Fundamental Rights And Fundamental Duties

Fundamental rights and Fundamental duties both play a very important role in our political system of India. However, there is a difference between fundamental rights and duties. Fundamental rights are part of the Constitution of India which are specifically named. As for Fundamental Duties, they have not been specifically mentioned by the Parliament but must be given precedence over other duties and thus cannot be overruled or negated by other duties.

Fundamental Rights

Fundamental Rights are also called Basic Human Rights or Natural Rights. These rights are popularly known as the human rights because people generally consider them to be human resources for every individual irrespective of caste, creed etc.

Fundamental Rights can be divided into three categories:

Individual Rights

These are the rights that are inherent to every person. For example, the right to equality, freedom of speech and expression etc. fall into this category.

Collective Rights

These mainly consist of the rights which are vested upon a group composed of individuals like the Jury system, right against exploitation etc. These rights exist as a shield for a group of people in order to protect them from exploitation or any other form of injustice.

Abridged Rights

As the name suggests these are the abridgments of Individual and Collective rights such as power to curtail Fundamental Rights in times like emergency etc.

Fundamental Duties

Fundamental Duties are not categorised by the Constitution of India like Fundamental Rights are. These duties have been mentioned in the preamble of the constitution. The Parliament cannot make any law to negate or abridge Fundamental Duties (as it can with Fundamental Rights) and thus should be given precedence over other duties.

These duties can be divided into two groups:

Those that are applicable to every citizen without any discrimination based on cast, creed etc, and

Those that are applicable only to certain citizens like elected representatives etc.

Fundamental Duties are also known as Principle-based duties.

These are bound to be given precedence over all other duties such as ones based on inheritance, self-interest etc.

For example:

If a person owing allegiance to the state of India has to feed a stray cat that has strayed into his premises, he must feed the cat without any discrimination. Similarly, if a person owing allegiance to the Government of India does not pay taxes, he must pay taxes without any discrimination and can be punished for defying the government in this regard.

Difference between Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties

As you must have observed, Fundamental Rights and Duties overlap a lot. This is the reason why there is a difference between fundamental rights and fundamental duties. This difference is given in the following points:

1. There are specific Fundamental Rights in our constitution and Fundamental duties have not been mentioned clearly.
2. Fundamental Rights are much more extensive than that of Fundamental duties because there are many duties that can be classified under the “other” category of fundamental rights.
3. All citizens are bound to adhere to the fundamental rights whereas only citizens who have been given special authority are bound by the fundamental duties such as President, Central government officials etc.
4. Fundamental rights are bound to be given precedence over fundamental duties.
5. Fundamental Rights are justiciable unlike fundamental duties that are not.
6. Fundamental Rights can be curtailed during emergencies whereas fundamental duties cannot be curtailed except in the case of an emergency situation.

Thus, it is clear that the above points highlight a difference between fundamental rights and fundamental duties but at the same time one has to remember that both play an important role in our political system of India and both of them cannot be ignored under any circumstance. Thus, it is imperative for every citizen to remember their duties as much as he or she remembers their rights as citizens of India 

Conclusion

The Fundamental Rights and Duties are the most important provisions of our constitution. The aim of these provisions is to create a just society in which every person has an equal chance of acquiring the fundamental rights and duties without any kind of discrimination. This is the reason why every person is equal before law as per our constitution, irrespective of caste, creed etc. By recognising these fundamental duties, India has taken a leap in creating a just and fair society based on equality. Thus, it is imperative for every citizen to be aware of their rights as well as their duties so that they can contribute to the development of this nation by abiding by the laws made with good intention for their benefit.