STUDY NOTES : SOCIAL SCIENCE CLASS-IX

Ch-Democratic Rights

Q1Write a short note on Guantanamo bay incident.

Ans-1. Guantanamo Bay is a prison located in an area near Cuba and was controlled by American
Navy. Here about 600 people were secretly picked up by US forces from all over the world and put in
this Guantanamo Bay prison

2. The American government said that they were enemies of US and were linked to the attack on
New York on 11th September 2001. In most cases the governments of these countries were not
asked or even informed about their imprisonment

3. Families of the prisoners media or even UN representatives were not allowed to meet them. The
US army just arrested them interrogated them and decided whether to keep them or not. There was
no trial before any magistrate in US nor could these prisoners approach courts in their own country .

4 These were against the rights of people which were denied by the US in Guantanamo Bay
incident.

[Link] was the Amnesty International’s report regarding the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay?
State the condition of prisoners according to the report of Amnesty International in Guantanamo
Bay.[CBSE March 2013]

Ans :Amensty International which is an international human rights organisation, collected

Families of prisoners, media or even UN representatives were not allowed to meet these prisoners.
The US army arrested them, interrogated them and decided whether to keep them there or not.

There was no trial before any magistrate in the US. Nor could these prisoners approach courts in
their own country.

The prisoners were being tortured in ways that violated United States Laws.

They were being denied the treatment that even prisoners of war must get as per international
treaties.

Prisoners were not released even after they were officially declared not guilty.

Q3. Which constitutional right is violated by discrimination against women?

Ans- The constitution of India has granted equal rights to the men and women. According to
Article 14 – The State shall not deny to any person equality before law or the equal protection of
laws within the territory of India.
And Article 15 states – State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, sex, and place of birth or any of them. Although various efforts have been taken to
improve the status of women in India, the constitutional dream of gender equality is miles away
from becoming a reality.
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[Link] is Amnesty International? What information did it collect about the promises in
Guantanamo?

Ans- Amnesty International is an international organisation of volunteers who campaign for human
rights. This organisation brings out independent reports on the violation of human rights all over the
world. The organisation collected information on the condition of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay
and reported that

(a) The prisoners were being tortured in ways that violated the US laws.

(b) They were being denied the treatment that even prisoners of war must get as per international
treaties.

(c) Many prisoners had tried protesting against these conditions by going on a hunger strike.

(d) Prisoners were not released even after they were officially declared not guilty.

Thus, Amnesty International helped drawing people's attention to human rights abuses. Even an
independent inquiry by the UN supported these findings. The UN Secretary General said the prison
in Guantanamo Bay should be closed down.

[Link] rights are not provided to the citizen of Saudi Arabia that makes them a non-democratic
country?

Ans- The country is ruled by a hereditary king and the people have no role in electing or changing
their rulers.
The king selects the legislature as well as the executive. He appoints the judges and can change any
of their decisions.
Citizens cannot form polfflcal parties or any political organisations. Media cannot report anything
that the monarch does not like.
There is no freedom of religion. Every citizen is required to be Muslim. Non-Muslim residents can
follow their religion in private, but not in public.
Women are subjected to many public restrictions. The testimony of one man is considered equal to
that of two women.

Q6With the story of Kosovo explain/illustrate which rights was violated that led to the
tension between minorities and majorities?
Ans- Kosovo was a province of Yugoslavia before its split. In this province, the population was
overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian. But, in the entire country, Serbs were in majority.

A narrow-minded Serb nationalist Milosevic had won the election. His government was very hostile
to the Kosovo Albanians. He wanted the Serbs to dominate the country. Many Serb leaders thought
that Ethnic minorities like Albanians should either leave the country or accept the dominance of the
Serbs.

This massacre was being carried out by the army of their own country, working under the direction
of a leader who came to power through democratic elections. This was one of the worst instances of
killings based on ethnic prejudices in recent times.
 STUDY NOTES : SOCIAL SCIENCE CLASS-IX

Finally, several other countries intervened to stop this massacre. Milosevic lost power and was tried
by an International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity.

Q7. Why do we need rights in a democracy? [CBSE March 2011,13,15]

Answer: [Link] Rights provide the conditions which are essential for the development of the
inherent qualities in man and to secure his all round growth.

ii. These are necessary to preserve human dignity and promote social progress in an atmosphere of
freedom.

iii. These provide civil liberties, without which democracy cannot be even conceived.

iv. These are a significant check on the arbitrary use of power by the government.

v. Rights protect minorities from the oppression of majority.

[Link] a flow chart on all the Fundamental rights.

Ans- Fundamental rights are the basic human rights written in the Constitution of India which are
guaranteed to all citizens. They are applied without discrimination on the basis of race, religion,
gender, etc. Fundamental rights are enforceable by the courts for justice.
These rights are called fundamental rights because of two reasons:
They are enshrined in the Constitution which guarantees them .
They are justiciable (enforceable by courts). In case of a violation, a person can approach a court of
law.

List of Fundamental Rights -There are six fundamental rights of Indian Constitution along with the
constitutional articles related to them are mentioned below:
i. Right to Equality (Article 14-18)
ii. Right to Freedom (Article 19-22)
iii. Right against Exploitation (Article 23-24)
iv. Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25-28)
v. Cultural and Educational Rights (Article 29-30)
vi. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32)

[Link] about NHRC and HSRC in brief.

Ans- National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

(i) National Human Rights Commission was set up by law in 1993. Like judiciary, the commission is
appointed by the President and includes retired judges, officers and eminent citizens.

(ii) It does not have the burden of deciding court cases. It focuses on helping the victims secure their
human rights. These include all the rights granted to the citizens by the Constitution. For NHRC
human rights also include the rights mentioned in the UN sponsored international treaties that India
has signed.

(iii) The NHRC cannot by itself punish the guilty. That is the responsibility of courts. The NHRC is
there to make independent and credible inquiry into any case of violation of human rights.
 STUDY NOTES : SOCIAL SCIENCE CLASS-IX

(iv) It also inquires into any case of negligence in controlling it by any government officer and takes
other general steps to promote human rights in the country. The Commission presents its findings
and recommendations to the government or intervene in the court on behalf of the victims.

Q10. Write short note on PIL.

Ans- (i) In case of any violation of a Fundamental Right, the aggrieved person can go to a court for
remedy.

(ii) But now, any person can go to court against the violation of a Fundamental Right, if it is of social
or public interest. This is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

(iii) Under the PIL, any citizen or group of citizens can approach the Supreme Court or the High Court
for the protection of public interest against a particular law or action of the government.

Q11. Exlpain in detail about Right to Equality

Ans-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.

Rule of Law- (Article-14)Rule of law 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.

(Article-15) The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, sex or place of birth. 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 the general public.

(Article-16)All citizens have equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment or

(Article-17)Under the right to equality, the practice of untouchability has been forbidden in any
form. Untouchability here does not only mean refusal to touch people belonging to certain castes.
Such practice denies them interaction with others or access to public places as equal citizens. So the
Constitution made untouchability a punishable offence.

(Article-18) _Title will not be used by any civilian

Q12- Explain Right to Freedom Or The Right to Freedom is actually a cluster of several rights.’
Discuss.
 STUDY NOTES : SOCIAL SCIENCE CLASS-IX

Ans-Freedom means absence of constraints. In practical life it means absence of interference in our
affairs by others – be it other individuals or the government. Under the Indian Constitution all
citizens have the right to:

i. Freedom of speech and expression- Freedom of speech and expression is one of the essential
features of any [Link], this freedom should not be used to instigate violence against
others.

ii. Assembly in a peaceful manner- Citizens also have the freedom to hold meetings, processions,
rallies and demonstrations on any issue.

iii. Form associations and unions- Citizens can also form association. But such meetings have to be
peaceful. They should not lead to public disorder or breach of peace in society. Those who
participate in these activities and meetings should not carry weapons with them.

iv. Move freely throughout the country- Citizens have the freedom to travel to any part of the
country.

v,Reside in any part of the country, They are free to reside and settle in any part of the territory of
India.

[Link] any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

Article-20The Constitution says that no person can be deprived of his life or personal liberty except
according to procedure established by law. It also means that a government or police officer cannot
arrest or detain any citizen unless he has proper legal justification. Even when they do, they have to
follow some procedures:

Article-21-A person who is arrested and detained in custody will have to be informed of the reasons
for such arrest and detention.

Article-22-A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced before the nearest magistrate
within a period of 24 hours of [Link] a person has the right to consult a lawyer or engage a
lawyer for his defence.

[Link] how the Fundamental Right “Right against Exploitation “ protect us from three
exploitation.

Ans-Every citizen has a right not to be exploited. Under the right against exploitation, the
Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares these illegal.

First, the Constitution prohibits ‘traffic in human beings’. Traffic here means selling and buying of
human beings.

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.

Finally, the 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.
 STUDY NOTES : SOCIAL SCIENCE CLASS-IX

Q14 What is Right to Freedom of Religion? Why India is called Secular Country?

Ans-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 the right to compel
another person to convert into his religion by means of force, fraud, inducement or allurement.

Freedom to practice religion does not mean that a person can do whatever he wants in the name of
religion.

Secularism - Secularism is based on the idea that the state is concerned only with relations among
human beings, and not with the relation between human beings and God. A secular state is one that
does not establish any one religion as an official religion.

The government cannot compel any person to pay any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of
any particular religion or religious institution. 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.

Q15 Write Short on Cultural and Educational Rights

Ans-The Constitution of India specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities:

Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture have a right to conserve it.

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.

All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Q16 How “Right to Constitutional Remedies” this fundamental rights in the Constitution are
important?

Ans-The fundamental rights in the Constitution are important because they are enforceable. We
have a right to seek the enforcement of fundamental rights. This is called the Right to Constitutional
Remedies.

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. If it is a
Fundamental Right we can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state

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.
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The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue directions, orders or writs for the
enforcement of the Fundamental Rights. They can also award compensation to the victims and
punishment to the violators.

Q17. State any three rights guaranteed by the Constitution of South Africa.[CBSE 2014 March]

Answer: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.

Q 18 Mention any three rights of a detained person.

Ans :[Link] be informed of the reason of arrest and detention.

[Link] be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.

[Link] to consult a lawyer or engage a lawyer for his defence.