Rights in a Democracy

Rights: 

Rights refer to the claims that an ordinary person can claim over government, society, and other fellow human beings. A right is possible when a person makes a claim that is equally possible for others. Any right can’t be given to a person to harm and hurt others. These claims should be reasonable. Hence a right always comes with due respect being granted to other rights. 

It is only by written laws that the socially accepted claims obtain legitimacy and authority or else they exist only as a moral obligation or a natural occurrence. The reasonable claims are accepted by the society and carry sanctions of the law becoming Rights.

Need of Rights in a Democracy: 

• Necessary for the very maintenance of democracy. 
• Protection of Minorities from the oppression of the majority.
• Protection from other citizens: Things may go wrong when some citizens may wish to take away the rights of others.
• Protection from the government: Sometimes elected governments may not protect or may even attack the rights of their citizens. To deter a government from violating the basic rights of citizens, some rights are hierarchically positioned over the government.

 Rights in the Indian Constitution:

• In India, the basic rights of the citizens are written down in the Constitution. Special status is given to those rights which are basic rights that we need in our day-to-day lives. They are called Fundamental Rights. 
• The preamble to our Constitution outlines the vision of securing for all its citizens equality, liberty, and justice. The promises in the Preamble are kept by granting citizens with Fundamental Rights.
• 6 Fundamental Rights are granted by our constitution.

Types of Fundamental Rights

Right to Equality: 

• Rule of law: 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. A person’s status does not decide the applicability of law, Law is the same for all regardless of any other factor associated with the person.
• No person is above the law in the core concept of the Rule of Law. Any distinction should not be made between a government official, a political leader, or a general citizen.
• Any person, who is deemed or happens to be a VIP, can’t claim any special privilege or treatment legally.

Implications of the Right to Equality:

• The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. 
• Access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels, and cinema halls shall be the right of every citizen in the country.
• No restriction can be put as to the utilization of wells, tanks, washing ghats, streets, jungle gyms, and spots of public hotels on any resident that is kept up with by the government or the foundation that is devoted to the utilization of the overall population. 
• For public positions as well, a similar standard is material. Balance of chance is each resident’s right in every one of the issues identifying with business or arrangement to any situation in the public authority. Any of the grounds referenced above can’t be utilized to victimize or make a resident ineligible for a task or some other issues of the business. 
• Expansion of rule of non-segregation to public activity: The Constitution specifies one outrageous type of social separation, the act of distance, and unmistakably guides the public authority to stop it. Distance and its training in any structure or appearance are disallowed.

Reservations are not against the Right to Equality: 

• Equality means giving everyone an equal opportunity to achieve their capability.
• Sometimes it is necessary to give special treatment to someone to ensure equal opportunity. 
• The Constitution says that reservations of this kind are not a violation of the Right to Equality. 

Right to Freedom: 

Freedom means the absence of constraints. In practical life, it means the absence of interference in our affairs by others – be it other individuals or the government. 

Scope of Right to Freedom:

• Every citizen has the right to all these freedoms: One cannot exercise his freedom in such a manner that violates others’ right to freedom or cause public nuisance or disorder. 
• Freedom is not an unlimited licence to do anything: Accordingly, the government can impose certain reasonable restrictions on our freedoms in the larger interests of society. 

Constitution grants all citizens the right to:

Freedom of speech and expression:

• Essential features of any democracy: Our ideas and personality develop only when we can freely communicate with others. 
• Accepting Disagreements: One may disagree with a policy of the government or activities of an association. That person is free to criticise the government or the activities of the association. One may publicise his views through a pamphlet, magazine, or newspaper, through paintings, poetry, or songs. 
• Limit: 
• • • This freedom cannot be used to instigate violence against others or to prompt individuals to defy public authority.
    • It can’t be used to stigmatize others by expressing bogus and mean things that cause harm to an individual’s standing.

Assembly in a peaceful manner:

• Citizens have the freedom to hold meetings, processions, rallies, and demonstrations on any issue. 
• Limit: Such meetings have to be peaceful and 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. 

Form associations and unions:

• Citizens also can form associations. For example- workers in a factory can form a workers’ union to promote their interests. 
• Move freely throughout the country. 
• Reside in any part of the country:
  • Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
• Practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade, or business: 
  • No one can force a person to do or not to do a certain job. Women cannot be told that some kinds of occupations are not for them. 
  • People from deprived castes cannot be kept to their traditional occupations. 
• No person can be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law: 
  • No person can be killed unless the court has ordered a death sentence. 
  • 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: 
    • A person who is arrested and detained in custody will have to be informed of the reasons for such arrest and detention. 
    • A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of arrest. 
    • Such a person has the right to consult a lawyer or engage a lawyer for his defence.

Right against Exploitation: 

The Constitution refers to three explicit indecencies and proclaims these unlawful:

• Prohibits ‘traffic in human beings’: Traffic here means selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes. 
• 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. When this practice takes place on a life-long basis, it is called the practice of bonded labour. 
• Prohibits child labour: No one can employ a child below the age of fourteen to work in any factory then again mine or in some other unsafe work, like railroads and ports.

Right to Freedom of Religion:

• The right to freedom includes the right to freedom of religion also.
• India is a secular state: It does not establish any one religion as an 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. 
• Every person has a right to profess, practice, and propagate any religion.
• Every religious group or sect is free to manage its religious affairs. 
• A person is free to change the religion of his or her own will but a person can’t compel another person to convert into his religion by means of force, fraud, inducement, or allurement. Of course, 
• 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. 
• India does not confer any privilege or favour on any particular religion. It does not punish or discriminate against people on the basis of the religion they follow. So, 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. 

Cultural and Educational Rights: 

Need: Democracy gives power to the majority. So, the language, culture, and religion of minorities need special protection. Otherwise, they may get neglected or undermined under the impact of the language, religion, and culture of the majority. 

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 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.

Meaning of Minority:

• Here minority does not mean only religious minority at the national level. 
• In some places, people speaking a particular language are in majority and people speaking a different language are in a minority. For example, Telugu-speaking people form a majority in Andhra Pradesh. But they are a minority in the neighboring State of Karnataka. 

Right to Constitutional Remedies: 

• The Constitution has a right to seek the enforcement of other rights. This is called the Right to Constitutional Remedies. This itself is a Fundamental Right. 
• This right makes other rights effective: When any of these rights are violated, a person can seek a remedy through courts. If it is a Fundamental Right, s/he can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state. (That is why 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. If any act of the Legislature or the Executive takes away or limits any of the Fundamental Rights then it will be invalid. 
• Courts additionally implement the Fundamental Rights against private people and bodies.
• 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. 

Conclusion

Rights acquire meaning only in a society. Certain rules exist in every society to control and regulate the conduct of the individual in that society. Whatever conduct that the society recognizes as rightful becomes the foundation of the rights granted. There are a total of 6 fundamental rights granted by the constituent to every individual living in India. These are the right to equality, right to freedom, right against exploitation, right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, right to constitutional remedies.