HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Introduction
Since the time of the lndus Valley Civilization, the vast lndian subcontinent has been inhabited by
people from many different cultures and religions who have interacted with it for a very long time.
This has led to the development of lndian culture. According to Jawaharlal Nehru, "an unbroken
continuity between the mosi: current and the most antiquated periods of Hindu idea expanding ove-
3,000 years."' Since the beginning of time, every civilization has been concerned about the rights of
the individual. The idea of the freedoms of man and other key privileges was not obscure to
individuals of prior periods."' Human rights have been championed throughout the history of human
civilization by the Babylonian and Assyrian laws in the Middle East, the "Dharma" of the Vedic period
in India, and the jurisprudence of Lao Tzu and Confucius in China. The lndian idea sees the individual,
the general public and the universe as a natural entirety,. All people are related to one another and
are children of God: her and are members of a worldwide family. In this setting, Mahatma Gandhi
comments, "I would rather not think as far as the entire world. My positive energy includes the
benefit of humanity overall. Therefore, the services of humanity are included in my service to the
nation.

It’s Origin
According to Nagendra Singh, the Buddhist practice and thought of nonviolence "is a humanitarian
doctrine par excellence, dating back to the third century B.C." The doctrines of Jainism were similar.
"He who has no ill will toward any being, who is friendly and compassionate, who is free from
egoism and self-sense and who is even-minded in pain, pleasure, and patient" is God's favorite,
according to the Gita. It also says that the hurnans' divinity is represented by the virtues of non-
violence, truth, aversion to fault-finding, renunciation, and compassion for living things: The
historical account of ancient Bharat demonstrates without a shadow of a doubt that human rights
were as muck manifest in the ancient Hindu and Islamic civilizations as they were in the European
Christian civilizations. These qualities are gentleness, modesty, steadiness, and freedom from
covetousness. The history of human rights cannot be separated from Ashoka, the prophet
Mohammed, and Aktar.

Human rights at the time of britishers

It is possible to say that the modern form of human rights law originated in India during the British
rule. Resistance to foreign rule in Lndia manifested itself in demands for fundamental freedoms and
the civil and political rights of the people during British rule, and the British treated Lndians unfairly.
The struggle for civil liberties and fundamental freedoms was fueled by the freedom movement and
the oppressive policies of British rulers.
Human rights, democracy, and socialism were viewed with suspicion under British rule. The British
colonial era is regarded as the Indian equivalent of the "Dark Ages" in the context of the country's
cultural history. Lord Macaulay called the ancient British political legal system "dotages of
brahminical superstition" and called the ancient legal system's internal structure "an immense
apparatus of cruel absurdities." Lord Cornwallis referred to it as an axiom that every native of
Hindustan is corrupt, while Lord Wellesley branded the people of Nepal as vulgar, ignorant, rude,
and stupid. The English East India Company stripped lndians of their political, social, and economic
rights and barred them from high office. The impression that their sacred inalienable human rights
and vital interests had been ignored, denied, and trampled upon for the sake of England and the
English rulers was created in the minds of the locals.
Under his leadership, Mahatma Gandhi organized the people of India and launched their nonviolent
struggle for self-government and fundamental rights. "Freedom was the birth right of lndians for
which they will have to fight," Lokmanya Tilak argued. "Lg The Charter Act of 1813 was enacted to
promote the interest and happiness of the native inhabitants of lndia because of the strong
opposition from the people of 59 lndia. Likewise, the Administration of lndia Act, 1833 was passed to
permit the Indians to appreciate a few political rights. On November 1, 1858, Queen Victoria issued
the following proclamation: a few principles of state policy that were fundamentally comparable to
fundamental rights.
The nationalist movement merit, which coincided with the formation of the Indian National Congress
in 1885, was followed logically by the concrete demand for fundamental rights. The Government of
lndia Act, 1915, in response to the demands for fundamental rights, guaranteed equality of
opportunity in public services. The "Home Rule Ilocument," also known as the Constitution of lndia
Bill 1895, paved the way for a constitution that guaranteed every citizen the fundamental human
rights of freedom of expression, inviolability of one's own house, right to property, and equality
before the law20. Between 1907 and 1909, the National Congress adopted a number of resolutions
that reiterated the need for civil rights and equality of status with the English.
a) Personal liberty, inviolability of dwelling place and property
b) Freedom of conscience, and of profession and practice of religion
c) Expression of opinion and the right to assemble peaceably without
arms and to form associations
d) Free elementary education
e) Equality for all before the law and rights
f) Right to the writ of Habeas Corpus
g) Protection from punishment under ex-post facto laws
h) Non-discrimination against any person on grounds of religion,
caste or creed in the matter of public employment
i) Equality of right in the matter of access to and use of public roads,
wells etc.
j) Freedom of combination and association for the maintenance and
implementation of labour and economic factors
k) Right to keep and bear arms
1) Equality of rights to man and woman

Here are some following chart makes it very clear about the HUMAN RIGHTS

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the
lndian Constitution

Civil and Political Rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the lndian
Constitution