Explain right to equality.

Fundamental Rights are the various rights given to the people as the citizen of the country and to ensure that every individual is treated equally irrespective of caste, creed, color or race. Right to Equality is one such Fundamental Right.

Right to Equality – According to this Right, every individual is protected equally by the law of the country. The government shall not discriminate any person on the basis of religion, colour, and sex. Every individual should have access to public places including shops, restaurants, hotels, and cinema halls, etc. Also, no one will be restricted to use the wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads, playgrounds and places of public resorts maintained by the government or dedicated to the use of the general public. Even though this is obvious, but it becomes important to mention all this in the Constitution because our traditional caste system doesn’t allow certain kind of people to use public space.

The practice of untouchability was also abolished. Untouchability here doesn’t mean the refusal to touch the people of certain caste, but it also means to follow such belief and practice which imposes restrictions on people belonging to certain caste to use public places or to disrespect them based on their caste and denies interaction with them. Equal opportunity is given in the public jobs like in employment or appointment to any position in the government. As a result, Reservation is provided to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. Also, some governments provide reservations or have schemes for women, poor or physically handicapped. Equality doesn’t mean to provide equal treatment but also to provide equal opportunity to the people.