PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE GROUP

Vulnerable groups are those groups of people who may find it difficult to lead a comfortable
life, and lack developmental opportunities due to their disadvantageous position. However,
in common understanding, people who are easily susceptible to physical or emotional injury,
or subject to unnecessary criticism, or in a less valuable position in any society may be
defined as vulnerable people. Further, due to adverse socio-economical, cultural, and other
practices present in each society, they find it difficult many a times to exercise their human
rights fully.

Vulnerability refers to the inability to withstand the effects of a hostile environment. And,
vulnerable are those who are exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either
physically or emotionally.

1. Women
2. Children
3. OBC.
4. SC.
5. ST.
6. Minority.
7. Differently Abled.
8. Senior Citizens.
9. Victims of Substance Abuse.
10. Unhealthy.
11. Illiterate.
12. Unorganized workers.
13. Poor migrants.
14. People living with HIV/AIDS.
15. Sexual Minorities (LGBT).
16. Poor in general.
17. Vulnerable sections marked in bold are those who are taken care by Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment.

Mechanisms to protect the interests of vulnerable sections

1. Constitution : Various provisions for safeguarding the interests of vulnerable sections.

2. Legislature : Union and State levels : Various bills for vulnerable sections.
3. Executive : Various Ministries under Central and State Governments.
4. Judiciary : For delivering social justice.
5. Decentralized Administration (extending to Panchayati Raj Level to reach vulnerable
sections).
6. National and State commissions for vulnerable sections (Like National Commission for
Women).
7. National and State commissions for vulnerable sections (Like National Commission for
Women). There are administrative mechanisms mentioned as under:
i. Reservation.
 ii. Subsidy.
iii. PDS.
iv. Scholarships.
v. Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
8. Laws for the development and betterment of vulnerable sections: Laws about
vulnerable sections can be seen in two dimensions.
i. Statutory
ii. Constitutional Provisions for Vulnerable Sections

VULNERABLE GROUPS IN INDIA

In India there are multiple socio-economic disadvantages that members of particular groups
experience which limits their access to health and healthcare. The task of identifying the
vulnerable groups is not an easy one. Besides there are multiple and complex factors of
vulnerability with different layers and more often than once it cannot be analysed in isolation.
Some of the prominent factors on the basis of which individuals or members of groups are
discriminated in India, i.e., structural factors, age, disability, mobility, stigma and
discrimination that act as barriers to health and healthcare. The vulnerable groups that face
discrimination include Women, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Children,
Aged, Disabled, Poor migrants, People living with HIV/AIDS and Sexual Minorities.
Sometimes each group faces multiple barriers due to their multiple identities. For example, in
a patriarchal society, disabled women face double discrimination of being a women and being
disabled.

VULNERABLE GROUPS FACING STRUCTURAL DISCRIMINATION (Women,

Scheduled Castes, omen, Scheduled Castes, Dalits, Scheduled Tribes)

Structural norms are attached to the different relationships between the subordinate and the
dominant group in every society. A group’s status may for example, be determined on the
basis of gender, ethnic origin, skin colour, etc. The norms act as structural barriers giving rise
to various forms of inequality. Access to health and healthcare for the subordinate groups is
reduced due to the structural barriers.

MINISTRIES RELATED TO SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

2. Ministry for Development of North-East Region.
3. Ministry of Labour & Employment.
4. Ministry of Law & Justice.
5. Ministry of Minority Affairs.
6. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions.
7. Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
8. Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Constitutional Provisions for Vulnerable Sections

There are certain constitutional provisions which cover all vulnerable sections (common to
all). Also, there are provisions which deals only with specific sections.

Constitutional Provisions relevant to Social Justice & Empowerment as a whole

1. Preamble
2. Article 23 : Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.
3. Article 24 : Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.
4. Article 37 : Application of the principles contained in this Part (DPSP).
5. Article 38 : State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people.
6. Article 39 : Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State.
7. Article 39A : Equal justice and free legal aid.
8. Article 46 : Promotion of Educational and Economic interests of Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.

Constitutional Provisions relating to SCs

Definition and Specification of SCs

1. Article 341 : Scheduled Castes.

2. Article 366 : Definitions .

Social Safeguards

1. Article 17 : Abolition of Untouchability.

2. Art. 17: This eradicates untouchability and its practice in any form. Although the term
untouchability has not been demarcated in the constitution or in any act but its
meaning is to be understood not in a literal sense but in the context of Indian society.
Due to the varna system, some people were relegated to do menial jobs such as
cleaning toilets. Such people were not to be touched and it was considered a sin to
even touch their shadow. They were not even allowed to enter public places such as
temples and shops.
The constitution struggles to remove this abhorring practice by not only making the provision
a fundamental right but also allows punishment to whoever practices or abets it in any form.
Towards this end, Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 was enacted. It has implemented
several measures to eradicate this evil from the society. It stipulates up to 6 months
imprisonment or Rs.500 fine or both. It impresses upon the public servant to investigate fully
any complaint in this matter and failing to do so will amount to abetting this crime. In the
case of State of Kar. vs Appa Balu Ingle, SC upheld the conviction for preventing a lower
caste person from filling water from a bore well. In Asiad Projects Workers case, SC has held
that right under Art 17 is available against private individuals as well and it is the duty of the
state to ensure that this right is not violated.

3. Article 25 : Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation

of religion.
Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all persons in India. It
provides that all persons in India, subject to public order, morality, health, and other
provisions:

 Are equally entitled to freedom of conscience, and

 Have the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion.
It further provides that this article shall not affect any existing law and shall not prevent the
state from making any law relating to:

 Regulation or restriction of any economic, financial, political, or any secular

activity associated with religious practice.
 Providing social welfare and reform.
 Opening of Hindu religious institutions of public character for all the classes and
sections of the Hindus.

Educational, Economic and Public Employment – related Safeguards

1. Article 15 : Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or

place of birth.
2. Article 16 : Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.
3. Article 46 : Promotion of Educational and Economic interests of Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.
4. Article 320 : Functions of Public Service Commissions.
5. Article 335 : Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts.

Political Safeguards

1. Article 330 : Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in
the House of the People.
2. Article 332 : Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in
the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
3. Article 334 : Reservation of seats and special representation to cease after sixty years.
4. Article 243D : Reservation of seats (in Panchayats).
5. Article 243T : Reservation of seats (in Municipalities).

Agency for monitoring safeguards

1. Article 338 : National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

Constitutional Provisions relating to Socially & Educationally Backward Classes (OBCs)
The constitution does not define the term backward classes. It is up to the center and the
states to specify the classes that belong to this group. However, it is understood that classes
that are not represented adequately in the services of the state can be termed backward
classes. Further, the President can, under Art. 340, can constitute a commission to investigate
the condition of socially and educationally backward classes. Based on this report, the
president may specify the backward classes.

Commission for Enquiring into Conditions of Backward Classes

1. Article 340 : Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward

classes.

Safeguards relating to Educational & Public Employment

1. Article 15 : Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or

place of birth.
2. Article 16 : Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.

 Art. 15 (4): “Nothing in this article or in article 29(2) shall prevent the state from
making any provisions for the advancement of any socially and economically
backward classes of citizens or for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.” This
clause started the era of reservations in India. You may please note that Art. 15(4) talks
about backward classes and not backward castes thus caste is not the only criterion for
backwardness and other criteria must also be considered.
 In the case of Balaji vs State of Mysore, the SC held that reservation cannot be more
than 50%. Further, that Art. 15(4) talks about backward classes and not backward
castes thus caste is not the only criterion for backwardness and other criteria must also
be considered. Finally, in the case of Indra Sawhney vs Union of India, SC upheld the
decision given under Balaji vs State of Mysore that reservation should not exceed
50% except only in special circumstances. It further held that it is valid to sub-
categorize the reservation between backward and more backward classes. However,
total should still not exceed 50%. It also held that the carry forward rule is valid as
long as reservation does not exceed 50%.
 Art. 15 (5) : This clause was added in 93rd amendment in 2005 and allows the state to
make special provisions for backward classes or SCs or STs for admissions in private
educational institutions, aided or unaided.
 Art. 16(4): This clause allows the state to reserve vacancies in public service for any
backward classes of the state that are not adequately represented in the public services.
 Art. 16 (4A): This allows the state to implement reservation in the matter of promotion
for SCs and STs.
 Art. 16(4B): This allows the state to consider unfilled vacancies reserved for backward
classes as a separate class of vacancies not subject to a limit of 50% reservation.
 Art. 17: This eradicates untouchability and its practice in any form. Although the term
untouchability has not been demarcated in the constitution or in any act but its
meaning is to be understood not in a literal sense but in the context of Indian society.
Due to the varna system, some people were relegated to do menial jobs such as
cleaning toilets. Such people were not to be touched and it was considered a sin to
 even touch their shadow. They were not even allowed to enter public places such as
temples and shops.
The constitution struggles to remove this abhorring practice by not only making the provision
a fundamental right but also allows punishment to whoever practices or abets it in any form.
Towards this end, Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 was enacted. It has implemented
several measures to eradicate this evil from the society. It stipulates up to 6 months
imprisonment or Rs.500 fine or both. It impresses upon the public servant to investigate fully
any complaint in this matter and failing to do so will amount to abetting this crime. In the
case of State of Kar. vs Appa Balu Ingle, SC upheld the conviction for preventing a lower
caste person from filling water from a bore well. In Asiad Projects Workers case, SC has held
that right under Art 17 is available against private individuals as well and it is the duty of the
state to ensure that this right is not violated.

Agency for Monitoring Safeguards

1. Article 338 : National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

Special Officer for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes etc

a) There shall be a Special Officer for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes to be appointed by the President
b) It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to
the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under
this Constitution and report to the President upon the working of those
safeguards at such intervals as the President may direct, and the President shall
cause all such reports to be laid before each House of Parliament
c) In this article references to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall
be construed as including references to such other backward classes as the
President may, on receipt of the report of a Commission appointed under
clause ( 1 ) of Article 340, by order specify and also to the Anglo Indian
community

Constitutional Provisions relating to Persons with Disability and the Old

1. Article 41 : Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases.

In Constitution of India, entry 24 in list III of Schedule IV deals with the “Welfare of Labour,
including conditions of work, provident funds, liability for workmen’s compensations,
invalidity and Old age pension and maternity benefits.Further, Item No. 9 of the State List
and Item No. 20, 23 and 24 of the Concurrent List relates to old age pension, social security
and social insurance, and economic and social planning.

Article 41 of the Directive Principle of the State Policy has particular relevance to Old Age
Social Security. According to this Article, “the State shall, within the limits of its economic
capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to
education and to public assistance in case of undeserved want.”

Constitutional Provisions relating to Prevention of Substance Abuse

1. Article 47 : Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living
and to improve public health.

Constitutional Provisions relating to Children

Art. 19 A: Education up to 14 yrs has been made a fundamental right. Thus, the state is
required to provide school education to children.

In the case of Unni Krishnan vs State of AP, SC held that right to education for children
between 6 to 14 yrs of age is a fundamental right as it flows from Right to Life. After this
decision, education was made a fundamental right explicitly through 86th amendment in
2002.

Art. 24: Children have a fundamental right against exploitation and it is prohibited to employ
children below 14 yrs of age in factories and any hazardous processes. Recently the list of
hazardous processes has been update to include domestic, hotel, and restaurant work.

Several PILs have been filed in the benefit of children. For example, MC Mehta vs State of
TN, SC has held that children cannot be employed in match factories or which are directly
connected with the process as it is hazardous for the children.

In the case of Lakshmi Kant Pandey vs Union of India, J Bhagvati has laid down guidelines
for adoption of Indian children by foreigners. [source : legalservicesindia.com]

Art. 45: Urges the state to provide early childhood care and education for children up to 6 yrs
of age.

Constitutional Provisions relating to Women

Art. 15(3): It allows the state to make special provisions for women and children. Several acts
such as Dowry Prevention Act have been passed including the most recent one of Protection
of women from domestic violence Act 2005.

Art. 23: Under the fundamental right against exploitation, flesh trade has been banned.

Art. 39: Ensures equal pay to women for equal work.

In the case of Randhir Singh vs Union of India, SC held that the concept of equal pay for
equal work is indeed a constitutional goal and is capable of being enforced through
constitutional remedies under Art. 32.
Art. 40: Provides 1/3 reservation in panchayat.

Art. 42: Provides free pregnancy care and delivery.

Art. 44: It urges the state to implement uniform civil code, which will help improve the
condition of women across all religions. It has, however, not been implemented due to
politics. In the case of Sarla Mudgal vs Union of India, SC has held that in Indian Republic
there is to be only one nation i.e. Indian nation and no community could claim to be a
separate entity on the basis of religion. There is a plan to provide reservation to women in
parliament as well.

Some General Provisions

Definition of “State”

1. Article 12 : Definition [Part III : Fundamental Rights].

2. Article 36 : Definition [Part IV : Directive Principles of State Policy].

Division of Legislative & Executive Powers Between The Union & The States

1. Article 246 : Subject-matter of laws made by Parliament and by the Legislatures of

States.
2. Article 73 : Extent of executive power of the Union.
3. Article 162 : Extent of executive power of the State.

Devolution of Powers and Responsibilities on Panchayat & Municipalities

1. Article 243G : Powers, Authority and Responsibilities of Panchayat.

2. Article 243W : Powers, Authority and Responsibilities of Municipalities, etc.

Seventh Schedule(See Art.246)

 Union List Entries 59, 97.

 State List Entries 8, 9.
 Concurrent List Entries 15, 16, 19, 20, 23.

Eleventh Schedule(See Art.243G)

 Entries 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.

Twelfth Schedule(See Art.243W)

  Entries 3, 6, 9. 10, 11.

Statutory Provisions for Vulnerable Sections

1. The Protection of Civil Rights( PCR) Act, 1955 : For SC.

2. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 : For
SC and ST.
3. The National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 : For Backward Classes.
4. Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act, 1995.
5. Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 : For Social
Defense.
6. Dowry Prevention Act.
7. Protection of women from domestic violence Act 2005.

Institutions for the development of vulnerable sections

1. National Institute of Social Defence.

2. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Institute of Physically Handicapped, New Delhi.
3. National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped, Kolkata.
4. National Institute of Visually Handicapped, Dehradun.
5. National Institute of Mentally Handicapped, Secunderabad.
6. Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai.
7. National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research, Cuttack.
8. National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities,
Chennai.
9. Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation,Training & Research
(SVNIRTAR), Orissa.
10. The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre, New Delhi.
11. The National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation.
12. The National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation.
13. The National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation.
14. The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation.
15. Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation, Kanpur.
16. Dr. Ambedkar Foundation.
17. Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation

Bodies for the development of vulnerable sections

1. National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

2. National Commission for Backward Classes.
3. National Commission for Safai Karamcharis.
4. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes – NCST.

The Rehabilitation Council of India.

1. The Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.

 2. The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental
Retardation and Multiple Disabilities.
3. National Commission for Women, New Delhi, India.
4. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
5. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
6. National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi, India.

Constitutional aspect of these vulnerable groups:

There are various constitutional provisions which are dealing with the problem of
discrimination on the basis of Caste. They are as follows:

Art. 15(4) : Clause 4 of Article 15 is the fountain head of all provisions regarding
compensatory discrimination for SCs/STs. This clause was added in the first amendment to
the constitution in 1951 after the SC judgement in the case of Champakam Dorairajan V.
State of Madras. It says thus, “Nothing in this article or in article 29(2) shall prevent the
state from making any provisions for the advancement of any socially and economically
backward classes of citizens or for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.” This clause
started the era of reservations in India.

The basic aim or objective of making these articles is to make the socially and
economically people to fall in the same category as the other sections of the society is
treated and make them feel comfortable about their position in the society. In the case of
Balaji V. State of Mysore, the SC held that reservation cannot be more than 50%. Further,
that Art. 15(4) talks about backward classes and not backward castes thus caste is not the
only criterion for backwardness.

Finally, in the case of Indra Sawhney V. Union of India, SC upheld the decision given
under Balaji V. State of Mysore that reservation should not exceed 50% except only in
special circumstances. It further held that it is valid to sub-categorize the reservation
between backward and more backward classes. However, total should still not exceed
50%. It also held that the carry forward rule is valid as long as reservation does not
exceed 50%.

Art. 15(5): This clause was added in 93rd amendment in 2005 and allows the state to make
special provisions for backward classes or SCs or STs for admissions in private educational
institutions, aided or unaided.

VULNERABILITY OF CHILDREN AND AGED

Mortality and morbidity among children are caused and compounded by poverty, their sex
and caste position in society. All these will lead to have penalty on their nutrition intake,
access to healthcare, environment and education. The factors which directly impacts are as
follows: food security, education of parents and their access to correct health information and
access to health care facilities. The important causes of death among children from poor
families is Malnutrition and chronic hunger which include Diarrhoea, acute respiratory
diseases, malaria and measles and most of which are either avoidable or treatable with low-
cost intervention. The vulnerability among the elderly is not only due to an increased
incidence of illness and disability, but also due to their economic dependency upon their
spouses, children and other younger family members.

Child faces discrimination and disparity access to nutritious food and gender based
aggression is evident from the falling sex ratio and the use of technologies to get rid of or
abolish the girl child. Surrounded by children the health indicators vary between the different
social groups. High mortality and morbidity is reported among children from Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes as compared to the general population.
Infant mortality is higher among the rural population (Rural-62, Urban 42 per one thousand
live births in the last five years, National Family Health Survey 3, Fact Sheets). The injection
coverage is very poor among children who live in rural India. Injection coverage among
children between 12-23 months who have received the suggested vaccines is only 39 per cent
in rural India in contrast to 58 per cent in urban India. In India, children’s vulnerabilities and
practice to violations of their protection rights remain spread and multiple in nature. The
manifestations of these violations are various, ranging from child labour, child trafficking, to
commercial sexual exploitation and many other forms of violence and abuse. With an
estimated 12.6 million children engaged in hazardous occupations. In India, however there is
a huge gap in the industry-specific and exposure-specific epidemiological evidence. Most of
the studies are small-scale and community-based studies and the population is growing
promptly and is emerging as a serious area of concern for the government and the policy
planners. According to data on the age of India’s population, in Census 2001, there are a little
over 76.6 million people above 60 years, constituting 7.2 per cent of the population. The
number of people over 60 years in 1991 was 6.8 per cent of the country’s population.

Constitutional provisions of this group:

Art. 19 A: Education up to 14 yrs has been made a fundamental right. Thus, the state is
required to provide school education to children so as to maintain the integrity of the
principle under which these laws are made and also to maintain the equal treatment of child
under the constitution and in the eyes of law as well as society.

In the case of Unni Krishnan V. State of AP[5], SC held that right to education for
children between 6 to 14 yrs of age is a fundamental right as it flows from Right to Life.
After this decision, education was made a fundamental right explicitly through 86th
amendment in 2002. Art. 24: Children have a fundamental right against exploitation and it
is prohibited to employ children below 14 yrs of age in factories and any hazardous
processes. Recently the list of hazardous processes has been update to include domestic,
hotel, and restaurant work. Several PILs have been filed in the benefit of children. For
example, MC Mehta V. State of TN[6], SC has held that children cannot be employed in
match factories or which are directly connected with the process as it is hazardous for the
children.

Art. 45: Urges the state to provide early childhood care and education for children up to 6 yrs
of age. Age and high levels of economic reliance combine to create high levels of
vulnerability to chronic poverty. While old age pension schemes are in place neither the small
amounts made available nor the aggravated form of accessing them make this a resolution to
the trouble of chronic poverty between the elderly. With the high incidence of chronic
ailments and health care needs of the elderly, declining family size, migration and breakdown
of traditional family structures that provided support, this group of the population is
extremely vulnerable to poverty.

VULNERABILITY DUE TO DISABILITY

Disability poses greater challenges in obtaining the needed range of services. Persons with
disabilities face several forms of discrimination and have compressed access to education,
employment and other socioeconomic opportunities. The percentage of disabled inhabitants
to the total inhabitants is about 2.13 per cent. There are two broad categories of disability,
one is acquired which means disability acquired because of accidents and medical reasons
and the other is disability since the origin of birth. According to the National Sample Survey
Organisation Report (58th Round), about one-third of the disabled population have disability
since their birth and there are various interstate and interregional differences in the disabled
population. The disabled face various types of barriers while looking for access to health and
health services. In the middle of those who are disabled women, children and aged are more
vulnerable and need attention. Five out of ten leading causes of disability and premature
death worldwide are due to psychiatric conditions which also include deadly diseases like
Depression and anxiety are the most common mental disorders. The other area of concern is
the mental health of women and the elderly. Neurotic and stress connected cases are allegedly
higher among women than men, though among men there is exposure of higher number of
cases of serious illness. In spite of such proportion of mental illness, the health care
necessities for persons with mental illness are very poor in India. People with mental illness
face severe forms of human rights violations. There is social stigma attached to mental
illness. Women with mental illness are subjected to physical and sexual abuse both within
families and the institutions. Psychiatric medicines are complete only in a few primary health
centres, community centres and district hospitals. Services like child guidance and
rehabilitative services are also obtainable only in mental hospitals and in big cities. Several
states do not have mental hospitals. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,
Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995, commonly referred as the PWD Act
came into force on Feb. 7, 1996. Mental illness has been considered in the Act, but there is no
reference to any provision within the Act to be given or set aside for people with mental
illness.

Constitutional provisions of this group:

The Constitution of India ensures equality, freedom, justice and dignity of all individuals
and implicitly mandates an inclusive society for all including the persons with
disabilities. The Constitution in the schedule of subjects lays direct responsibility of the
empowerment of the persons with disabilities on the State Governments Therefore, the
primary responsibility to empower the persons with disabilities rests with the State
Governments.

Under Article 253 of the Constitution read with item No. 13 of the Union List, the
Government of India enacted “The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,
Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995”, in the effort to ensure equal
opportunities for persons with disabilities and their full participation in nation-building.
The Act extends to whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The
Government of Jammu & Kashmir has enacted “The Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights & Full Participation Act, 1998.”

VULNERABILITY DUE TO MIGRATION

Migrants and their denial of human rights have to be understood from the dynamic
contradictions within and across countries—from skilled and voluntary migrants at one
end of the variety to the poor and unskilled migrant population on the other end
designed to be excluded from the fabric of the host nation. The correlation of human
rights and migration is a depressing one and also has bad experiences all the way
through the migratory ‘life cycle’, in areas of origin, journey or transit and destination.
The correlation of health and human rights has becomes even more complex because of
irregular or illegal migration clashes with the interest of the area of target. All these
things have direct impact on the rights of individual migrants. India has a large number
of international migrants. Neighbouring countries are the major sources of foundation
of the international migrants to India with the size of these migrants approaching from
Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan and Nepal, but all these migrants who have
entered the country legally. Migrants and mobile people become more vulnerable to
HIV/AIDS and it creates the situation of encountered and behaviours possibly occupied
in during the mobility or migration that increases vulnerability and risk. Migrant and
mobile people may have little or no access to HIV information, anticipation, health
services. This creates a negatively impact on their ability to access suitable treatment
and care and also there is stigma linked with mental illness due to which they practice
discrimination in many other aspects of their lives which are affecting their various
rights such as right to employment, adequate housing, education etc. There are many
who enter the country illegally and are one of the most vulnerable to abuse and
exploitation by employers, migration agents, corrupt bureaucrats and criminal gangs.
In many situations, migrants do not know what rights they are entitled to and still less
how to claim them hence the cases of abuse go unrecorded. Another area where
development is rampant and is forced labour which takes place in the illicit
underground economy and hence tends to escape national statistics. Illegal migrants
often live on the margins of society, trying to avoid contact with authorities and have
little or no legal access to prevention and healthcare services. They tend to face higher
risks of exposure to have unsafe working conditions. Many frequent they do not
approach the health system of the host countries for fear of their status being
discovered. Internal migration of poor labourers has also been on the rise in India.

(vi).VULNERABILITY DUE TO STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION

People living with HIV/AIDS, Sexual Minorities:

There are certain attitudes and perceptions towards certain kinds of illnesses and sexual
orientation which results in discrimination against individuals/groups. This section
faces the stigma and discrimination faced by the People living with HIV/AIDS and
Sexual Minorities. These groups face various kinds of discrimination and have reduced
access to healthcare. Stigma is the supreme barrier of health and healthcare in their
context. Negative responses and attitude of the society towards these groups are
strongly linked to people’s observation of the causes of HIV / AIDS and sexual
orientation. The rights of People living with HIV/AIDS are violated when they are
deprived of access to have health, education, and services. They suffer when their close
or extended families and friends fail to provide them the support that they need. India’s
National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) estimated in 2005 that there were 5.206
million HIV infections in India, of which 38.4 per cent occurred in women and 57 per
cent Stigma refer to attitudes that certain groups are lesser in one or many ways based
on their membership in a group. The term “discrimination” is used whenever people
are treated negatively, either by treating them differently where they should be
treated the same or by treating them same where they should be treated in a different
way. Discrimination is the breach of human rights obligation and which leads to
violence, torture, and exclusion from the society. Treating people equally does not
essentially mean that people should be treated the same and occurred in rural areas.
There are many experts argue that the current figures are gross underestimations and
that a significant number of AIDS cases go unreported. Prevalence estimates are based
primarily on guard surveillance conducted at public sites. The national information
system for collecting HIV testing information from the private sector is very weak.
Vulnerability to HIV is also increased by the lack of power of individuals and
communities to minimize or adjust their risk of exposure to HIV infection and once
infected, to receive satisfactory care and support. Some individuals are more vulnerable
to the infection than others. Low status of woman may force a monogamous woman to
engage in exposed sex with her spouse even if he is charming in sex with others.
Similarly youngster girls and boys may be vulnerable to HIV by being denied access to
preventive information, education, and services. Sex workers may have greater
vulnerability to HIV if they cannot access services to prevent, diagnose, and treat
sexually transmitted infections, particularly if they are afraid to come forward because
of the stigma associated with their occupation. There are strong perceptions of the
causes of AIDS, routes of transmission, and their level of knowledge about the illness.
These are compounded by the marginalization and stigmatization on the basis of such
attributes as gender, migrant status or behaviours that may be perceived as risk factors
for HIV infection. For example, women whose husbands have died of AIDS are rejected
by their own and their husband’s families and they are denied property inheritance of
their husbands.

Constitutional provisions of this group:

Art. 15(1) : The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.

4.WHAT CONSTITUTES VIOLATION OF RIGHT TO HEALTH FOR

VULNERABLE GROUPS?[7]

The violation of the right to health of vulnerable groups may result from direct
government action, from failure of the government to fulfil its minimum core
obligations and from the patterns of systematic discrimination. The specific examples of
violations of right to health of vulnerable groups would be:

Deliberate preservation or twisting of information on the health status of deprived

groups that may have been necessary for the prevention and treatment of illness or
disability.

Impressive discriminatory practices touching the group’s health status and needs.
Adopting laws and policies that interfere with the rights of the groups, for example,
women’s reproductive rights.

Failure to protect women against violence is often systematic and serious enough to
require women to seek hospital treatment for injuries and involve other health difficulty
related to violence. When governments fail to take pre-emptive steps to prevent and
treat victims of violence it is tantamount to violation of right.

Failure of government to provide adequate public health measures against infectious

diseases that affect the disadvantaged groups.

Government policies and practices creating imbalances in providing health services, i.e.,
poor infrastructure in rural areas or predominantly tribal areas. Systematic
discrimination in access to medicines and essential drugs for particular groups, i.e.,
HIV/AIDS drugs, reproductive health services for particular groups like women living
in poverty, in rural areas, belonging to marginalized communities.

5.SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE INDIAN STATE VIS-A VIS RIGHT TO

HEALTH

The Constitution of India and the other various laws do not accord health and
healthcare as rights to the population in general. While civil and political rights are
enshrined as fundamental rights that are permissible, social and economic rights like
health, education, livelihoods etc. exist as Directive Principles for the State and are
hence not permissible. There are however so many instances in which cases have been
filed in the various High Courts of states and Supreme Court of India on the right to
life, Article 21 of the Indian Constitution or on the various directive principles to
demand access to healthcare, particularly in emergency situations. International
safeguard of human rights is only effective when they are made viable by national
protection. The key factors in rights being operationalised for individuals and groups
within a nation are National-level legislation, policies and enforcement mechanism in
which National laws offer variable degrees of protection against human rights violation
and enables national bodies to hear cases of denial and enforce the norms. At present
there is a problem of justifiability of the Right to health in Indian Constitution since the
same is not protected by national legislation. Though India has ratified the Treaty on
the Economic Social and Cultural Right which covers Right to Health (Article 12), that
cannot be efficiently used to advocate for right to health in India. The Courts or
petitioners can merely derive motivation from the treaties on the cases on contradiction
on right to health but may not be able to use it efficiently to deliver justice. The
international treaties have only an suggestive significance unless protected by national
legislation. Absence of national legislation on right to health in India is the main reason
why it cannot be realized. Health and human rights support in India needs to intensify
the attempts towards transforming the critical principles of the Directive principles on
health and work into independent rights through rigorous judicial activism, i.e., filing
Public Interest Litigations, gathering testimonials for denial on right to health, etc.
There needs to be a concerted move towards making a national legislation on right to
health.

6.CONCLUSION:

In the Constitution of India, the three pillars of human rights are

(a). the right to equality including the prohibition of discrimination in any form

(b). the six vital freedoms of citizens (including the right to speech and expression)

(c). the right to life guaranteed to all persons.

These rights have been recognized to be inalienable, unalterable and part of the basic
structure of the Constitution which cannot be abrogated. India’s Supreme Court has
interpreted the right to life as including the right to live with dignity, right to health,
education, human environment, speedy trial and privacy, to name a few. Much of the
focus of governmental activity has been to improve the provision of services through
grass-roots local self-governance institutions, particularly in rural areas. India has
taken an important initiative for the empowerment of women by reserving one-third of
all seats for women in urban and local self-government, bringing over one million
women at the grassroots level into political decision making. India has guaranteed
human rights to all persons in India including the protection of minorities. India has
secured their right to practice and preserve their religious and cultural beliefs as a part
of the Chapter on Fundamental Rights. Legislative and executive measures have been
taken for the effective implementation of safeguards provided under the Constitution
for the protection of the interests of minorities. India has been deeply conscious of the
need to empower the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and is fully committed to
tackle any discrimination against them at every level. The Constitution of India
abolished “untouchability” and forbids its practice in any form. There are also explicit
and elaborate legal and administrative provisions to address caste-based discrimination
in the country. India stated that at independence, after the departure of the colonizers,
all the people, including its tribal people, were considered as indigenous to India. This
position has been clarified on various occasions, including while extending India’s
support to the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples at the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.