What is Article 18 of indian constitution| Abolition of Titles

 

What is Article 18 of indian constitution

📘 Article 18 of the Indian Constitution – Abolition of Titles

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🔹 Text Summary of Article 18:

Article 18 prohibits the State from conferring titles and prohibits citizens from accepting foreign titles, in order to promote equality and eliminate social hierarchy based on titles.

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🧾 Breakdown of Clauses:

🔸 Article 18(1):

• The State shall not confer any title (except military or academic distinctions like “Dr.”, “Major”, “Professor”, etc.)

🔸 Article 18(2):

• A citizen of India shall not accept any title from any foreign State.

🔸 Article 18(3):

• A foreign national holding any office under the State cannot accept any title from a foreign State without government permission.

🔸 Article 18(4):

• No one holding an office of profit or trust under the State (like government servants, MPs, judges, etc.) can accept gifts, titles, or positions from foreign governments without prior approval.

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✅ Purpose of Article 18:

• To promote equality and remove feudal practices.

• Prevent formation of a nobility class in independent India.

• End British-era practices like awarding titles such as “Sir”, “Rai Bahadur”, “Khan Bahadur”.

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🎖️ What Titles Are Still Allowed?

• Military titles (e.g., Colonel, General)

• Academic titles (e.g., Dr., Professor)

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🏅 What About Civilian Awards like Bharat Ratna?

• Awards like Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna are not considered "titles".

• The Supreme Court (in the Balaji Raghavan case, 1996) ruled:

  • These awards are not violations of Article 18 as long as they are not used as titles or prefixed/suffixed to names.

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⚖️ In Simple Words:

Article 18 bans the granting and use of honorific titles (like Sir, Raja, Nawab) by the Indian State or foreign countries, to ensure equality and dignity among all citizens.

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