THE INDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL – CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL

GRADE 8 – SOCIAL SCIENCE – CIVICS HANDOUT

2020-21

NAME __________________________________________ SEC ______

UNIT 1: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES

INTRODUCTION
A constitution is not only about the composition of the various organs of government and the relations
among them. It is a document that sets limit on the powers of the government and ensures a
democratic system in which all persons enjoy certain rights. This lesson deals with the Fundamental
Rights and Fundamental Duties contained in the Indian Constitution. Part III of the Constitution of India
lists the Fundamental Rights and also mentions the limits on these rights. Part IV A deals with the
Fundamental Duties. In the past seventy years, the scope of rights and duties has changed and
expanded in some respects.

CASE STUDIES
In 1982, during the construction work for Asian Games the Indian government engaged a few
contractors. These contractors employed a large number of very poor construction workers from
different parts of the country to build the flyovers and stadiums. These workers were kept in poor
working conditions and were paid less than the minimum wages decided by the government. A team of
social scientists studied their poor condition and petitioned the Supreme Court. They argued that
employing a person to work for less than the minimum prescribed wage amounts to beggar or forced
labour, which is a violation of the Fundamental Right against exploitation. The court accepted this plea
and directed the government to ensure that thousands of workers get the prescribed wages for their
work. The constitutional guarantee of the right against exploitation ensured justice to these workers.

In another incident, a person named Machal Lalung was arrested when he was 23 years old. A resident
of Chuburi village of Morigaon district of Assam, Machal was charged of causing grievous injuries to his
fellow people. He was found mentally too unstable to stand the trial and was sent as under-trial to a
Mental Hospital in Tejpur for treatment. Machal was treated successfully and doctors wrote twice to jail
authorities in 1967 and 1996 that he was fit to stand trial. But none paid any attention. Machal Lalung
remained in “judicial custody.’’ He was released in July 2005. He was 77 then. He spent 54 years under
custody during which his case never came up for hearing. He was freed when a team appointed by the
National Human Rights Commission intervened after an inspection of undertrials in the State.

Machal’s entire life was wasted because a proper trial against him never took place. Our Constitution
gives every citizen the right to ‘life and liberty’: this means that every citizen must also have the right to
fair and speedy trial. Machal’s case shows what happens when rights granted by the Constitution are
not available in practice. In the case of the first instance also there was a violation of rights. But it was
challenged in the court immediately. As a result, workers could get what was due to them in the form of
their rightful wages. These two case studies show the importance of Fundamental Rights.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Like the constitutions of the USA, France, Japan and several other liberal democratic countries, the
Constitution of India, contains a detailed list of rights which grants and guarantees fundamental rights
and freedoms to the people of India. Part III of the Constitution enumerates the Fundamental Rights of
the Indian Citizens. Originally, Part III of the constitution described seven fundamental rights of the
Indians. But after the 44th Amendment to the Constitution their number came down to six. Right to
Property (Art. 31) got deleted from the list of fundamental rights and became a legal right under Article
300A.

The fundamental rights of an Indian citizen are:

1. Right to Equality (Article 14 to 18)
2. Right to Freedom (Article 19 to 22)
3. Rights Against Exploitation (Article 23 to 24)
4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25 to 28)
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Article 29 to 30)
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32)

I. RIGHT TO EQUALITY (ARTICLES 14 – 18)

Right to equality contains 5 rights.
(a) Equality before law (Article 14): All citizens enjoy equal protection of law. However, it does not
mean absolute equality. For instance, it admits the right of the State to establish special courts
for trying cases involving specific offences by certain persons.
(b) Prohibition of discrimination (Article 15): It prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion,
race, caste, gender or place of birth. No person can, on any of these grounds, be denied access
to public places (like hotels, shops, wells etc.) maintained wholly or partly by the state funds or
dedicated to the use of general public.
(c) Equality of opportunity (Article 16): It provides equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters
relating to employment or appointment to any office under the state. However, such an
employment or appointment is subject to essential qualifications.
(d) Abolition of Untouchability (Article 17): For eradicating the evil practice of Untouchability, the
Constitution abolishes untouchability in India and makes its practice in any form an offence
punishable under the law.
(e) Abolition of Title (Article 18): Under this Article, the Constitution prohibits the state from
conferring any titles except honours for military or academic distinctions. This article does not
prevent the grant of military decorations such as Param Vir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, Vir Chakra,
Ashok Chakra. In 1954, the government also accepted the titles like Bharat Ratna, Padma
Vibhushan, Padma Shri etc. could also be conferred on citizens in recognition of their
meritorious services to the state.
II. RIGHT TO FREEDOM (ARTICLES 19 – 22)
Under a set of 4 Articles (19 – 22), the Constitution grants the Right to Freedom.
(a) Six fundamental freedom (Article 19): Article 19 of the Constitution guarantees six fundamental
freedoms to the citizens.
i. Freedom of speech and expression
ii. Freedom of assembly (to assemble in public places)
iii. Freedom to form associations
iv. Freedom of movement
v. Freedom to reside and settle
vi. Freedom of profession, occupation, trade or business.
However, these six fundamental freedoms are not without exceptions/limitations. For instance, the
freedom of speech and expression is subject to reasonable restraints of decency, morality and legal
acts.
(b) Protection against arbitrary conviction (Article 20): Under Article 20, the Constitution provides
protection against arbitrary conviction in respect of offences committed by the people. It lays
down that:
i. No person can be convicted of an offence except for the violation of a law in force at the
time of the commission of an act which is charged as an offence. This provision prevents
ex-post facto legislation and thus it prevents arbitrary punishment.
ii. No person can be subjected to a penalty greater than prescribed by the law at the time
of commission of offence. Thus, no excessive punishment.
iii. No person can be arrested and punished for the same offence more than once. Thus, no
double punishment.
iv. No person accused of any offence can be forced to be a witness against himself. Thus, no
forcible witness.
(c) Protection of life and liberty (Article 21): It provides protection to the life and liberty of citizens
as well as non-citizens. While interpreting the Right to Life and Liberty under Article 21, the
Supreme Court of India has stated “a right to life cannot be limited to an animal existence. It
must include the right to live with dignity as well as the right to basic necessities of life.”
(d) Right to education of children (Article 21 A): The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act 2002 has
made free and compulsory education for children between the age of 6 to 14 years, a
fundamental right.
(e) Protection against arrest and detention (Article 22): This Article of the Constitution provides for
protection against arbitrary arrest and detention. It lays down that a person who is arrested and
detained shall be:
i. Informed of the ground of his arrest and shall have the right to consult and be defended
by a legal practitioner of his choice.
ii. Produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of his arrest
excluding the time taken in journey from the place his arrest to the court of the
magistrate.
III. RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOITATION (ARTICLES 23 - 24)
Articles 23 and 24 of the Constitution provide against human exploitation.
(a) Prohibition of trafficking in human beings and forced labour (Article 23): Under Article 23, the
constitution prohibits traffic in human beings and similar forms of forced labour. In other words,
it is an offence to sell and buy men and women and exploit people by forcing them to work as
bonded labourers or work without remuneration.
(b) Prohibition of Employment of Children (Article 24): It provides that no child below the age of
fourteen years can be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other
hazardous employment.

IV. RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION (ARTICLES 25 - 28)

Right to freedom of religion ensures the positive aspect of secularism as it gives to the people the right
to freely adopt and propagate any religion. This right has been described under four Articles.
(a) Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion (Article 25):
This Article guarantees to all persons, the freedom of conscience and the right to profess,
practice and propagate any religion. Forcible conversions are prohibited. There is no national
religion in India. All religions are equal. People enjoy religious freedom and they can adopt or
refrain from adopting any religion.
(b) Freedom to manage religious affairs (Article 26): It provides freedom to any religious section of
people to:
i. To establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes.
ii. To manage its own affairs in matters of religion.
iii. To own and acquire movable and immovable property.
iv. To administer such property in accordance with law.
(c) Freedom from paying taxes for the promotion of any religion (Article 27): Under Article 27, the
Constitution lays down that no person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for the promotion or
maintenance of any particular religious denomination.
(d) Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational
institutions (Article 28): This Article prohibits the imparting of religious instructions in any
educational institutions which is wholly maintained out of state funds or receiving aid from the
state. Institutions established under any endowment or trust are exempted. No person
attending any educational institution can be forced to participate in a religious worship that may
be conducted in the institution.

V. CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS (ARTICLES 29 - 30)

The Constitution provides special protection to the minorities. Article 29 and 30 guarantee the cultural
and educational rights to the minorities.
(a) Right to maintain language, script and culture (Article 29): The Constitution lays down that any
section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part there of having a distinct
language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.
 (b) Right to establish and administer educational institutions (Article 30): Under Article 30, the
Constitution admits that all minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the
right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

VI. RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES (ARTICLES 32)

The right to move to the court for securing the fundamental rights is enshrined in the Constitution.
Article 32 provides effective provisions for the protection and enforcement of fundamental rights.
Article 32 grants and guarantees to the people, the right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate
proceedings for the enforcement of their rights. It empowers the Supreme Court to issue directions or
orders or writs for this purpose.
These writs include:
(a) The writ of habeaus corpus: It provides a remedy against wrongful detention of a person. By it
the court directs the detaining authority to produce the detained person in the court and justify
the cause of his detention.
(b) The writ of mandamus: By it the court can order an inferior authority to do an act which falls
within its jurisdiction.
(c) The writ of prohibition: By it the court can prohibit an inferior authority from doing an act which
does not fall within its jurisdiction.
(d) The writ of quo warranto: By it the court can restrain a person from acting in a public office to
which he is not entitled.
(e) The writ of certiorari: By it the court can order an inferior authority to transfer the matter to it
or to some other authority for its proper consideration.
Any citizen can move to the court for getting his fundamental rights protected through any one of the
writs.

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
The Constitution makers were fully aware of the fact that Rights and Duties are inter-related and inter-
dependent. However, while providing for a chapter on Fundamental Rights they did not mention the
Fundamental Duties because they felt these need not to provided separately. They held that
fundamental duties constituted an implied and inseparable part of the chapter on fundamental rights.

However, after the operation of the Constitution for nearly four decades, it was felt that there was a
definite need to make the people fully conscious of their duties towards the nation. In February 1976, a
Committee established to recommend constitutional reforms recommended to incorporate a list of
fundamental duties of the people of India. Accepting the recommendations of the Committee, the
Parliament passed the 42nd Amendment (1976) and by it introduced a new part, Part IV A, in the
Constitution. In this Part, Article 51A was added and it enumerated the Fundamental Duties of the
people of India.
Article 51A - List of Fundamental Duties

1. to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National
Anthem;
2. to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
3. to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
4. to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
5. to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India
transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices
derogatory to the dignity of women;
6. to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
7. to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to
have compassion for living creatures;
8. to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
9. to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
10. to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation
constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
11. who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be,
ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

These duties are in the nature of a code of conduct. Since they are unjusticiable, there is no legal
sanction behind them. As you will find, a few of these duties are vague. For example, a common citizen
may not understand what is meant by ‘composite culture’, ‘rich heritage’ ‘humanism’, or ‘excellence in
all spheres of individual and collective activities’. They will realize the importance of these duties only
when these terms are simplified. A demand has been made from time to time to revise the present list,
simplify their language and make them more realistic and meaningful and add some urgently required
more realistic duties. As far as possible, they should be made justiciable.

Reference
1. Ghai, K.K. Indian Constitution. New Delhi: Kalyani Publishers, 2005
2. Political Science Study Material, Aspects of the Constitution of India: Preamble and the Salient
Features of the Constitution of India. New Delhi: NIOS, 2014