What are Fundamental Rights?

What are Fundamental Rights?

They are the human rights, assured and protected by Part III of the

Indian Constitution. They are so important that the Constitution forbids

the Parliament or state legislatures from making any law or the central

or state governments from passing any order or doing anything that

interferes with their enjoyment.

Fundamental Rights are meant to guard each person from intrusions

upon their dignity, security, equality and freedom. Apart from being

safeguards designed to prevent violations of human rights by the State

or its agents, they also make the State liable for neglecting to protect

individuals from rights violations by private persons.9

The following rights are guaranteed as Fundamental Rights:

Right to Equality assures everyone equal treatment and equal

protection by the State. It means that no citizen can be discriminated

against or denied equality of opportunity by the State. For this, the

State can make special provisions for vulnerable and marginalised

sections of society. It also means that the State will ensure that no

one is treated as an untouchable or denied access to public places

such as shops, hotels, wells, bathing ghats, roads etc. on grounds of

religion, caste, sex and place of birth.

Right to Freedom gives citizens the right to speak freely, write freely,

receive information freely; travel to and reside anywhere in the

country; choose a business or profession of their choice; form

associations or unions; carry out peaceful demonstrations or

processions; strike and even peacefully oppose unjust policies of

the government.

Right to Life and Personal Liberty assures every individual a life of

dignity and physical security. It guarantees justice to all and the

right not to be deprived of freedom except by due process of law and

through a fair trial. The Right to Life also casts a duty on the State

to see that all inhabitants of the country have access to the basic

requirements of a good and decent life such as an education, means

of livelihood, a clean and healthy environment and so on.

Right against Exploitation protects vulnerable and marginalised

people from being trafficked or made to do forced labour. It also

protects children under the age of 14 years from being employed in

industries and businesses hazardous to their health.

Right to Freedom of Religion assures every individual the right to

choose, profess, practise and propagate the religion of their choice.

It also guarantees that the State will not discriminate against any

religion, and allow religious groups the freedom to set up institutions

to promote their religion and also assure them the liberty to manage

their affairs without State interference.

Cultural and Educational Rights assure people the right to preserve

and protect their language, culture and way of life. They guarantee

that minorities - whether religious or linguistic - shall be protected10

and not discriminated against by the State and are entitled to set

up and administer their own educational institutions.

Right to Constitutional Remedies guarantees every individual whose

Fundamental Rights have been violated or not protected by the State,

the right to approach the Supreme Court for their protection. It gives

the Supreme Court powers to take immediate action to stop a violation

of Fundamental Rights and punish the offender.

Some examples of human rights violations are:

Failure of the pollution control board to take all precautions to prevent

release of poisonous chemicals by industries into people’s homes,

fields and water sources. This is a violation of the right to life.

Beating, chaining and torture of suspects by the police. This is a

violation of the right to human dignity and physical security.

Failure of a magistrate to take action on a prisoner’s complaint that

she is being harassed by prison wardens. This is a violation of the

right to equal protection of law.

Refusal of the collectorate to act against upper caste people who

are not allowing Dalits to worship at a temple or drink water from a

well. This is a violation of the right against discrimination.

Neglect by the labour department to enforce guidelines for employers

to ensure both men and women are provided equal avenues for

promotion at the workplace and are given equal pay for equal work.

This is violation of the right to equality of opportunity.

Taking over of a shop by security forces for defence purposes without

giving compensation to the owner. This is a violation of the right to

livelihood.

Ordering the shutting down of a newspaper by the home ministry

for publishing articles criticising the chief minister. This is a violation

of the right to freedom of expression.

Refusal of the district administration to release details of measures

taken to control floods. This is a violation of the right to information.

Stopping religious lessons from being given to children at madarasas

by the intelligence bureau on the grounds that they may develop

anti-national views. This is a violation of the right to religious

freedom.

Inability of the forest department to control the timber mafia from

illegally felling trees and from destroying protected forests. This is

a violation of the right to a clean and healthy environment.

Examples of Complaints that can be filed with Human Rights Commissions

Police trying to pass off the death of Sarojini’s son as an accident when he

really died of electric shocks given to him at the police station

Rita getting AIDS after she came in contact with an infected syringe at the

Government Hospital

Failure of the Railway authorities to take adequate steps to ensure the safety

of women travellers on trains

Police breaking the window panes of Vishal’s house and threatening him not

to give evidence against the Superintendent of Police

Injuries suffered by Aslam and Sudha due to indiscriminate firing by security

forces during a grenade attack

Refusal of the police to register a case against high caste residents of Muthu’s

village who made him eat excreta because they wanted to insult Dalits

Sajid and Karim being made to sit on a donkey and drink urine by policemen

in an attempt to humiliate them

Death of Amrita after she came in contact with live electricity wires that were

negligently left exposed by the Electricity Department linesman

Failure of Beena’s University to take adequate measures to prevent senior

students from humiliating and abusing freshers in ‘ragging’ incidents

Failure of the municipality to prevent a sweet mart from preparing sweets in

a public place, causing both a health hazard and a public nuisance

Julius being made to work as a bonded labourer on the local landlord’s fields

because he is unable to return the money he borrowed

Non-investigation of Mitali’s complaint regarding sexual harassment by her boss

Burning of houses in Thembu’s village by army jawans after an encounter with militants

Non-registration of Joseph’s case by the police regarding illegal occupation of

his house by a Member of Parliament [M.P]

Failure of the Municipal Corporation to cover manholes in Baljit’s colony even

after being sent many reminders

Thomas being denied blankets by staff at the Central Jail because he refuses

to pay them money

Failure of the State Pollution Control Board to shut down unauthorised tanneries

that are making life unbearable in Pershad’s colony due to overpowering bad smell

Neglect of the government to rehabilitate a displaced tribal community following

construction of a reservoir and national park on their land

Wrongful detention of under trial prisoners in an asylum for inordinately long periods