The fundamental rights and duties of citizens of India and DPSP

Fundamental Rights of the citizens of India

The Constitution offers all citizens, individually and collectively, some basic freedoms. These are guaranteed in the Constitution in the form of six broad categories of Fundamental Rights, which are justifiable. Article 12 to 35 contained in Part III of the Constitution deal with Fundamental Rights. These are:

1. Right to equality, including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and equality of opportunity in matters of employment.
2. Right to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association or union, movement, residence, and right to practice any profession or occupation (some of these rights are subject to security of the State, friendly relations with foreign countries, public order, decency or morality).
3. Right against exploitation, prohibiting all forms of forced labour, child labour and traffic in human beings.
4. Right to freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion.
5. Right of any section of citizens to conserve their culture, language or script, and right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice; and
6. Right to constitutional remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights.

 

Fundamental duties of the citizens of India

 

The following are the Fundamental Duties prescribed by the "Constitution of the nation" under PART [IV-A] to its every citizen:

1. To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.
2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom.
3. To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
4. To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.
5. To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.
7. To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures.
8. To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.
9. To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.
10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement.

The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)

The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are a set of guidelines and principles laid down in the Constitution of India to guide the government in its decision-making process. These principles are non-justifiable, meaning that they cannot be enforced by a court of law, but they are considered fundamental in the governance of the country. In this article, we will be discussing the Directive Principles of State Policy and their importance in shaping the policies and actions of the government.

1. The origin of Directive Principles of State Policy

The Directive Principles of State Policy were inspired by the Irish Constitution of 1937, which laid down a set of principles for the government to follow in its decision-making process. The framers of the Indian Constitution believed that these principles were essential for the welfare and development of the people and the nation as a whole.

2. The main principles

The Directive Principles of State Policy are divided into three categories: social, economic, and political. The main principles include:

• The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.

• The State shall, in particular, strive to minimize the inequalities in income, and endeavor to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities, and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.

• The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.

3. The role of Directive Principles of State Policy

The Directive Principles of State Policy serve as a guiding light for the government in its decision-making process. They provide a framework for the government to follow in order to promote the welfare and development of the people and the nation as a whole. They also serve as a check on the government's actions, ensuring that they are in line with the principles of social, economic, and political justice.

4. The implementation of Directive Principles of State Policy

The implementation of Directive Principles of State Policy is the responsibility of the government. However, the judiciary has the power to review the actions of the government and ensure that they are in line with the principles laid down in the Constitution. Additionally, the people also have a role to play in ensuring that the government is implementing these principles through their participation in the democratic process.

These principles serve as a framework for the government to follow in order to promote the welfare and development of the people and the nation as a whole. The implementation of these principles is the responsibility of the government, but the judiciary and the people also have a role to play in ensuring that they are being implemented effectively.

The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are a set of guidelines and principles laid down in the Constitution of India to guide the government in its decision-making process. These principles are non-justifiable, meaning that they cannot be enforced by a court of law, but they are considered fundamental in the governance of the country. In this article, we will be discussing the specific Directive Principles of State Policy outlined in articles 34 to 51 of the Indian Constitution.

• Article 38: State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people.

(1)  The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.

(2)  The State shall, in particular, strive to minimize the inequalities in income, and endeavor to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.

• Article 39: Secure citizens

 The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing—

(a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood;

(b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good;

(c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment;

(d) that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;

(e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength; 1

(f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

 

• Article 39A: Equal justice and free legal aid

The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.

 

• Article *40: Organization of village panchayats.(Part 9 Article 243)

The State shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.

• Article 41: Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases.

The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want.

 

• Article 42: Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief

The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.

 

• Article 43: Living wage, etc., for workers.

The State shall endeavor to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities and, in particular, the State shall endeavor to promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas.

 

• Article 43A: Participation of workers in management of industries

The State shall take steps, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to secure the participation of workers in the management of undertakings, establishments or other organizations engaged in any industry.

 

• Article 44: Uniform civil code for the citizens.

The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.

 

• Article *45: Provision for free and compulsory education for children

The State shall endeavor to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.

 

• Article 46: Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.

The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

 

• Article 47: Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.

 

• Article 48: Organization of agriculture and animal husbandry

The State shall endeavor to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.

• Article 48A: Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life

The State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country.

 

• Article 49: Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance.

It shall be the obligation of the State to protect every monument or place or object of artistic or historic interest, 2 [declared by or under law made by Parliament] to be of national importance, from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export, as the case may be.

 

• Article 50: Separation of judiciary from executive

 The State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State.

 

• Article 51: Promotion of international peace and security

(a) Promote international peace and security;

(b) Maintain just and honorable relations between nations;

(c) Foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one another; and

(d) Encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

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