Human Rights & Indian Constitution By- Dr. Shubhangi Dinesh Rathi

Human Rights & Indian Constitution

By- Dr. Shubhangi Dinesh Rathi

Associate Prof  & HOD Political Science

                                    Smt. P.K. Kotecha Mahila Mahavidhyalaya,

                                                                                               Bhusawal

Introduction:

Human Rights are the basic right. This is being provided by every constitution of every State.  Every person in this globe born with the inherent right of Human Right. They are most basic right which an individual can ask to have from its nation. They have never given away any kind of unfairness towards any individual or group of people. As well as they haven’t been any discrimination made on the basis of caste, sex, religion etc. with any individual under any nation.  They only sponsor the welfare and well-being of all persons with equal behaviour. However, the socio-economic, political and cultural diversities, prevailing in each state across the world, and politics of the nation states, take away the free effect of human rights to a certain number of people.

Problems in Human sector:

The major problem faced by every developing nation is that the large number of human sector falls under the poverty line. They are deprived of adequate access in the basic needs of life such as health, education, housing, food, security, employment, justice and equity which also include issues related to sustainable livelihood, social and political participation of the vulnerable groups exists as the major problem in the developing nations.

Basic Rights & Moral Visions of Human Rights:

Human Rights are rights that each human should have. These are the most basics rights that protect a human from other humans. Human Rights are the rights that all human beings should have regardless of nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status.

Human Rights are moral visions of rights that nearly everyone agrees a human should have. These include the right to life, as well as the freedom from torture, freedom from slavery, right to a fair trial, freedom of speech, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and freedom of movement.

 Human Being Conditions:

Human rights have always been the ground stone for every answer to the questions of human existence. Human rights are the rights available to citizens by virtue of their being human being. Human beings are different from the other animals although he is considered an animal due to biological traits. Human beings require special living conditions for their survival. Human life need more than what is animal existence. 

 Universal Declaration Influence on Indian Constitution:

The forefathers of our Constitution dreamt that India would be a country which would ensure its citizens many fundamental rights, including human rights. The Constitution of India was in fact drafted under the influence of a universal declaration known as the International Bill of Human Rights. Equality truly was a golden dream that we saw as a country, and gifted to ourselves to cherish over the years to come.

Prejudices operating against particular groups:

At times, we see prejudices operating against particular groups of people; facing biases only because their beliefs, religious books, customs, conventions, etc., are not like ours. The makers of the Constitution might not have even thought that there would be a day in this country when a group of people would do or undo anything to impose their own ideology, their beliefs, their viewpoint on another group: Torture, boycott and other contemptible kinds of conduct, all of which have become routine news today, are a matter of shame, and absolutely not in accordance with the ideology and values of the makers of our Constitution.

Constitutional Protection:

Indian constitution provides two kinds of rights fundamental rights (part III) and other constitutional rights to citizens and some also to non-citizens. Rights like social equality, equality of opportunity, no racial and other discrimination, right to life and personal liberty, rights of accused have all their origin in basic human rights.

The Constitution of India guaranteed to all the people of India the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for their realization by all sections of the polity without any kind of discrimination. However, due to poverty, customary and cultural practices prevailing in the country there have not much opportunity offered to various groups and which lead to deprive them of beig treated equally as the other sections of the society. There are various disadvantaged groups of people such as women, children, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Linguistic Minorities, Religious Minorities, Sexual Minorities etc. In order to expand their rights, the Constitution of India has provided a number of concessions to protect them from exploitation by other groups.

Granted Rights by Government:

Fundamental Rights are rights that are granted by a government. These rights are awarded through the country’s constitution, and all people that fall under the jurisdiction of the constitution are granted these rights without presumption or cost of privilege. Human Rights are rights that each human should have. Human Rights are the rights that all human beings should have regardless of nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status.

Fundamental Rights in India:

After independence, the constitution of India was formulated with a guarantee of fundamental rights and freedom. In conformity with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Part III of the Indian Constitution provides six types of Fundamental Rights. All citizens are made equal in the enjoyment of rights and opportunities. At the same time special care is taken for protecting the interests of the weaker sections of the society through the policy of protective discrimination. There is reservation of seats for these weaker sections in the legislature and employment in government jobs.

According to Part III of the Constitution of India, all citizens of the country are privy to a set of six fundamental rights – enforceable by law. For those who skipped civics classes, these are right to equality, right to freedom, right against exploitation, right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, and finally, the right to constitutional remedies.

Differences between Human Rights & Fundamental Rights:

·         There are many crossovers between human rights and fundamental rights. Human rights are all basic rights that a person as a human should have, whereas fundamental rights are rights that are protected by law.

·         Oftentimes, fundamental rights as protected by law also cover and protect human rights, after all human rights are rights that each and every human should have, regardless of their race, gender, social and economic status, etc.

·         Hence for practical purposes, fundamental rights and human rights are the same, as most civilized countries cover human rights under fundamental rights.

·         However, in legality they may be different, as only fundamental rights are covered by law, and some authoritarian countries may not cover human rights under their fundamental rights.

Violation of Human Rights:

The Constitution of India not only provides six fundamental rights to citizens but also has made them enforceable. The cases of the violation of human rights are alleged to be plenty which have taken different forms in different times. The examples are communal violence, caste rivalry, starvation death, exploitation of workers, domestic violence, custodian violence, sexual violence, social discrimination etc. For the eradication of this violence’s, a democratic polity, parliamentary form of government and an impartial and independent judiciary have been established.

Independent Judiciary:

India has been committed to ensure the protection and preservation of these rights. Judiciary has been separated from the executive. With the power of judicial review, the Supreme Court is empowered to strike down any law of the legislature and any order of the executive if they violate the fundamental rights of the people.

Mechanisms for Human Rights Protection:

·         Since 1980s, new types of mechanisms have been evolved for the protection of human rights of the poor, exploited and other disadvantaged groups of people.

·         The system of free legal aid for the poor, the creation of Fast Track Courts and Special Courts for the speedy trial of cases, and the system of Public Interest Litigation are designed for the protection of the rights of the people.

·         The Supreme Court of India is recognizing Public Interest Litigations to a great extent. It enables social activists and conscious citizens to appeal for the protection of the human rights of the weaker sections of the society.

·         The judiciary has been activated with these Public Interest Litigations and directing various governmental and private bodies to ensure the rights of the people. The Judiciary also orders for the appointment of Inquiry Commissions to investigate and report regarding the cases of violation of human rights.

Conclusion:

Lastly I concluded that we act in absolute accordance with the ideology of equality.  Everyone needs to bear in mind that when you talk of “equality” between two unequal entities, The approach and treatment have to be different from the one we adopt for two equals. To ensure that we, as a society, are loyal to our constitutional values, we need to imbibe respect for the viewpoints of others. This could be about their beliefs, religion, customs, conventions, dietary habits, language and clothing. Equal treatment, not only to all individuals, but also to all religions, is the express command of our Constitution.

Reference Books:

1.       Syed Mehartaj Begum, (Edited), (2000)Human Rights in India: Issues and Perspectives, APH publishing Corporation , New Delhi.

2.      Sunil Deshta, Partap Singh,(2004) Human rights in India Enforcement, Protection & Implementation, Allahabad Law Agency, Allahabad.

3.      Brinder Pal Singh Sehgal, (Reprinted 2008) Human Rights in India: Problems and Perspectives, Deep & Deep Publications Prt. Ltd. New Delhi.

4.      Durga Das Basu,  V. R. Manohar,  Bhagabati Prosad Banerjee,  Shakeel Ahmad Khan, (2008) Constitutional law, Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur.