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
