Democratic Rights

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The Indian Constitution has given us six Fundamental Rights. They are the basic features of India’s Constitution.

1. Right to Equality
2. Right to Freedom
3. Right against Exploitation
4. Right to Freedom of Religion
5. Cultural and Educational Rights
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies

1. The language, culture and religion of minorities that needs special protection. Otherwise, they may get neglected or undermined by the majority. That is why the Constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities.
2. Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture has a right to conserve it.
3. Admission to any educational institution maintained by the government or receiving government aid cannot be denied to any citizen on the ground of religion or language.
4. All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
5. Here minority does not mean only religious minority at the national level. In some places people speaking a particular language are in majority; people speaking a different language are in a minority.

1.  The fundamental rights in the Constitution are important because they are enforceable. We have a right to seek the enforcement of the above-mentioned rights. This is called the right to Constitutional Remedies.
2. This is a Fundamental Right. This right makes other rights effective. It is possible that sometimes our rights may be violated by fellow citizens, private bodies or by the government. When any of our rights are violated we can seek remedy through courts.
3.  If it is a Fundamental Right we can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state. That is why Dr. Ambedkar called the Right to Constitutional Remedies, ‘the heart and soul’ of our Constitution.
4. Courts also enforce the Fundamental Rights against private individuals and bodies. The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
5. Fundamental Right, if it is of social or public interest. It is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Under the PIL any citizen or group of citizens can approach the Supreme Court or a High Court for the protection of public interest against a particular law or action of the government.

1.  Constitution makers thought it was necessary to write down certain clear provisions to prevent exploitation of the weaker sections of the society. The Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares these illegal.
2. First, the Constitution prohibits ‘traffic in human beings’. Traffic here means selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.
3. Second, our Constitution also prohibits forced labour or begar in any form. ‘Begar’ is a practice where the worker is forced to render service to the ‘master’ free of charge or at a nominal remuneration.
4. Constitution also prohibits child labour. No one can employ a child below the age of fourteen to work in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous work, such as railways and ports.
5. Using this as a basis many laws have been made to prohibit children from working in industries such as beedi making, firecrackers and matches, printing and dyeing.

1.  Right to equality means that the laws apply in the same manner to all, regardless of a person’s status. This is called the rule of law. Rule of law is the foundation of any democracy.
2. It means that no person is above the law. There cannot be any distinction between a political leader, government official and an ordinary citizen.
3. The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, caste, ethnicity, sex or place of birth.
4. Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels, and cinema halls. Similarly, there shall be no restriction with regard to the use of wells, tanks, bathing Ghats, roads, playgrounds and places of public resorts maintained by the government or dedicated to the use of general public.
5. The same principle applies to public jobs. 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.
6. The Constitution mentions one extreme form of social discrimination, the practice of untouchability, and clearly directs the government to put an end to it. The practice of untouchability has been forbidden in any form.

Right to Freedom means absence of interference in our affairs by others – be it other individuals

or the government.

1. Indian Constitution gives the right to Freedom of speech and expression
2. Right to Freedom to assemble in a peaceful manner
3. Right to Freedom to form associations and unions
4. Right to Freedom to move freely throughout the country
5. Right to Freedom to reside in any part of the country
6. Right to Freedom to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
7. Citizens have the freedom to hold meetings, processions, rallies and demonstrations on any issue.
8. Your freedoms should not cause public nuisance or disorder. You are free to do everything which injures no one else

1. Secularism is based on the idea that the state is concerned only with the relation between human beings and God. A secular state is one that does not establish any one religion as official religion.
2. Every person has a right to profess, practice and propagate the religion he or she believes in. Every religious group or sect is free to manage its religious affairs. A right to propagate one’s religion, however, does not mean that a person has right to compel another person to convert into his religion by means of force, fraud, inducement or allurement.
3. Freedom to practice religion does not mean that a person can do whatever he wants in the name of religion. For example, one cannot sacrifice animals or human beings as offerings to supernatural forces or gods. Religious practices which treat women as inferior are not allowed.
4. Discrimination against people on the basis of religion is not allowed. Thus the government cannot compel any person to pay any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious institution.
5. There shall be no religious instruction in the government educational institutions. In educational institutions managed by private bodies, no person shall be compelled to take part in any religious instruction or to attend any religious worship.