CON ART. 17 18

 Article 17 of the Indian Constitution is a legislation that abolishes practice of untouchability in any form. According to the provision of Article 17, “enforcement of any disability aris arisin ing g out out of unto untouc ucha habi bilility ty”” is a puni punish shab able le offe offenc nce e in accordance with law.

Purpose of Article 17  Article 17 is considered one of the earliest manifestations of  Indias effort towards bringing social reforms. !y enacting this this Artic rticle le,, the the gove govern rnme ment nt of inde indepe pend nden entt Indi India a acte acted d earnestly to abolish the scourge of caste discrimination. "he purpose behind this legislation is the liberation of society from orthodo# beliefs and rituals that have lost both legal and moral base. "he Constitution$ma%ers not only provided for criminalising any form of social discrimination but also punishing those who practice such discriminations. discriminations. "he ostensible ob&ective was to put an end to humiliation and harassment faced by the dalits and bac%ward classes and and ensu ensure re that that thei theirr fund fundam amen enta tall righ rights ts are are pres preser erve ved. d.  Although Article Article 17 doesnt define the term term 'untouchability, 'untouchability, it generally means the “social restrictions” imposed on certain sect sectio ions ns of soci societ ety y when when it come comes s to acce access ssin ing g publ public ic places, offering prayers and performing religious services, and getting to en&oy fundamental rights.

Criticism of Article 17 Its to be noted that neither Article 17 nor related legislations find any mention about abolishing caste system and untouchability, which is the root cause of widespread discrimination. "hese legislations only tal% about abolishing untouchability as a practice. According to the e#perts, Indian government should not be “tin%ering with the problem of  untouchability superficially” but do away with the caste distinction.

Abolition of Titles

 Article 18 prevents the state from confirming any title except military and academic distinction. Article 18 prohibits the Indian citizens from receiving titles from any foreign state. The foreign nationals holding the office of profit under the state may accept titles from the foreign government with the consent of President. In a true democracy there is no space for artificial distinctions among the same society. Titles such as !ai "ahadur #awai !ai #ahab $amindar talu%dar etc were prevalent in medieval and "ritish India. All these titles were abolished by article 18 of the constitution. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar explained in the Constituent Assembly

that Article 18 did not create a justiciable right : “The non-

acceptance of titles is a condition of continued citizenship !t is not a right" it is a duty imposed upon the indi#idual that if he continues to be the citizen of this country" then he must abide  by certain conditions $ne of the conditions is that he must not accept a title !f he did" it %ould be open for &arliament to decide by la% %hat should be done to persons %ho #iolate the  pro#isions of this Article $ne of the penalties may be that he may lose the right of citizenship' Thus" under Article 18" not only is the (tate in !ndia pre#ented from conferring titles on any person" but !ndian citizens are also forbidden to accept any title from a foreign (tate %ithout the consent of the &resident of !ndia The prohibition applies not only to the acceptance of titles but also to that of any  presents" emoluments or office of any )ind from any foreign (tate by any person holding an office of profit or trust under the (tate