N.K.

BAGRODIA PUBLIC SCHOOL, ROHINI

Democratic Rights
Notes
Rights in a Democracy
All of us want to live happily, without fear and without being subjected to bad treatment. For this,
we expect others to behave in such a way that does not harm us or hurt us. Equally, our actions
should not also harm or hurt others.
●​ A right is possible when you make a claim that is equally possible for others.
●​ A right comes with an obligation to respect others’ rights.
●​ What is recognised by society as rightful becomes the basis of rights. That is why the
notion of rights changes from time to time and society to society.
Any claim can be called a “Right” if it has the following 3 qualities:

●​ The claim should be reasonable

●​ The claims should be recognised by society
●​ The claim should be sanctioned by laws
Why Do We Need Rights in Democracy
●​ In a democracy, every citizen has the right to vote and the right to be elected to
government. Rights perform a very special role in a democracy.
●​ Rights protect minorities from the oppression of the majority. Rights are guarantees
which can be used when things go wrong.
Rights in the Indian Constitution
Our Constitution provides for six Fundamental Rights.
Right to Equality
●​ The Constitution says that the government shall not deny to any person in India equality
before the law or the equal protection of the laws.
●​ It means that the laws apply in the same manner to all, regardless of a person’s status.
This is called the rule of law, which is the foundation of any democracy.
●​ It means that no person is above the law. There cannot be any distinction between a
political leader, government official and an ordinary citizen.
●​ The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race,
caste, sex or place of birth.
●​ Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels, and
cinema halls.
●​ 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 the general public.
●​ All citizens have equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment or appointment
to any position in the government.
Right to Freedom
Under the Indian Constitution, all citizens have the right to:
●​ Freedom of speech and expression
 ●​ Assemble in a peaceful manner
●​ Form associations and unions
●​ Move freely throughout the country
●​ Reside in any part of the country
●​ Practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business
You cannot exercise your freedom in such a manner that violates others’ right to freedom.
Right Against Exploitation
●​ Every citizen has a right not to be exploited. The Constitution has clear provisions to
prevent exploitation of the weaker sections of the society.
●​ The Constitution mentions 3 specific evils as mentioned below and declares them illegal.
a)​ The Constitution prohibits ‘traffic in human beings’. Traffic means selling and buying of
human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.
b)​ Our Constitution 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. When this practice takes place on a life-long basis, it is called the practice
of bonded labour.
c)​ The Constitution prohibits child labour. Under this, no one can employ a child below the
age of 14 to work in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous work, such as
railways and ports.
Right to Freedom of Religion
●​ Every person has a right to profess, practice and propagate the religion he or she
believes in.
●​ India is a secular state which means India does not establish any one religion as the
official religion.
●​ 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.
Cultural and Educational Rights
●​ Indian Constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities:
a)​ Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture have a right to conserve
it.
b)​ Admission to any educational institution maintained by the government or
receiving government aid cannot be denied to any citizen on the grounds of
religion or language.
c)​ All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of
their choice.
Right to Constitutional Remedies
Right to constitutional remedies empowers the citizens to move a court of law in case of any
denial of the fundamental rights.
How can we secure these Rights?
●​ Right to Constitutional Remedies makes the other 5 Fundamental Rights effective. When
any of our rights are violated we can seek remedy through courts. That is why Dr.
Ambedkar called the Right to Constitutional Remedies, ‘the heart and soul’ of our
Constitution.
 ●​ Fundamental Rights are guaranteed against the actions of the Legislatures, the
Executive, and any other authorities instituted by the government.
●​ There can be no law or action that violates the Fundamental Rights.
●​ If any act of the Legislature or the Executive takes away or limits any of the Fundamental
Rights it will be invalid.
●​ Any person can go to court against the violation of the 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.
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
●​ It is an independent commission established in 1993. The Commission is appointed by
the President. The Commission focuses on helping the victims to secure their human
rights. These include all the rights granted to the citizens by the Constitution.
●​ The Commission also considers the Human Rights mentioned in the UN sponsored
international treaties that India has signed. The NHRC makes an independent and
credible inquiry into any case of violation of human rights. The Commission presents its
findings and recommendations to the government.
Expanding Scope of Rights
●​ Fundamental Rights are the source of all rights, our Constitution and law offer a wider
range of rights.
●​ Over the years the scope of rights has expanded. From time to time, the courts gave
judgments to expand the scope of rights.
●​ Certain rights like the right to freedom of press, right to information, and right to
education are derived from the Fundamental Rights.
●​ Now, school education has become a right for Indian citizens. The governments are
responsible for providing free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of
14 years.
●​ Parliament has enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens.
●​ The Supreme Court has expanded the meaning of the right to life to include the right to
food.
●​ The Constitution provides many more rights, which may not be Fundamental Rights. For
example, the right to property is not a Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right.
●​ Right to vote in elections is an important constitutional right.
The Constitution of South Africa guarantees its citizens several kinds of new [Link] are:
●​ Right to privacy, so that citizens or their home cannot be searched, their phones cannot
be tapped, their communication cannot be opened.
●​ Right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well being.
●​ Right to have access to adequate housing.
●​ Right to have access to health care services, sufficient food and water; no one may be
refused emergency medical treatment.
Many people in our country think that the Right to Work, Right to Health, Right to Minimum
Livelihood and Right to Privacy should be made as Fundamental Rights in India.
International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
 ●​ The international covenant recognises many rights that are not directly a part of the
Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution.
●​ This has not yet become an international treaty. But human right activists all over the
world see this as a standard of human rights.
These include:
●​ Right to work i.e. an opportunity to everyone to earn a livelihood by working.
●​ Right to safe and healthy working conditions, fair wages that can provide a decent
standard of living for the workers and their families.
●​ Right to an adequate standard of living including adequate food, clothing and housing.
●​ Right to social security and insurance.
●​ Right to health i.e. medical care during illness, special care for women during childbirth
and prevention of epidemics.
●​ Right to education i.e. free and compulsory primary education, equal access to higher
education.