Ch– 5 Democratic Rights Life Without Rights Let's take 3 examples that will help you understand

what it means to live in the absence of rights.1) Prison in Guantanamo Bay The American
government picked up about 600 people from all over the world and put them in a prison in
Guantanamo Bay, allegedly without due process of law. The government said that they were
enemies of the US and linked to the attack on New York on 11 September 2001.2) Citizens’ Rights in
Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, the position of the citizens concerning their government is as
mentioned below. A hereditary king rules the country and the people have no role in electing or
changing their rulers.2. The king selects the legislature as well as the executive.3. Citizens cannot
form political parties or any political organisations.4. There is no freedom of religion.5. Women are
subjected to many public restrictions.3) Ethnic Massacre in Kosovo Yugoslavia was a small province
before its split. The population was overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian but Serbs were in majority in
the country. Milosevic, a Serb nationalist, had won the election and his government was very hostile
to the 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. 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• Society• should recognise the claims The
claim should be sanctioned by law 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 play 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 You already know our Constitution provides for 6
Fundamental Rights. Let’s discuss them one by one.1) Right to Constitutional Remedies The Right to
constitutional remedies empowers the citizens to move a court of law in case of any denial of
fundamental rights.2) 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.1. The
government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place
of birth.2. Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels, and cinema
halls.3. There shall be no restriction about 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.4. All citizens have equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment or appointment
to any position in the government.3) Right to Freedom Under the Indian Constitution, all citizens
have the right to. Freedom of speech and expression. Assemble peacefully. Form associations and
unions4. Move freely throughout the country. Reside in any part of the country. Practice any
profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business cannot exercise your freedom in such a
manner that violates others’ right to freedom.4) Right Against Exploitation Every citizen has a right
not to be exploited. The Constitution has clear provisions to prevent the exploitation of the weaker
sections of society. The Constitution mentions 3 specific evils as mentioned below and declares them
illegal.1. The Constitution prohibits ‘traffic in human beings. Traffic means selling and buying of
human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.2. Our Constitution prohibits forced labour or
beggar in any form. The beggar 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.3. 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 any other
hazardous work, such as railways and ports.5) 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.6) Cultural and
Educational Rights The Indian Constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the
minorities:1. Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture has a right to conserve it.2.
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.3. All minorities have the right
to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. 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 a remedy through the courts. That is why Dr. B.R.Ambedkar called
the Right to Constitutional Remedies, ‘the heart and soul’ of our Constitution.1. Fundamental Rights
are guaranteed against the actions of the Legislatures, the Executive, and any other authorities
instituted by the government.2. There can be no law or action that violates the Fundamental
Rights.3. If any act of the Legislature or the Executive takes away or limits any of the Fundamental
Rights it will be invalid. 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.1. Certain
rights like the right to freedom of the press, right to information, and right to education are derived
from the Fundamental Rights.2. 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.3. Parliament has enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens.4. 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. For example, the property
right is not a Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right. The right to vote in elections is an
important constitutional right.