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OVER VER VER VER VERVIE VIE VIE VIE VIEW In the previous two chapters we have looked at two major elements of a democratic government. In Chapter Four we saw how a democratic government has to be periodically elected by the people in a free and fair manner. In Chapter Five we learnt that a democracy must be based on institutions that follow certain rules and procedures. These elements are necessary but not sufficient for a democracy. Elections and institutions need to be combined with a third element – enjoyment of rights – to make a government democratic. Even the most properly elected rulers working through the established institutional process must learn not to cross some limits. Citizens’ democratic rights set those limits in a democracy. This is what we take up in this final chapter of the book. We begin by discussing some real life cases to imagine what it means to live without rights. This leads to a discussion on what we mean by rights and why do we need them. As in the previous chapters, the general discussion is followed by a focus on India. We discuss one by one the Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution. Then we turn to how these rights can be used by ordinary citizens. Who will protect and enforce them? Finally we take a look at how the scope of rights has been expanding. CHAPTER 6 DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS ©NCERT not to be republished

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OOOOOVERVERVERVERVERVIEVIEVIEVIEVIEWWWWW

In the previous two chapters we have looked at two major elements of ademocratic government. In Chapter Four we saw how a democraticgovernment has to be periodically elected by the people in a free and fairmanner. In Chapter Five we learnt that a democracy must be based oninstitutions that follow certain rules and procedures. These elements arenecessary but not sufficient for a democracy. Elections and institutionsneed to be combined with a third element – enjoyment of rights – to makea government democratic. Even the most properly elected rulers workingthrough the established institutional process must learn not to cross somelimits. Citizens’ democratic rights set those limits in a democracy.

This is what we take up in this final chapter of the book. We begin bydiscussing some real life cases to imagine what it means to live withoutrights. This leads to a discussion on what we mean by rights and why dowe need them. As in the previous chapters, the general discussion isfollowed by a focus on India. We discuss one by one the FundamentalRights in the Indian Constitution. Then we turn to how these rights canbe used by ordinary citizens. Who will protect and enforce them? Finallywe take a look at how the scope of rights has been expanding.

CHAPTER 6

DEMOCRATICRIGHTS

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Dear Mr Tony Blair,

Firstly, how are you? I sent aletter two years ago, why didn’tyou reply?!? I was waiting for along time but you did not reply.Please can you give me an answerto my question? Why is my dad inprison? Why is he far away inthat Guantánamo Bay?! I miss mydad so much. I have not seen mydad for three years. I know mydad has not done anything,because he is a good man. I heareverybody speak about my dad ina nice way. Your children spendChristmas with you, but me andmy brothers, and sisters havespent Eid alone without our dadfor 3 years. What do you thinkabout that?I hope you will answer me thistime.Thank you,

From: Anas Jamil El-Banna,9 years old.7/12/2005

6. 16. 16. 16. 16. 1 LLLLLIFEIFEIFEIFEIFE WITHWITHWITHWITHWITHOUTOUTOUTOUTOUT RIRIRIRIRIGHTGHTGHTGHTGHTSSSSS

Chapter Three: Our Constitutionmakers believed that fundamentalrights were quite central to theConstitution because …Chapter Four: Every adult citizen ofIndia has the right to ... and to be ...Chapter Five: If a law is against theConstitution, every citizen has theright to approach …Let us now begin with threeexamples of what it means to live inthe absence of rights.

PPPPPrrrrr ison in Gison in Gison in Gison in Gison in Guanuanuanuanuantanamo Btanamo Btanamo Btanamo Btanamo BaaaaayyyyyAbout 600 people were secretlypicked up by the US forces from allover the world and put in a prisonin Guantanamo Bay, an area nearCuba controlled by Amercian Navy.Anas’s father, Jamil El-Banna, wasamong them. The Americangovernment said that they wereenemies of the US and linked to theattack on New York on 11September 2001. In most cases thegovernments of their countries werenot asked or even informed abouttheir imprisonment. Like otherprisoners, El-Banna’s family got toknow that he was in that prison onlythrough the media. Families ofprisoners, media or even UNrepresentatives were not allowed tomeet them. The US army arrestedthem, interrogated them anddecided whether to keep them thereor not. There was no trial before anymagistrate in the US. Nor couldthese prisoners approach courts intheir own country.

Amnesty International, aninternational human rightsorganisation, collected informationon the condition of the prisoners inGuantanamo Bay and reported thatthe prisoners were being tortured inways that violated the US laws. They

In this book we have mentionedrights again and again. If youremember, we have discussed rightsin each of the five precedingchapters. Can you fill in the blanksby recalling the rights dimension ineach chapter?Chapter One: Chile under Pinochetand Poland under Jaruzelsky werenot democratic because …Chapter Two: A comprehensivedefinition of democracy includes …

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were being denied the treatment thateven prisoners of war must get as perinternational treaties. Many prisonershad tried protesting against theseconditions by going on a hunger fast.Prisoners were not released even afterthey were officially declared not guilty.An independent inquiry by the UNsupported these findings. The UNSecretary General said the prison inGuantanamo Bay should be closeddown. The US government refused toaccept these pleas.

CCCCCitizitizitizitizitizensensensensens’’’’’ R R R R Righighighighights ints ints ints ints inSSSSSaudi Aaudi Aaudi Aaudi Aaudi ArrrrrabiaabiaabiaabiaabiaThe case of Guantanamo Bay lookslike an exception, for it involves thegovernment of one country denyingrights to citizens of another country.Let us therefore look at the case ofSaudi Arabia and the position of thecitizens with regard to theirgovernment. Consider these facts:

The country is ruled by ahereditary king and the peoplehave no role in electing orchanging their rulers.The king selects the legislature aswell as the executive. He appointsthe judges and can change any oftheir decisions.Citizens cannot form political par-ties or any political organisations.Media cannot report anything thatthe monarch does not like.There is no freedom of religion.Every citizen is required to beMuslim. Non-Muslim residentscan follow their religion in private,but not in public.Women are subjected to manypublic restrictions. The testimonyof one man is considered equal tothat of two women.This is true not just of Saudi

Arabia. There are many countries inthe world where several of theseconditions exist.

EEEEEthnic massacrthnic massacrthnic massacrthnic massacrthnic massacre in Ke in Ke in Ke in Ke in KosoosoosoosoosovvvvvoooooYou might think that this is possiblein an absolute monarchy but notin countries which choose theirrulers. Just consider this story fromKosovo. This was a province ofYugoslavia before its split. In thisprovince the population wasoverwhelmingly ethnic Albanian.But in the entire country, Serbswere in majority. A narrow mindedSerb nationalist Milosevic(pronounced Miloshevich) had wonthe election. His government wasvery hostile to the KosovoAlbanians. He wanted the Serbs todominate the country. Many Serbleaders thought that Ethnicminorities like Albanians shouldeither leave the country or acceptthe dominance of the Serbs.

This is what happened to anAlbanian family in a town in Kosovoin April 1999:

74-year-old Batisha Hoxha wassitting in her kitchen with her 77-year–old husband Izet, staying warmby the stove. They had heardexplosions but did not realise thatSerbian troops had already enteredthe town. The next thing she knew,five or six soldiers had burst throughthe front door and were demanding

“Where are your children?”“… they shot Izet three times in the chest”

recalls Batisha. With her husbanddying before her, the soldiers pulledthe wedding ring off her finger andtold her to get out. “I was not evenoutside the gate when they burnt thehouse” … She was standing on thestreet in the rain with no house, nohusband, no possessions but theclothes she was wearing.

This news report was typical ofwhat happened to thousands ofAlbanians in that period. Do

If you were a Serb,would you supportwhat Milosevic didin Kosovo? Do youthink his project ofestablishing Serbdominance wasgood for theSerbs?

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remember that this massacre wasbeing carried out by the army oftheir own country, working underthe direction of a leader who cameto power through democraticelections. This was one of the worstinstances of killings based on ethnicprejudices in recent times. Finallyseveral other countries intervenedto stop this massacre. Milosevic lostpower and was tried by anInternational Court of Justice forcrimes against humanity.

For each of the three cases of life without rights, mention an example from India. These could includethe following:

Newspaper reports on custodial violence.Newspaper Reports on force-feeding of prisoners who go on huger strike.Ethnic massacre in any part of our country.Reports regarding unequal treatment of women.

List the similarities and differences between the earlier case and the Indian example. It is not necessarythat for each of these cases you must find an exact Indian parallel.

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A C T I V I T Y

Write a letter to Anas Jamil in UK, describingyour reactions after reading his letter to TonyBlair.Write a letter from Batisha in Kosovo to awoman who faced a similar situation inIndia.Write a memorandum on behalf of women inSaudi Arabia to the Secretary General of theUnited Nations.

Think of all the examples that wehave discussed so far. Think of thevictims in each example: theprisoners in Guantanamo Bay,women in Saudi Arabia, Albaniansin Kosovo. If you were in theirposition, what would you havewished? If you could, what wouldyou do to ensure that such thingsdo not happen to anyone?

You would perhaps desire asystem where security, dignity andfair play are assured to everyone.You might want, for example, thatno one should be arrested withoutproper reason and information. Andif someone is arrested, he or sheshould have a fair chance to defendthemselves. You might agree thatsuch assurance cannot apply to

everything. One has to be reasonablein what one expects and demands ofeveryone else, for one has to grantthe same to everyone. But you mightinsist that the assurance does notremain on paper, that there issomeone to enforce theseassurances, that those who violatethese are punished. In other words,you might want a system where atleast a minimum is guaranteed toeveryone – powerful or weak, richor poor, majority or minority. Thisis the spirit behind thinking aboutrights.

WWWWWh ah ah ah ah at art art art art are re re re re righighighighights?ts?ts?ts?ts?Rights are claims of a person overother fellow beings, over the societyand over the government. All of us

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want to live happily, without fearand without being subjected todegraded treatment. For this weexpect others to behave in such away that does not harm us or hurtus. Equally, our actions should notalso harm or hurt others. So a rightis possible when you make a claimthat is equally possible for others.You cannot have a right that harmsor hurts others. You cannot have aright to play a game in such a waythat it breaks the neighbour’swindow. The Serbs in Yugoslaviacould not have claimed the wholecountry for themselves. The claimswe make should be reasonable.They should be such that can bemade available to others in an equalmeasure. Thus, a right comes withan obligation to respect other rights.

Just because we claim some thingit does not become our right. It hasto be recognised by the society welive in. Rights acquire meaning onlyin society. Every society makescertain rules to regulate ourconduct. They tell us what is rightand what is wrong. What isrecognised by the society as rightfulbecomes the basis of rights. That iswhy the notion of rights changesfrom time to time and society tosociety. Two hundred years agoanyone who said that women shouldhave right to vote would havesounded strange. Today not grantingthem vote in Saudi Arabia appearsstrange.

When the socially recognisedclaims are written into law theyacquire real force. Otherwise theyremain merely as natural or moralrights. The prisoners inGuantanamo Bay had a moral claimnot to be tortured or humiliated. Butthey could not go to anyone toenforce this claim. When lawrecognises some claims they become

enforceable. We can then demandtheir application. When fellowcitizens or the government do notrespect these rights we call itviolation or infringement of ourrights. In such circumstancescitizens can approach courts toprotect their rights. So, if we wantto call any claim a right, it has tohave these three qualities. Rightsare reasonable claims of personsrecognised by society andsanctioned by law.

WWWWWhhhhhy do wy do wy do wy do wy do we neee neee neee neee need rd rd rd rd righighighighights in ats in ats in ats in ats in ademocrdemocrdemocrdemocrdemocra ca ca ca ca cy ?y ?y ?y ?y ?Rights are necessary for the verysustenance of a democracy. In ademocracy every citizen has to havethe right to vote and the right to beelected to government. Fordemocratic elections to take place itis necessary that citizens shouldhave the right to express theiropinion, form political parties andtake part in political activities.

Rights also perform a very specialrole in a democracy. Rights protectminorities from the oppression ofmajority. They ensure that themajority cannot do whatever it likes.Rights are guarantees which can beused when things go wrong. Thingsmay go wrong when some citizensmay wish to take away the rights ofothers. This usually happens whenthose in majority want to dominatethose in minority. The governmentshould protect the citizens’ rights insuch a situation. But sometimeselected governments may notprotect or may even attack the rightsof their own citizens. That is whysome rights need to be placed higherthan the government, so that thegovernment cannot violate these. Inmost democracies the basic rightsof the citizen are written down in theconstitution.

What are theexamples ofelectedgovernments notprotecting or evenattacking the rightsof their owncitizens? Why dothey do that?

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6.36.36.36.36.3 RRRRRIIIIIGHTGHTGHTGHTGHTSSSSS INININININ THETHETHETHETHE I I I I INDNDNDNDNDIANIANIANIANIAN C C C C COOOOONSTITUTINSTITUTINSTITUTINSTITUTINSTITUTIOOOOONNNNNRRRRR ighighighighight tt tt tt tt to Eo Eo Eo Eo EqualitqualitqualitqualitqualityyyyyThe Constitution says that thegovernment shall not deny to anyperson in India equality before the lawor the equal protection of the laws. Itmeans that the laws apply in thesame manner to all, regardless of aperson’s status. This is called the ruleof law. Rule of law is the foundationof any democracy. It means that noperson is above the law. There cannotbe any distinction between a politicalleader, government official and anordinary citizen.

Every citizen, from the PrimeMinister to a small farmer in aremote village, is subjected to thesame laws. No person can legallyclaim any special treatment orprivilege just because he or shehappens to be an important person.For example, a few years ago aformer Prime Minister of the countryfaced a court case on charges ofcheating. The court finally declaredthat he was not guilty. But as longas the case continued, he had to goto the court, give evidence and filepapers, just like any other citizen.

This basic position is furtherclarified in the Constitution byspelling out some implications of theRight to Equality. The governmentshall not discriminate against anycitizen on grounds of religion, caste,ethnicity, sex or place of birth. Everycitizen shall have access to publicplaces like shops, restaurants,hotels, and cinema halls. Similarly,there shall be no restriction withregard to the use of wells, tanks,bathing ghats, roads, playgroundsand places of public resortsmaintained by government ordedicated to the use of generalpublic. This might appear veryobvious, but it was necessary to

F U N D A M E N T A L R I G H T S

Right toConstitu-

tionalRemedies

Right toEquality

Right toFreedom

Right to Freedomof Religion

Right against

Exploitation

Culturaland

Educa-tionalRights

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In India, like most otherdemocracies in the world, theserights are mentioned in theConstitution. Some rights which arefundamental to our life are given aspecial status. They are calledFundamental Rights. We havealready read in Chapter Three thepreamble to our Constitution. Ittalks about securing for all itscitizens equality, liberty and justice.Fundamental Rights put thispromise into effect. They are animportant basic feature of India’sConstitution.

You already know our Constitutionprovides for six Fundamental Rights.Can you recall these? What exactlydo these rights mean for an ordinarycitizen? Let us look at these one byone.

Everyone knowsthat the rich can

have better lawyersin the courts. What

is the point intalking about

equality beforelaw?

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incorporate these rights in theConstitution of our country where thetraditional caste system did not allowpeople from some communities toaccess all public places.

The same principle applies topublic jobs. All citizens have equalityof opportunity in matters relating toemployment or appointment to anyposition in the government. Nocitizen shall be discriminatedagainst or made ineligible foremployment on the groundsmentioned above. You have read inChapter Five that the Governmentof India has provided reservationsfor Scheduled Castes, ScheduledTribes and Other Backward Classes.Various governments have differentschemes for giving preference towomen, poor or physicallyhandicapped in some kinds of jobs.Are these reservations against theright to equality? They are not. Forequality does not mean givingeveryone the same treatment, nomatter what they need. Equalitymeans giving everyone an equalopportunity to achieve whatever oneis capable of. Sometimes it isnecessary to give special treatmentto someone in order to ensure equalopportunity. This is what jobreservations do. Just to clarify this,the Constitution says thatreservations of this kind are not aviolation of the Right to Equality.

The principle of non-discriminationextends to social life as well. TheConstitution mentions one extremeform of social discrimination, thepractice of untouchability, andclearly directs the government to putan end to it. The practice ofuntouchability has been forbiddenin any form. Untouchability heredoes not only mean refusal to touchpeople belonging to certain castes.It refers to any belief or social

A C T I V I T Y

Go to the playground of the school or any sta-dium and watch a 400 metre race on any track.Why are the competitors in the outer lane placedahead of those in the inner lane at the startingpoint of the race? What would happen if all thecompetitors start the race from the same line?Which of these two would be an equal and fairrace? Apply this example to a competition forjobs.Observe any big public building. Is there a rampfor physically handicapped? Are there any otherfacilities that make it possible for physicallyhandicapped to use the building in the sameway as any one else? Should these special fa-cilities be provided, if it leads to extra expendi-ture on the building? Do these special provi-sions go against the principle of equality?

practice which looks down uponpeople on account of their birth withcertain caste labels. Such practicedenies them interaction with othersor access to public places as equalcitizens. So the Constitution madeuntouchability a punishable offence.

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RRRRR ighighighighight tt tt tt tt to Fo Fo Fo Fo Frrrrre ee ee ee ee edomdomdomdomdomFreedom means absence ofconstraints. In practical life it meansabsence of interference in our affairsby others – be it other individualsor the government. We want to livein society, but we want to be free.We want to do things in the way wewant to do them. Others should notdictate us what we should do. So,under the Indian Constitution allcitizens have the right to

Freedom of speech and expressionAssembly in a peaceful mannerForm associations and unionsMove freely throughout thecountryReside in any part of the country,andPractice any profession, or to carryon any occupation, trade orbusiness.

You should remember that everycitizen has the right to all thesefreedoms. That means you cannotexercise your freedom in such a

manner that violates others’ right tofreedom. Your freedoms should notcause public nuisance or disorder.You are free to do everything whichinjures no one else. Freedom is notunlimited license to do what onewants. Accordingly, the governmentcan impose certain reasonablerestrictions on our freedoms in thelarger interests of the society

Freedom of speech andexpression is one of the essentialfeatures of any democracy. Our ideasand personality develop only when weare able to freely communicate withothers. You may think differentlyfrom others. Even if a hundredpeople think in one way, you shouldhave the freedom to think differentlyand express your views accordingly.You may disagree with a policy ofgovernment or activities of anassociation. You are free to criticisethe government or the activities ofthe association in yourconversations with parents, friendsand relatives. You may publiciseyour views through a pamphlet,magazine or newspaper. You can doit through paintings, poetry orsongs. However, you cannot use thisfreedom to instigate violence againstothers. You cannot use it to incitepeople to rebel against government.

Many Forms of Untouchability

In 1999, P. Sainath wrote a series of newsreportsin The Hindu describing untouchability and castediscrimination that was still being practicedagainst Dalits or persons belonging to ScheduledCastes. He travelled to various parts of the coun-try and found that in many places:

Tea stalls kept two kinds of cups, one for Dalitsone for others;Barbers refused to serve dalit clients;Dalit students were made to sit separately in theclassroom or drink water from separate picher;Dalit grooms were not allowed to ride a horsein the wedding procession; andDalits were not allowed to use commonhandpump or if they did, the handpump waswashed to purify it.

All these fall under the definition of untouchability.Can you think of some examples from your ownarea?

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Should thefreedom ofexpression beextended to thosewho are spreadingwrong and narrow-minded ideas?Should they beallowed to confusethe public?

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Neither can you use it to defameothers by saying false and meanthings that cause damage to aperson’s reputation.

Citizens have the freedom tohold meetings, processions, ralliesand demonstrations on any issue.They may want to discuss aproblem, exchange ideas, mobilisepublic support to a cause, or seekvotes for a candidate or party in anelection. But such meetings have tobe peaceful. They should not leadto public disorder or breach of peacein society. Those who participate inthese activities and meetings shouldnot carry weapons with them.Citizens also can form associations.For example workers in a factory canform a workers’ union to promotetheir interests. Some people in atown may come together to form anassociation to campaign againstcorruption or pollution.

As citizens we have the freedom totravel to any part of the country.We are free to reside and settle in anyparty of the territory of India. Let ussay a person who belongs to the stateof Assam wants to start a businessin Hyderabad. He may not have anyconnection with that city, he may nothave even seen it ever. Yet as a citizenof India he has the right to set up basethere. This right allows lakhs ofpeople to migrate from villages totowns and from poorer regions of thecountries to prosperous regions andbig cities. The same freedom extendsto choice of occupations. No one canforce you to do or not to do a certainjob. Women cannot be told that somekinds of occupations are not for them.People from deprived castes cannotbe kept to their traditionaloccupations.

The Constitution says that noperson can be deprived of his life orpersonal liberty except according to

procedure established by law. Itmeans that no person can be killedunless the court has ordered a deathsentence. It also means that agovernment or police officer canarrest or detain any citizen unlesshe has proper legal justification.Even when they do, they have tofollow some procedures:

A person who is arrested anddetained in custody will have to beinformed of the reasons for sucharrest and detention.A person who is arrested anddetained shall be produced beforethe nearest magistrate within aperiod of 24 hours of arrest.Such a person has the right toconsult a lawyer or engage alawyer for his defence.

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Let us recall the cases ofGuantanamo Bay and Kosovo. Thevictims in both these cases faced a

threat to the most basic of allliberties, the protection of individuallife and personal liberty.

Are these cases instances of violation of right to freedom? If yes, which constitutional provision doeseach of these violate?

The government of India banned Salman Rushdie’s book Satanic Verses on the ground that it wasdisrespectful to Prophet Mohammed and was likely to hurt the feelings of Muslim community.Every film has to be approved by the Censor Board of the government before it can be shown tothe public. But there is no such restriction if the same story if published in a book or a magazine.The government is considering a proposal that there will be industrial zones or sectors of economywhere workers will not be allowed to form unions or go on strike.City administration has imposed a ban on use of public microphones after 10 p.m. in view of theapproaching secondary school examinations.

RRRRR ighighighighight against Et against Et against Et against Et against ExploitaxploitaxploitaxploitaxploitationtiontiontiontionOnce the right to liberty and equalityis granted, it follows that everycitizen has a right not to beexploited. Yet the Constitutionmakers thought is was necessary towrite down certain clear provisionsto prevent exploitation of the weakersections of the society.

The Constitution mentions threespecific evils and declares theseillegal. First, the Constitutionprohibits ‘traffic in human beings’.Traffic here means selling andbuying of human beings, usuallywomen, for immoral purposes.Second, our Constitution alsoprohibits forced labour or begar in

any form. ‘Begar’ is a practice wherethe worker is forced to render serviceto the ‘master’ free of charge or at anominal remuneration. When thispractice takes place on a life-longbasis, it is called the practice ofbonded labour.

Finally, the Constitution alsoprohibits child labour. No one canemploy a child below the age offourteen to work in any factory ormine or in any other hazardouswork, such as railways and ports.Using this as a basis many laws havebeen made to prohibit children fromworking in industries such as beedimaking, firecrackers and matches,printing and dyeing.

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On the basis of these news reports write a letter to the editor or a petition to a court highlighting theviolation of right against exploitation:

A petition was filed in theMadras High Court. Thepetitioner said a large numberof children aged betweenseven and 12 were taken fromvillages in Salem district andsold at auctions at Olur Nagarin Kerala’s Thrissur district.The petitioner requested thecourts to order the governmentto check these facts.(March 2005)

Children, from the age of five,were employed in the iron oremines in the Hospet, Sandur andthe Ikal areas in Karnataka.Children were forced to carry outdigging, breaking stones, loading,dumping, transporting andprocessing of iron ore with nosafety equipment, fixed wages andworking hours. They handled ahigh-level of toxic wastes andwere exposed to mine dust, whichwas above the permissible level.The school dropout rate in theregion was very high. (May 2005)

The latest annual surveyconducted by the NationalSample Survey Organisationfound that the number of femalechild labourers was growing bothin rural and urban areas. Thesurvey revealed there were 41female child labourers perthousand worker population inrural areas as against theprevious figure of 34 perthousand. The figure for malechild had remained at 31. (April2005)

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A C T I V I T Y

Do you know what the minimum wages in yourstate are? If not, can you find out? Speak to fivepeople doing different types of work in yourneighbourhood and find out if they are earningthe minimum wages or not. Ask them if they knowwhat the minimum wages are. Ask them if menand women are getting the same wages.

RRRRR ighighighighight tt tt tt tt to Fo Fo Fo Fo Frrrrre ee ee ee ee edom of Rdom of Rdom of Rdom of Rdom of ReligioneligioneligioneligioneligionRight to freedom includes right tofreedom of religion as well. In this casetoo, the Constitution makers werevery particular to state it clearly. Youhave already read in Chapter Threethat India is a secular state. Mostpeople in India, like anywhere else inthe world, follow different religions.Some may not believe in any religion.Secularism is based on the idea thatthe state is concerned only withrelations among human beings, andnot with the relation between humanbeings and God. A secular state is onethat does not establish any onereligion as official religion. Indiansecularism practices an attitude of aprincipled and equal distance fromall religions. The state has to beneutral and impartial in dealing withall religions.

Every person has a right toprofess, practice and propagatethe religion he or she believes in.Every religious group or sect is freeto manage its religious affairs. Aright to propagate one’s religion,however, does not mean that aperson has right to compel anotherperson to convert into his religion bymeans of force, fraud, inducement orallurement. Of course, a person is freeto change religion on his or her ownwill. Freedom to practice religiondoes not mean that a person can dowhatever he wants in the name of

religion. For example, one cannotsacrifice animals or human beingsas offerings to supernatural forcesor gods. Religious practices whichtreat women as inferior or those thatinfringe women’s freedom are notallowed. For example, one cannotforce a widowed woman to shavehead or wear white clothes.

A secular state is one that does notconfer any privilege or favour on anyparticular religion. Nor does it pun-ish or discriminate against peopleon the basis of religion they follow.Thus the government cannot com-pel any person to pay any taxes forthe promotion or maintenance ofany particular religion or religiousinstitution. There shall be noreligious instruction in the govern-ment educational institutions. Ineducational institutions managed byprivate bodies no person shall becompelled to take part in anyreligious instruction or to attend anyreligious worship.

CCCCCulturulturulturulturultural and Eal and Eal and Eal and Eal and EducaducaducaducaducationaltionaltionaltionaltionalRRRRR ighighighighight st st st st sYou might wonder why were theConstitution makers were soparticular in providing writtenguarantees of the rights of theminorities. Why are there no specialguarantees for the majority? Well, forthe simple reason that the workingof democracy gives power to themajority. It is the language, cultureand religion of minorities that needsspecial protection. Otherwise, theymay get neglected or underminedunder the impact of the language,religion and culture of the majority.

That is why the Constitution speci-fies the cultural and educationalrights of the minorities:

Any section of citizens with adistinct language or culture havea right to conserve it.

The Constitutiondoes not givepeople theirreligion. Then howcan it give peoplethe right to practicetheir religion?

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CHECKYOUR

PROGRESS

Admission to any educationalinstitution maintained bygovernment or receivinggovernment aid cannot be deniedto any citizen on the ground ofreligion or language.All minorities have the right to es-tablish and administer educa-tional institutions of their choice.Here minority does not mean only

religious minority at the national

level. In some places peoplespeaking a particular language arein majority; people speaking adifferent language are in a minority.For example, Telugu speakingpeople form a majority in AndhraPradesh. But they are a minority inthe neighbouring State of Karnataka.Sikhs constitute a majority in Punjab.But they are a minority in Rajasthan,Haryana and Delhi.

Read these news reports and identify the right that is being debated in each of these cases:

An emergency session of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) rejected theproposal to form a separate body to manage the affairs of Sikh shrines in Haryana. It warned thegovernment that the Sikh community would not tolerate any interference in their religious affairs.(June 2005)

The Allahabad High Court quashed the Central law, which gave Aligarh Muslim University its minoritystatus, and held illegal the reservation of seats for Muslims in its postgraduate medical courses.(January 2006)

The Rajasthan Government has decided to enact an anti-conversion law. Christian leaders have saidthat the Bill would aggravate the sense of insecurity and fear in the minds of minorities. (March 2005)

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HHHHHooooow can ww can ww can ww can ww can we see see see see secccccu ru ru ru ru re thesee thesee thesee thesee theserrrrr ighighighighights?ts?ts?ts?ts?If rights are like guarantees, they areof no use if there is no one to honourthem. The fundamental rights in theConstitution are important becausethey are enforceable. We have a rightto seek the enforcement of the abovementioned rights. This is called theRight to Constitutional Remedies.This itself is a Fundamental Right.This right makes other rightseffective. It is possible thatsometimes our rights may beviolated by fellow citizens, privatebodies or by the government. Whenany of our rights are violated we canseek remedy through courts. If it is aFundamental Right we can directlyapproach the Supreme Court or theHigh Court of a state. That is why Dr.Ambedkar called the Right toConstitutional Remedies, ‘the heartand soul’ of our Constitution.

Can the Presidentof India stop you

from approachingthe Supreme Court

to secure yourfundamental

rights?

Fundamental Rights areguaranteed against the actions ofthe Legislatures, the Executive, andany other authorities instituted bythe government. There can be no lawor action that violates theFundamental Rights. If any act of theLegislature or the Executive takesaway or limits any of theFundamental Rights it will beinvalid. We can challenge such lawsof the central and stategovernments, the policies andactions of the government or thegovernmental organisations like thenationalised banks or electricityboards. Courts also enforce theFundamental Rights against privateindividuals and bodies. TheSupreme Court and High Courtshave the power to issue directions,orders or writs for the enforcementof the Fundamental Rights. They canalso award compensation to the

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National Human Rights Commission

The NHRC cannot by itself punish the guilty.That is the responsibility of courts. The NHRC isthere to make independent and credible inquiryinto any case of violation of human rights. It alsoinquires into any case of abetment of suchviolation or negligence in controlling it by anygovernment officer and takes other general stepsto promote human rights in the country. TheCommission present its findings andrecommendations to the government or intervenein the court on behalf of the victims. It has wideranging powers to carry out its inquiry. Like anycourt it can summon witnesses, question anygovernment official, demand any official paper,visit any prison for inspection or send its ownteam for on-the-spot inquiry.

Any citizen of India can write a letter to thisaddress to complain against the violation of hu-man rights: National Human Rights Commission,Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi110001. There is no fee or any formal procedureto approach the NHRC. Like NHRC, there are StateHuman Rights Commissions in 14 states of thecountry.

Do you notice a reference to the National HumanRights Commission (NHRC) in the news collageon this page? This was in the context of the riotsin Gujarat in 2002. A large number of cases werefiled in the courts against those accused of riotingand massacre of nearly 2000 persons, mostlyMuslims. Human rights organisations and themedia were saying that the state government wasnot serious about pursuing these cases orcatching the culprits.

Someone had to intervene on behalf of the vic-tims. This is where the National Human RightsCommission stepped in. This is an independentcommission set up by law in 1993. Like judi-ciary, the Commission is independent of the gov-ernment. The Commission is appointed by thePresident and includes retired judges, officers andeminent citizens. Yet it does not have the burden ofdeciding court cases. So it can focus on helpingthe victims secure their human rights. Theseinclude all the rights granted to the citizens bythe Constitution. For NHRC human rights alsoinclude the rights mentioned in the UN sponsoredinternational treaties that India has signed.

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victims and punishment to theviolators. We have already seen inChapter Five that the judiciary inour country is independent of thegovernment and the parliament. Wealso noted that our judiciary is verypowerful and can do whatever isneeded to protect the rights of thecitizens.

In case of any violation of aFundamental Right the aggrievedperson can go to a court for remedy.But now, any person can go to courtagainst the violation of theFundamental Right, if it is of socialor public interest. It is called PublicInterest Litigation (PIL). Under the

PIL any citizen or group of citizenscan approach the Supreme Court ora High Court for the protection ofpublic interest against a particularlaw or action of the government. Onecan write to the judges even on apostcard. The court will take up thematter if the judges find it in publicinterest.

A C T I V I T Y

Is there a State Human Rights Commission inyour state? Find out about its activities.Write a petition to the NHRC if you know anyinstances of human rights violation in your area.

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We began this chapter by discussingthe significance of rights. In muchof the chapter we have focussed onlyon Fundamental Rights in theConstitution. You might think thatFundamental Rights granted by theConstitution are the only rightscitizen have. This is not true. WhileFundamental Rights are the sourceof all rights, our Constitution andlaw offers a wider range of rights.Over the years the scope of rightshas expanded.

Sometimes it leads to expansionin the legal rights that the citizen canenjoy. From time to time, the courtsgave judgments to expand the scopeof rights. Certain rights like right tofreedom of press, right toinformation, and right to educationare derived from the FundamentalRights. Now school education hasbecome a right for Indian citizens.The governments are responsible forproviding free and compulsoryeducation to all children up to theage of 14 years. Parliament hasenacted a law giving the right to

information to the citizens. This Actwas made under the FundamentalRight to freedom of thought andexpression. We have a right to seekinformation from governmentoffices. Recently the Supreme Courthas expanded the meaning of theright to life to include the right tofood. Also, rights are not limited onlyto Fundamental Rights asenumerated in the Constitution.Constitution provides many morerights, which may not be FundamentalRights. For example the right toproperty is not a Fundamental Rightbut it is a constitutional right. Right tovote in elections is an importantconstitutional right.

Sometimes the expansion takesplace in what is called human rights.These are universal moral claims thatmay or may not have been recognisedby law. In that sense these claims arenot rights going by the definition thatwe presented earlier. With theexpansion of democracy all over theworld, there is greater pressure ongovernments to accept these claims.

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Are these rightsonly for adults?Which of these

rights are availableto children?

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GLOSSARY

Some international covenants havealso contributed to the expansion ofrights.

Thus the scope of rights has beenexpanding and new rights areevolving over time. They are resultof struggle of the people. New rightsemerge as societies develop or asnew constitutions are made. TheConstitution of South Africa guaranteesits citizens several kinds of new rights:

Right to privacy, so that citizensor their home cannot be searched,their phones cannot be tapped,their communication cannot beopened.Right to an environment that is notharmful to their health or well-being;Right to have access to adequatehousing.Right to have access to health careservices, sufficient food and water;no one may be refused emergencymedical treatment.Many people think that the right to

work, right to health, right to minimumlivelihood and right to privacy shouldbe made fundamental rights in Indiaas well. What do you think?

International Covenant onEconomic, Social and CulturalRights

This international covenant recognises manyrights that are not directly a par t of theFundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution.This has not yet become an international treaty.But human right activists all over the world seethis as a standard of human rights. These include:

right to work: opportunity to everyone to earnlivelihood by workingright to safe and healthy working conditions,fair wages that can provide decent standard ofliving for the workers and their familiesright to adequate standard of living includingadequate food, clothing and housingright to social security and insuranceright to health: medial care during illness,special care for women during childbirth andprevention of epidemicsright to education: free and compulsory primaryeducation, equal access to higher education.

Amnesty International: An international organisation of volunteers whocampaign for human rights. This organisation brings out independentreports on the violation of human rights all over the world.Claim: Demand for legal or moral entitlements a person makes on fellowcitizens, society or the government.Covenant: Promise made by individuals, groups or countries to uphold arule or principle. It is legally binding on the signatories to the agreementor statement.Dalit: A person who belongs to the castes which were considered low andnot touchable by others. Dalits are also known by other names such asthe Scheduled Castes, Depressed Classes etc.Ethnic group: An ethnic group is a human population whose membersusually identify with each other on the basis of a common ancestry. Peopleof an ethnic group are united by cultural practices, religious beliefs andhistorical memories.Traffic: Selling and buying of men, women or children for immoralpurposes.Summon: An order issued by a court asking a person to appear before it.Writ: A formal document containing an order of the court to the governmentissued only by High Court or the Supreme Court.

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exerc

ises 1 Which of the following is not an instance of an exercise of a

fundamental right?a Workers from Bihar go to the Punjab to work on the farmsb Christian missions set up a chain of missionary schoolsc Men and women government employees get the same salaryd Parents’ property is inherited by their children

2 Which of the following freedoms is not available to an Indian citizen?a Freedom to criticise the governmentb Freedom to participate in armed revolutionc Freedom to start a movement to change the governmentd Freedom to oppose the central values of the Constitution

3 Which of the following rights is available under the IndianConstitution?a Right to workb Right to adequate livelihoodc Right to protect one’s cultured Right to privacy

4 Name the Fundamental Right under which each of the following rightsfalls:a Freedom to propagate one’s religionb Right to lifec Abolition of untouchabilityd Ban on bonded labour

5 Which of these statements about the relationship between democracyand rights is more valid? Give reasons for your preference.a Every country that is a democracy gives rights to its citizens.b Every country that gives rights to its citizens is a democracyc Giving rights is good, but it is not necessary for a democracy

6 Are these restrictions on the right to freedom justified? Give reasonsfor your answer.a Indian citizens need permission to visit some border areas of the

country for reasons of securityb Outsiders are not allowed to buy property in some areas to protect

the interest of the local populationc The government bans the publication of a book that can go against

the ruling party in the next elections

7 Manoj went to a college to apply for admission into an MBA course.The clerk refused to take his application and said “You, the son of asweeper, wish to be a manager! Has anyone done this job in yourcommunity? Go to the municipality office and apply for a sweeper’sposition”. Which of Manoj’s fundamental rights are being violated inthis instance? Spell these out in a letter from Manoj to the districtcollector.

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exercises8 When Madhurima went to the property registration office, theRegistrar told her, “You can’t write your name as Madhurima Banerjeed/o A. K. Banerjee. You are married, so you must give your husband’sname. Your husband’s surname is Rao. So your name should bechanged to Madhurima Rao.” She did not agree. She said “If myhusband’s name has not changed after marriage, why should mine?”In your opinion who is right in this dispute? And why?

9 Thousands of tribals and other forest dwellers gathered at Piparia inHoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh to protest against theirproposed displacement from the Satpura National Park, Bori WildlifeSanctuary and Panchmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary. They argue that sucha displacement is an attack on their livelihood and beliefs. Governmentclaims that their displacement is essential for the development ofthe area and for protection of wildlife. Write a petition on behalf ofthe forest dwellers to the NHRC, a response from the governmentand a report of the NHRC on this matter.

10 Draw a web interconnecting different rights discussed in this chapter.For example right to freedom of movement is connected to the freedomof occupation. One reason for this is that freedom of movement enablesa person to go to place of work within one’s village or city or to anothervillage, city or state. Similarly this right can be used for pilgrimage,connected with freedom to follow one’s religion. Draw a circle foreach right and mark arrows that show connection between or amongdifferent rights. For each arrow, give an example that shows thelinkage.

In every chapter we have done an exercise on reading the newspaper. Letus now try to write for the newspaper. Take any example from the reportsdiscussed in this chapter or any other local example that you are familiarwith and write the following:

Letter to the editor highlighting a case of human rights violation.Press release by a human rights organisation.A headline and a news item concerning a Supreme Court orderrelated to Fundamental Rights.Editorial on growing incidents of custodial violence.

Put these together and make a newspaper for your school notice board.

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