes a lethal blow on minority educational institutions, elementary education schools established and administered by members of Indian minority communities, it takes away autonomy of the management which has been guaranteed by Art 29 and 30 the Constitutions and strengthened by a number of judicial verdicts particularly of the Supreme Court.

The RTE does not make any distinction between a private school and a minority school.  It stipulates that these schools should admit, for free education, children of neighbourhood to the minimum of 25% percent of strength in first class (Sec.12) and the managing committee’s three-fourth members should compulsorily be parents or guardians of student.  The RTE is clearly negating the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and manage their school.

Let us come forward for protecting the educational rights of Indian Minorities.

Wakf Bill 2010

The Government had, with unnecessary haste, got the Wakf Bill 2010 passed in Lok Sabha on the last day of its session in May, 2010.

This Bill is full of defects; even definitions are very defective and contain many provisions which will result in usurpation and extinction of many wakf.  A wakf, even by user, has no right to seek judicial remedy unless it is registered.  A Muslim dedicating a wakf in a far off village cannot be expected to travel over to the city where wakf board is located.  The publication of a wakf in Government gazette has not been regarded conclusive proof if there is any entry to the contrary in revenue records.  This important aspect has been neglected.  Survey is to take into consideration wakfs existing on the date of enforcement of the bill thus obliterating thousands and thousands of wakfs which existed before this date and were usurped upon.  This is against the principle, which has even been declared by our Supreme Court that once a wakf is forever a wakf.

Moreover religious and charitable character of wakf has been changed making it a purely estate development proposition. Awkaf in a state have been placed in the hands of estate developers, business managers and financial experts.  Muslim organizations have been completely left out to provide open field for these experts to play with awkaf with the help of government functionaries in the Board.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has proposed amendments along with critical analysis of the Bill.  Therefore all concerned should demand amendment of the bill before it is put to discussion and passage in the Rajya Sabha.

The three, the Direct Taxes Code, the Right to Education Act and the Wakf Bill are very harmful and detrimental to our rights as religious communities and to the rights of all minorities and that of the Muslim minority in the matter of wakf. We call upon every citizen of the country to stand up and raise his/her voice against these legislations and demand proper amendments.

Further the UP women had been denied right of inheritance in agricultural lands. After a demand by All India Muslim Personal Law Board and campaign for the right of women in inheritance, an amendment was made granting this right to unmarried daughters only. Daughter is a daughter.  There should be no distinction between a married and unmarried daughter.  The rights of women have to be respected and fully implemented.

The UP Government should recognize this right and the law be properly amended to give right of inheritance to female inheritors in accordance with their personal law.