Right to equality and reservation policy under the constitution of India: A case study

Abstract

In the American Declaration of Independence, it is said that All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. This notion of inalienable rights and their equal distribution has emerged in the early 16th century in the works of the social contractors- Hobbes Locke and Rousseau. John Locke said that the right to life, liberty and property are natural rights which are enjoyed by everyone alike and are not separable from the person. This gives us an idea that the right to equality is more basic than natural law itself. Thus in its creation, the state is obliged to provide for this right, not just legally but functionally. The preamble of India constitution contains the phrase: Equality- social political and economic