DEMOCRATIC

RIGHTS
. 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.
LIFE WITHOUT RIGHTS
 About 600 people were secretly picked up by the US
forces from all over the world and put in a prison in
Guantanamo Bay, an area near Cuba controlled by
Amercian Navy. Anas’s father, Jamil El-Banna, was
among them. The American government said that they
were enemies of the US and linked to the attack on
New York on 11 September 2001. In most cases the
governments of their countries were not asked or even
informed about their imprisonment. Like other
prisoners, El-Banna’s family got to know that he was in
that prison only through the media. Families of
prisoners, media or even UN representatives were not
allowed to meet them. 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.
CITIZENS’ RIGHTS IN
SAUDI ARABIA
 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 political 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.
ETHNIC MASSACRE IN
KOSOSVO
 This 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 (pronounced Miloshevich) 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 is what happened to an Albanian family in a town in Kosovo in April 1999: “74-
year-old Batisha Hoxha was sitting in her kitchen with her 77 year–old husband, Izet,
staying warm by the stove. They had heard explosions but did not realise that
Serbian troops had already entered the town. The next thing she knew, five or six
soldiers had burst through the front door and were demanding “Where are your
children?” “… they shot Izet three times in the chest” recalled Batisha. With her
husband dying before her, the soldiers pulled the wedding ring off her finger and
told her to get out. “I was not even outside the gate when they burned the house”
… She was standing on the street in the rain with no house, no husband, no
possessions but the clothes she was wearing.” This news report was typical of what
happened to thousands of Albanians in that period. Do DEMOCRATIC POLITICS If you
were a Serb, would you support what Milosevic did in Kosovo? Do you think his
project of establishing Serb dominance was good for the Serbs? 76 Reprint 2025-26
remember that 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. Finally several other countries intervened to stop this
massacre. Milosevic lost power and was tried by the International Court of Justice for
crimes against humanity.
 RIGHTS IN A
Think of all the examples that we have discussed so far. Think of the
victims in each example: the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, women in
Saudi Arabia, Albanians in Kosovo. If you were in their position, what
would you have wished? If you could, what would you do to ensure that

DEMOCRACY
such things do not happen to anyone? You would perhaps desire a
system where security, dignity and fair play are assured to everyone.
You might want, for example, that no one should be arrested without
proper reason and information. And if someone is arrested, he or she
should have a fair chance to defend themselves. You might agree that
such assurance cannot apply to DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS everything. One
has to be reasonable in what one expects and demands of everyone
else, for one has to grant the same to everyone. But you might insist
that the assurance does not remain on paper, that there is someone to
enforce these assurances, that those who violate these are punished. In
other words, you might want a system where at least a minimum is
guaranteed to everyone – powerful or weak, rich or poor, majority or
minority. This is the spirit behind thinking about rights
WHAT ARE RIGHTS
 Rights are claims of a person over other
fellow beings, over the society and over
the government
 OR
 Rights are reasonable claims of persons
recognised by society and sanctioned by
law.
WHY DO WE NEED RIGHTS
IN A DEMOCRACY
 Rights are necessary for the very sustenance of a democracy.
In a democracy every citizen has to have the right to vote and
the right to be elected to government. For democratic
elections to take place, it is necessary that citizens should
have the right to express their opinion, form political parties
and take part in political activities. Rights also perform a very
special role in a democracy. Rights protect minorities from the
oppression of majority. They ensure that the majority cannot
do whatever it likes. Rights are guarantees which can be used
when things go wrong. Things may go wrong when some
citizens may wish to take away the rights of others. This
usually happens when those in majority want to dominate
those in minority. The government should protect the citizens’
rights in such a situation. But sometimes elected governments
may not protect or may even attack the rights of their own
citizens. That is why some rights need to be placed higher
than the government, so that the government cannot violate
them. In most democracies the basic rights of the citizen are
written down in the constitution
 RIGHTS IN THE
INDIAN
In India, like most other democracies in the world, these rights are
mentioned in the Constitution. Some rights which are fundamental to our
life are given a special status. They are called Fundamental Rights. We

CONSTITUTION
have already read in Chapter 2 the preamble to our Constitution. It talks
about securing for all its citizens equality, liberty and justice.
Fundamental Rights put this promise into effect. They are an important
basic feature of India’s Constitution. You already know our Constitution
provides for six Fundamental Rights. Can you recall these? What exactly
do these rights mean for an ordinary citizen? Let us look at these one by
one.
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. 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.
RIGHT TO FREEDOM
 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. We want to live in society,
but we want to be free. We want to do things
in the way we want to do them. Others should
not dictate us what we should do. So, under
the Indian Constitution all citizens have the
right to Freedom of speech and expression
Assembly in a peaceful manner Form
associations and unions Move freely
throughout the country Reside in any part of
the country, and Practice any profession, or to
carry on any occupation, trade or business.
RIGHT AGAINST
EXPLOITATION
 Once the right to liberty and equality is
granted, it follows that every citizen has
a right not to be exploited. Yet the
Constitution makers thought is was
necessary to write down certain clear
provisions to prevent exploitation of the
weaker sections of the society.
RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF
RELIGION
 Right to freedom includes right to freedom of
religion as well. In this case too, the Constitution
makers were very particular to state it clearly. You
have already read in Chapter 2 that India is a
secular state. Most people in India, like anywhere
else in the world, follow different religions. Some
may not believe in any religion. 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 official religion. Indian secularism
practices an attitude of a principled and equal
distance from all religions. The state has to be
neutral and impartial in dealing with all religions.
CULTURAL AND
EDUCATIONAL RIGHT
 It is the language, culture and religion of
minorities that needs special protection.
Otherwise, they may get neglected or
undermined under the impact of the
language, religion and culture of the majority.
That is why the Constitution 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 government or
receiving government aid cannot be denied to
any citizen on the ground of religion or
language.