Three dimensions of equality: political, social and economic

Detail

1. Why we speak of "three dimensions"

• Inequality has more than one form. A person can be equal before the law and still be shut out by caste or poverty.
• So political theory looks at equality in three areas:
• Political: equal power as a citizen.
• Social: equal chances in life, plus a decent minimum for everyone.

• Economic: no very large gaps in wealth and income.

• Each area needs a different kind of action from the state. Legal rights alone are not enough.

2. Political equality

• Political equality means equal citizenship. Every citizen has:
• the right to vote;

• freedom of expression, movement, association and belief.

• These rights are necessary but not sufficient.

• Many countries give everyone these rights in law.
• Large inequalities in wealth, status and opportunity still remain there.

• So people ask for a "level playing field": everyone should start the race from a fair position, not just run under the same rules.

• Indian anchor: universal adult franchise (Art. 326).

• Universal adult franchise means every adult citizen can vote. Property, education, sex and caste do not matter.
• India gave it from the start (1950). There was no phased extension.

• The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 by the 61st Amendment Act, 1988.

• Contrast with older democracies:

Country	Women's suffrage
India	Full adult franchise from 1950 (Art. 326)
UK	Partly in 1918 (women over 30, with conditions); equal to men in 1928
Switzerland	Federal vote only in 1971

• Related constitutional guarantees:
• Art. 14: equality before law and equal protection of laws.
• Art. 19(1)(a)–(d): freedoms of speech, assembly, association and movement.

• Art. 25: freedom of conscience and religion (belief).

• Ambedkar's warning (25 November 1949, Constituent Assembly):

• India was "going to enter into a life of contradictions".
• In politics: "one man, one vote and one vote, one value".
• In social and economic life: inequality continues.
• If the contradiction lasted too long, he said, those who suffered inequality could "blow up" political democracy.
• Lesson: political equality survives only when social and economic equality support it.

3. Social equality

• Social equality means equality of opportunity plus minimum conditions of life for everyone:
• adequate health care;
• good education;
• enough nourishment;

• a minimum wage.

• Why it matters: without these basics, talent is wasted. A gifted child who is hungry or out of school can never compete fairly.

• Constitutional anchors:
• Art. 15: the state cannot discriminate on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Art. 15(4) and 15(5) allow special provisions for backward classes, SCs and STs, including in admissions.
• Art. 16: equal opportunity in public employment. Art. 16(4) allows reservation for backward classes not adequately represented.
• Art. 17: "untouchability" is abolished, and practising it in any form is forbidden and punishable.

3.1 Customs as a special barrier in India

• In India, custom (old social practice), not law alone, often blocks equality, especially for women:
• unequal inheritance: daughters got a smaller or no share of family property;
• prohibitions on some activities;

• discouragement of higher education for girls.

• Inheritance reform:

• Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 (No. 39 of 2005) substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The daughter of a coparcener (a member with a birth-right in joint Hindu family property under Mitakshara law) becomes a coparcener by birth in her own right, in the same manner as the son. She has the same rights and the same liabilities [5].
• Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (11 August 2020), a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court:
  • the daughter is a coparcener whether she was born before or after the 2005 amendment [4];
  • because the right comes by birth, the father need not have been alive on 9 September 2005 (the date the amendment came into force) [4];
  • rights can be claimed from 9 September 2005, but the provision is retroactive, meaning it gives rights based on an earlier event (the daughter's birth) [4].

3.2 Role of the state and of groups

• The state should:
• prevent discrimination and harassment. Example: the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act). It builds on the Vishaka guidelines (1997) and requires an Internal Committee at workplaces with 10 or more employees;

• offer incentives, such as scholarships and hostels, so excluded groups can catch up.

• Groups and movements should raise awareness to change customs.

3.3 Inequalities in education: data

• Older data (NCERT, NSSO 55th Round, 1999–2000): urban graduates per 1,000 people aged 15 and above:

Group	Graduates per 1,000 (urban)
SC	47
Muslim	61
Hindu-OBC	86
ST	109
Christian	237
Sikh	250
Hindu upper caste	253
All-group average	155

• This table is more than 25 years old. Use the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) for current figures.
• AISHE 2023-24 (released with AISHE 2022-23):
• GER of SC students: 18.9 (2014-15) → 27.8 (2023-24) [2].
• GER of ST students: 13.5 (2014-15) → 22.8 (2023-24) [2].
• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): students enrolled in higher education as a percentage of the population aged 18–23.
• SC enrolment: 46.07 lakh → 69.72 lakh (up 51.4%) [2].
• ST enrolment: 16.41 lakh → 28.83 lakh (up 75.7%) [2].

• OBC enrolment: 1.13 crore → 1.80 crore (up 60.2%) [2].

• Reading: the gaps are narrowing. But SC and ST GER still remains below the national average, so the problem NCERT shows has not gone away.

3.4 Social exclusion

• Social exclusion is the process that shuts groups out of economic, social and political life because of caste, gender, disability or ethnicity, not only low income.
• It is wider than poverty. A rich Dalit can still face exclusion, and so can a disabled person with an income.
• Example: the Sachar Committee (2006) on Muslims.
• It was a seven-member High Level Committee chaired by Justice Rajindar Sachar. It was notified on 9 March 2005 and reported to the PM on 17 November 2006 [8].
• It found that Muslims lagged behind in social, economic and educational sectors. The reasons were low educational attainment, few schools in Muslim-concentration areas, heavy self-employment in the unorganised sector, and low share in regular salaried jobs [9].
• Poverty (2004-05): 38.4% of urban Muslims and 26.9% of rural Muslims lived below the poverty line [9].
• Key recommendations: an Equal Opportunity Commission to hear complaints of deprived groups, and recognition of madrasa degrees for defence, civil service and banking exams [9].

4. Economic equality

• Economic equality means there are no large gaps in wealth, property or income between individuals or classes.
• How it is measured:
• the gap between the richest and the poorest;
• the Gini coefficient: 0 means everyone has the same income, 1 means one person has everything;
• the Palma ratio: the income share of the richest 10% divided by the share of the poorest 40%;

• the number of people below the poverty line.

• Absolute equality (everyone having exactly the same) has probably never existed in any society.

• So democracies aim at equal opportunity. Talented and hardworking people should be able to improve their position, whatever family they were born into.
• Constitutional anchors (Directive Principles):
• Art. 38(2): the state shall try to minimise inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities.
• Art. 39(b)–(c): material resources should serve the common good, and wealth should not be concentrated to the common harm.

5. Entrenched inequality

• Entrenched inequality means the same families stay rich (or poor) generation after generation, untouched by reform.
• Why it is dangerous:
• Hereditary classes: society splits into classes based on birth, not merit.
• Resentment and violence: groups that are left out lose faith in the system.

• Resistance to reform: the wealthy hold political power through political finance (money for parties and elections) and influence, so they block change.

• Indian tax history:

• Estate duty (a tax on property passing on death) was abolished for deaths on or after 16 March 1985. This was announced in the 1985-86 Budget [7]. (Estate duty on agricultural land had been dropped by the Estate Duty (Amendment) Act, 1984.)
• Wealth tax under the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 was abolished by the Finance Act, 2015, with effect from 1 April 2016 [6][10].
  • Reason given: a surcharge (extra tax) on very high incomes would reach the same goal, because it is easier to collect and creates less paperwork [6].
• The inheritance-tax debate keeps coming back (economics pointer). Supporters say it breaks down entrenched wealth. Critics fear capital flight and evasion.

6. How the three dimensions connect

• Political → social/economic: voting power lets the poor demand welfare and reservation.
• Economic → political: concentrated wealth can buy influence and weaken "one vote, one value".
• Social → economic: exclusion by caste or gender blocks access to jobs, land and credit.
• So Indian affirmative action (special help for disadvantaged groups) combines all three:
• political: reserved seats (Arts. 330, 332, 243D, 243T);
• social: Arts. 15(4), 16(4), 17;
• economic: Directive Principles and welfare laws.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 326 gives universal adult franchise. The 61st Amendment Act, 1988 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
• Art. 17 abolishes "untouchability". It is an absolute right with no exceptions.
• Ambedkar's "life of contradictions" speech was given on 25 November 1949, the day before the Constitution was adopted.
• Women's suffrage at the federal level came in Switzerland in 1971. The UK gave it in 1918 and made it equal to men's in 1928.
• Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 made the daughter a coparcener by birth by substituting Section 6 of the 1956 Act. It came into force on 9 September 2005 [5][4].
• Vineeta Sharma (2020): the father need not have been alive on 9 September 2005 for the daughter to claim her share [4].
• Sachar Committee: chaired by Rajindar Sachar, reported on 17 November 2006 and recommended an Equal Opportunity Commission [8][9].
• Wealth tax was abolished from 1 April 2016 and replaced by a surcharge. Estate duty was abolished in 1985 [6][7].
• AISHE 2023-24: SC GER was 27.8 and ST GER 22.8 [2].
• Trap: the Palma ratio compares the top 10% with the bottom 40%, not the top 20% with the bottom 20%.

Mains Points

• "Political equality is necessary but not sufficient." Use Ambedkar's 1949 warning:
• universal franchise (Art. 326) gave formal equality;

• persistent gaps in caste, gender and wealth (Sachar 2006; AISHE GER gaps) show that substantive equality needs Arts. 15(4), 16(4) and the Directive Principles.

• Law versus custom: the 2005 amendment and Vineeta Sharma (2020) gave daughters equal coparcenary rights in law. But custom still blocks them in practice: daughters are pressured to sign away their shares, and land records are rarely updated. Legal reform needs awareness and enforcement too (for example, an effective Internal Committee under the POSH Act).

• Entrenched inequality and reform:
• Wealth tax was dropped because it raised little revenue and was costly to collect [6].
• Without estate or wealth taxes, dynastic wealth faces almost no check.
• Arguments on both sides:
  • For an inheritance tax: Art. 39(c) asks the state to prevent concentration of wealth.
  • Against: capital flight and evasion.

• Possible middle path: better data, a high exemption limit, and closing loopholes.

• Social exclusion versus poverty: policy that targets only income misses caste, gender and disability barriers. Sachar's proposed Equal Opportunity Commission and data by social group (AISHE) are tools to measure exclusion and act on it.