Several questions have been raised before the Courts in India, especially the High Coutts and the Supreme Court, whenever the state failed to provide adequate protection to minorities including the Article 30 of the Constitution. As a matter of chance, the pronouncement of the Courts have not been consistent in this regard. Sometimes the protection under Art. 30 (1) was declared as “Special Right” and other times the principle of “Equal Rights” was upheld. Similarly, the distinction between “State-aided” minority educational institutions and “unaided” ones also cost differing judgments. Even in case of Right to Education (Article 21-A), varying views were expressed by the courts regarding minority safeguards.

At present, there persists a state of confusion regarding interpretation of Article 30 which needs to be clarified by a larger bench of the Supreme Court. This paper deals with such and other related issues and tries to find a few answers within the ambit of the Constitution.