Chapter 5:

DEMOCRATIC
RIGHTS
Life without Rights

• Let’s take 3 examples which will help you understand what

it means to live in the absence of rights.
• 1) Prison in Guantanamo Bay
• About 600 people were secretly picked up by
the US forces from all over the world and put in
a prison in Guantanamo Bay, near Cuba.
According to the American Government, they
were enemies of the US and linked to the attack
on New York on 11th September, 2001. As a
result, there was no trial before any magistrate
in the US, nor could these prisoners approach
courts in their own country.
• 2) Citizens’ Rights in Saudi Arabia
• In Saudi Arabia, the position of the citizens with regard to their government is as
mentioned below:
• 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.
• Citizens cannot form political parties or any political organisations.
• There is no freedom of religion.
• Women are subjected to many public restrictions.
• Many prisoners tried to protest by going on a hunger strike,
They were not released even after they were declared not guilty.
• 3) Ethnic Massacre in Kosovo
• Yugoslavia was a small province before its split. The population was
overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian, but Serbs were the 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 from
society to society.
• Any claim can be called a right if it has the following 3 qualities:
• The claim should be reasonable.
• The claims should be recognised by society.
• The claim should be sanctioned by law.
*WHAT IS RIGHTS?
• Rights are reasonable claims of persons recognised in
society and sanctioned by law. When fellow Citizens or
the government do not respect their rights, we call it
violation of our rights. In such situations, citizen can
approach courts to protect their rights.
Why do we need rights in a
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
Right to Equality(article 14-18)
• 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. There cannot be any distinction
between a political leader, government official and an ordinary
citizen.
Right to Equality
• The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds
of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
• Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants,
hotels, and cinema halls.
• There shall be no restriction with regard to 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.
• All citizens have equality of opportunity in matters relating to
employment or appointment to any position in the government.
Right to Freedom (Article 19-22)
• Freedom means the absence of constraint (restrictions). In practical
life, it means the absence of, interference in our affairs by others—be
it other individuals or the: government. Under the Indian Constitution,
all citizens have the right to
Freedom of speech and expression
Assembly in a peaceful manner
Form associations, unions and cooperative
societies
Move freely throughout the country
Reside in any part of the country
Practice any profession or to Carry on any occupation, trade or
business.
• One cannot exercise his freedom in such a manner that
violates others’ Right to Freedom. A person is free to do
everything which injures or harms no one else. Freedom
is not an unlimited license to do what one wants. The
government can impose certain reasonable restrictions
on our freedom in the larger interests of society.
 Rights against Exploitation(Article 23-
24)
• 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 the
selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral
purposes.
2.Our Constitution 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.
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 in any other
 Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25-
28)
• 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.
Cultural and Educational Rights
(Article 29-30)
• 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 (Article 32)}

• 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. 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 Rights. For example, the Right to
Property is not a Fundamental Right, but it is a
constitutional right. The Right to Vote in elections is an
important constitutional right.