Human Rights
What do Rights mean?
Rights are those claims and demands of an individual or group of individuals to good life which are
accepted by the community or society as essential for the common good and recognized by the State.
In other words rights are also those essential factors without which human life cannot sustain.
What are Human Rights?
Human rights, as the term is most commonly used, are basic entitlements bestowed upon each and
every human being by virtue of birth. The underlying idea of such rights is to ensure that all men,
women and children are treated with respect and dignity. For example, as human beings, it is our
birthright that all of us should be given equal treatment and should not be discriminated on any
account due to differences of religion, caste, class, colour, gender or anything else either by the State
or the community or for that matter the family. This is because each person is special with their own
individual talents and abilities and none are inferior or superior to each other. Likewise, it is our
birthright to have access to opportunities, whereby we can develop to our fullest potential and achieve
all that we aspire to become. These rights include the right to life, freedom and justice. These rights
guarantee our dignity as human beings. It is precisely for these reasons that human rights are
sometimes called ‘natural rights.
Nature of Human Rights
The fact that nobody gives us these rights nor can any one take away these rights from us, human
rights are said to be ‘inalienable’. Human rights are also recognized as being universal, interrelated
and indivisible’. This means that they belong to everyone irrespective of one’s religion, community,
caste, class, gender, and age, social or economic status. Furthermore, respect for civil and political
rights cannot be divorced from economic, social and cultural rights. In other words, economic and
social development cannot be achieved without the political freedom to participate in that process,
including the freedom to dissent. The nature and characteristics of Human Rights can be further
understood as under:
1. Human Rights are Essential and Necessary
In the absence of human rights, the ethical, natural, societal and spiritual welfare of an individual is
impossible. Human rights are also indispensable as they provide a conducive environment to augment
the physical and moral life of society.
2. Human Rights Support and Advocate Human Dignity
To treat others with dignity irrespective of whether that person is a male or female, rich or poor etc. is
the basic concern of human rights. For eg. In 1993, India had enacted a law that forbade the practice
of an individual carrying human excreta. This law is called ‘Employment of Manual Scavengers and
Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act.’ However this practice is still prevalent in some parts of the country.
3. Human Rights are Universal
No one class of people however privileged they may be, have monopoly over human rights. They are
essentially universal without consideration and without exception. The values such as divinity, dignity
and equality which form the basis of these rights are inherent in human nature.
4. Human Rights are Inalienable
‘Inalienable’ means unable to be taken away. When we say human rights are inalienable we are
saying that the rights are inherent in us and we cannot give it away or renounce it. For example if an
individual gives, even in writing, telling the police that he should be arrested for a crime that he had
committed and locked up without a trial. It cannot be considered a valid statement. This would be a
violation of his/her basic human right of life and personal liberty i.e. Article 21 of Indian Constitution.
These rights should be the same for individuals irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, sex and
nationality. As a matter of fact, human rights are conferred on an individual even after his death. The
various rituals in different religions bear testimony to this fact.
5. Human Rights are Dynamic
Human rights are ever changing, constantly dependent on the change in the political, economic, social
or environmental structures of the State. For example the right to be cared for in time of sickness has
now been stretched to include free medical treatment in public hospitals under different schemes of
the Government of India. Free medical examination in schools and also especially equipped schools
for the physically handicapped have been included.
6. Human Rights are Essential for Gratification of Aspirations
Every human life has a purpose. The term ‘human right’ is applied to those conditions which are
essential for the fulfilment of this purpose. No government has the power to curtail or take away the
rights which are sacrosanct, inviolable and immutable.
7. Human Rights are Never Absolute
Man lives in a society which invariably establishes some limitations on the enjoyment of rights and
freedoms. Human rights are those restricted privileges or prerogatives, which subscribe to the
common good. These are acknowledged and attested by the state through its legislation. Each of these
rights comes with restrictions.
8. Human Rights Restrains State Power
Human rights imply that all citizens have rightful demands upon his or her society for certain
freedoms and assistance. Thus, we could say that human rights limit the State’s power. These may be
in the form of restrictions on the powers of the State from violating the inalienable freedoms of the
individuals, or it may be in the obligations of the State to not interfere in the citizen’s personal life in
as far as the six freedoms mentioned in the Right to freedom in the Indian Constitution. i.e. Article 19
The need for a charter of Human Rights
Human Rights cannot be different for different individuals, states, and countries. Thus a charter of
Human Rights applicable for all and accepted by everyone is needed to:
1. assure equal human rights for all human beings.
2. promote the idea of peaceful coexistence within the country and among various countries of the
world.
3. protect and acknowledge rights.
4. encourage the Government to make policies and laws for fulfilment of human rights.
5. establish a peaceful environment for the development of human life and harmonious
existence of all mankind.
6. promote human right & above all national or international politics and discretionary
government decisions.
7. inculcate the values of respect for human rights, amongst the victorious nations of wars so as to
focus on environmental issues.