Rights Recognised by the Indian Constitution

Right to Equality

• Right to Equality ensures a sense of Equality of dignity and status among all its citizens. There is no discrimination based on caste, gender, and other discriminations to make India a true democracy
• No person can be denied access to public places such as places of worship (church, temple, mosques, etc.) or any public places (amusements parks, hotels, restaurants) based on religion, caste, race, sex, etc
• The Indian Constitution abolishes the practice of untouchability under the provisions of the Right to Equality
• No person can be kept devoid of any public employment services in a discriminatory manner
• It provides that the state shall confer no title on an individual except those who excel themselves in the military or academic field
• The Preamble also mentions two things about Equality: Equality of Status and Equality of Opportunity.

Right to Freedom

• Equality and freedom or liberty are most essential to a democracy
• Freedom of thought, Freedom of expression, and Freedom of action come under the concept of Liberty. Liberty does not mean that a person can do anything that one desires or likes
• It is to be ensured that the Right of freedom should not harm the freedom of others and should not hamper the Nation’s laws, order, and Rules and regulations

Right to Life and Personal Liberty

• It is the most important Right among rights to Freedom
• No citizen can be denied their life. The procedure under the Law is an exception to the Right to life
• Anyone or any person can not hamper personal Liberty
• More comprehensive application: Various judgments of the Supreme Court have expanded the scope of this Right, such as this Right also includes the Right to live with human dignity, free from exploitation
• Under Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) of the Indian Constitution, no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by Law

Right Against Exploitation

• Under the Indian Constitution, underprivileged people can not be exploited by their fellow human beings such as begar or forced labor without payment and buying and selling of human beings and using them as slaves
• Employment of children below 14 years in dangerous jobs like factories and mines is prohibited under the Indian Constitution. Moreover, to protect children’s rights, the Right to education has been included under the fundamental Right for children by the Indian Constitution

Right to Freedom of Religion

• India is a Democratic country. Every person has a right to follow the religion of his or her choice in a democratic nation. In simpler words, a citizen of India can follow and practice any religion of one’s choice, and it is one of the most basic principles of a democratic nation

Freedom of Faith and Worship

• Freedom of faith permits every person to choose a religion and practice that religion freely
• Freedom of religion also includes the Freedom of conscience – a person may choose any religion or may choose not to follow any religion 
• Freedom of religion includes the Freedom to follow and propagate any religion
• The Freedom of faith and worship is subjects to certain limitations, which are as follows:
  • It is important to note that for moral ethics, health or public safety the government can impose certain restrictions
  • The government can ban the practice of various social evils such as sati, bigamy, human sacrifice, etc., which are part of various religions.

Issues with the Right to Freedom of religion

• Issue of forcible conversions: The Constitution has guaranteed the Right to propagate one’s religion, which means that no person can be forced to convert his/her religion to another religion. The Right to spread information is not forbidden by the constitution, that means any person can spread his religion to attract others

Equality of all religions

• India does not have any official religion, and there is a guarantee that the government will not discriminate on the basis of religion in giving employment
• The institutions at the state level will neither preach any religion or give religious education, nor will favour persons of any religion. 

Cultural and Educational Rights

• Our Nation has diverse cultures, and this determines the importance of one of the fundamental rights, which is the Right of the minorities to maintain their culture
• Status of Minorities:
  • It includes cultural minorities, linguistic minorities, religious minorities, etc. 
  • These are people who have a common language or religion but are subordinated in a particular part of the country or the country as a whole.
  • They have their own culture, language, and script and have the Right to conserve and develop these 
• All minorities can set up their educational institutions
• The services provided by the government, such as funding, loans, etc., can not be discriminated against by any educational institution just because it is a minority community

Right to Constitutional Remedies

• It is a means through which fundamental rights could be practiced and defended
• The Right to constitutional remedies has been called the ‘heart and soul of the constitution by Dr. Ambedkar as this Right empowers a citizen to approach a High Court or the Supreme Court to get any of the fundamental rights restored in case of their violation
• The SC and HC can direct the government for the enforcement of rights by issuing orders in the form of writs

Apart from the judiciary, many other mechanisms have been created for the protection of rights such as the National Commission on Minorities, the National Commission on Women, the National Commission on Scheduled Castes, etc. 

Conclusion

These rights form the fundamental pillars of democracy. Besides these rights, the Indian constitution has also amended certain rules and regulations to protect these rights, which are in the interest of the citizens. Furthermore, these rights give power to the minorities section, women and other communities.