Describe Right to Equality as guaranteed under the Constitution of India. What are various exceptions to it?

(a) Right to equality, guaranteed under the Constitution of India is as given below:
(i) The government shall not deny to any person in India equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws.
(ii) The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, caste, ethnicity, sex or piece of birth.
(iii) Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels and cinema halls.
(iv) There shall be no restriction with regard to the use of wells, tanks. bathing ghats, roads, playgrounds and places of public resorts maintained by government or dedicated to the use of general public.
(v) All citizens have equality, of opportunity in matters relating to employment or appointment to any position in the government. No citizen shall be discriminated against or made ineligible for employment on the grounds mentioned above.
(vi) The practice of untouchability has been forbidden in any form. The Constitution has made untouchability a punishable offence.
(vii) Abolition of all titles except provided in favour of academic or military distinctions.
(b) There are, however, following exceptions to the right to equality:
(i) Reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
(ii) Preference to women, poor or physically handicapped in some kind-o of jobs.
The reservations for SC/ST/OBC and preference to woman, poor and handicapped in some kinds of jobs is not considered violation of right to equality because equality does not mean giving everyone the same treatment, no matter what they need Equality means giving everyone an equal opportunity to achieve whatever one is capable of. Sometimes it is necessary to give special treatment to someone in order to ensure equal opportunity This is what the job reservations do. Thus, reservations of this kind are not a violation of the Right to Equality.