PART A
postulate of the protections which are conferred by Articles 20, 21 and 22. Thus the principle which has become an entrenched part of our constitutional doctrine after the decision in Bank Nationalization is based on a sure foundation. The freedoms which we possess and those which we exercise are not disjunctive parts, separate from each other. Individuals in society exercise not one but many of the freedoms. An individual exercises a multitude of freedoms as a composite part of the human personality. A single act embodies within it the exercise of many choices reflecting the assertion of manifold freedoms. From this perspective, it is but a short step to hold that all freedoms exist in harmony. Our freedoms are enveloped in the womb created by the Constitution for the survival of liberty. Hence, the absence of a clause of subjection in Article 26 does not lead to the conclusion that the freedom of a religious denomination exists as a discrete element, divorced from the others. This approach is quite independent of the consideration that even Article 26 like Article 25(1) is subject to public order, morality and health. Once we hold, following the line which is now part of conventional doctrine, that all freedoms have linkages and exist in a state of mutual co-existence, the freedom of religious denominations under Article 26 must be read in a manner which preserves equally, other individual freedoms which may be impacted by an unrestrained exercise. Hence, the dignity of women which is an emanation of Article 15 and a reflection of Article 21 cannot be disassociated from the exercise of religious freedom under Article 26.
19