DEMOCRATIC

RIGHTS
CLASS IX

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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, an area
near Cuba controlled by Amercian Navy.
 Anas’s father, Jamil El-Banna, was among them.
 The American government said that they were enemies of the US
and linked to the attack on New York on 11 September 2001.
 In most cases the governments of their countries were not asked
or even informed about their imprisonment.
 Like other prisoners, El-Banna’s family got to know that he was
in that prison only through the media.
 Families of prisoners, media or even UN representatives were not
allowed to meet them.
 The US army arrested them, interrogated them and decided whether
to keep them ther or not. There was no trial before any magistrate in
the US. Nor could these prisoners approach courts in their own
country.

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Amnesty International
 Amnesty International, an international human rights
organisation, collected information on the condition of the
prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and reported that the
prisoners were being tortured in ways that violated the US
laws.
 They were being denied the treatment that even prisoners
of war must get as per international treaties.
 Many prisoners had tried protesting against these
conditions by going on a hunger strike.
 Prisoners were not released even after they were officially
declared not guilty.
 An independent inquiry by the UN supported these
findings.
 The UN Secretary General said the prison in Guantanamo
Bay should be closed down.
 The US government refused to accept these pleas.
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Citizens’’ Rights in Saudi Arabia
 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. He
appoints the judges and can change any of their decisions.
 Citizens cannot form political parties or any political
organisations. Media cannot report anything that the
monarch does not like.
 There is no freedom of religion. Every citizen is required to
be Muslim. Non-Muslim residents can follow their religion
in private, but not in public.
 Women are subjected to many public restrictions. The
testimony of one man is considered equal to that of two
women.
 This is true not just of Saudi Arabia. There are many
countries in the world where several of these conditions
exist.
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Ethnic massacre in Kosovo
This was a province of Yugoslavia before its split. In this province the population
was overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian.
But in the entire country, Serbs were in majority. A narrow minded Serb nationalist
Milosevic had won the election. His government was very hostile to the Kosovo
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.
This is what happened to an Albanian family in a town in Kosovo in April 1999:
 74-year-old Batisha Hoxha was sitting in her kitchen with her 77- year–old
husband Izet, staying warm by the stove. They had heard explosions but did not
realise that Serbian troops had already entered the town. The next thing she knew,
five or six soldiers had burst through the front door and shot Izet.
 With her husband dying before her, the soldiers pulled the wedding ring off
her finger and told her to get out. They burned the house down.
 She was standing on the street in the rain with no house, no husband, no
possessions but the clothes she was wearing.
 This news report was typical of what happened to thousands of Albanians in that
period.
 This massacre was being carried out by the army of their own country, working
under the direction of a leader who came to power through democratic elections.
 Finally several other countries intervened to stop this massacre. Milosevic lost
power and was tried by the International Court of Justice for crimes against
humanity.
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What are rights?
 Rights are claims of a person over other fellow beings, over the
society and over the government.
 So a right is possible when you make a claim that is equally
possible for others.
 We cannot have a right that harms or hurts others.
 Thus, a right comes with an obligation to respect other rights.
 Rights acquire meaning only in society. Every society makes
certain rules to regulate our conduct. They tell us what is right and
what is wrong.
 What is recognised by the society as rightful becomes the basis of
rights. That is why the notion of rights changes from time to time
and society to society.
 When the socially recognised claims are written into law they
acquire real force. Otherwise they remain merely as natural or
moral rights.
 Hence, Rights are reasonable claims of persons recognised by
society and sanctioned by law.

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Why do we need rights in
democracy?
Rights are necessary for the very sustenance of
ademocracy.
Rights perform a very special role in a democracy.
Rights protect minorities from the oppression of
majority. They ensure that the majority cannot do
whatever it likes.
In most democracies the basic rights of
thecitizen are written down in the
constitution.
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RIGHTS IN THE INDIAN
CONSTITUTION

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Right to Equality
 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.
 Rule of law is the foundation of any democracy.
 It means that no person is above the law. There cannot be any
distinction between a political leader, government official and
an ordinary citizen.
 Every citizen, from the Prime Minister to a small farmer in
a remote village, is subjected to the same laws.
 No person can legally claim any special treatment or privilege just
because he or she happens to be an important person.
 This basic position is further clarified in the Constitution by spelling
out some implications of the Right to Equality.
 The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on
grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

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 Every citizen shall have access to public places like
shops, restaurants, hotels, and cinema halls.
 Similarly, there shall be no restriction with regard to the
use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads, playgrounds
and places of public resorts maintained by government or
dedicated to the use of general public.
 The same principle applies to public jobs. All citizens have
equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment
or appointment to any position in the government.
 The principle of non-discrimination extends to social life as
well. The Constitution mentions one extreme form of social
discrimination, the practice of untouchability, and clearly
directs the government to put an end to it.
 Restrictions on Right to Equality –
Sometimes it is necessary to give special treatment to
someone in order to ensure equal opportunity. This is what
job reservations do

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Right to Freedom
 Freedom means absence of constraints.
 Under the Indian Constitution all citizens have the
right to –
 Freedom of speech and expression
 Assembly in a peaceful manner
 Form associations and unions
 Move freely throughout the country
 Reside in any part of the country, and
 Practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation,
trade or business.
 Freedom is not unlimited licence to do what one
wants. Accordingly, the government can impose
certain reasonable restrictions on our freedoms in the
larger interests of the society
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 Freedom of speech and expression is one of the
essential features of any democracy.
 Even if a hundred people think in one way, we should
have the freedom to think differently and express our
views accordingly.
 We may disagree with a policy of government or activities
of an association.
 We may publicise our views through a pamphlet
magazine or newspaper.
 Restrictions on Right to Freedom of speech and
expression
 We cannot use this freedom to instigate violence against
others.
 We cannot use it to incite people to rebel against
government.
 Neither can you use it to defame others by saying false and
mean things that cause damage to a person’s reputation.

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 Citizens have the freedom to hold
meetings, processions, rallies and
demonstrations on any issue.
 They may want to discuss a problem, exchange
ideas, mobilise public support to a cause, or seek
votes for a candidate or party in an election.
 Restrictions on Citizens have the freedom to
hold meetings, processions, rallies and
demonstrations on any issue.
 Such meetings have to be peaceful.
 They should not lead to public disorder or
breach of peace in society.
 Those who participate in these activities and
meetings should not carry weapons with them.

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 Freedom to travel to any part of the
country.
 This right allows lakhs of people to migrate from
villages to towns and from poorer regions of the
countries to prosperous regions and big cities.
 The same freedom extends to choice of
occupations.
 No one can force you to do or not to do a
certain job.
 Women cannot be told that some kinds of
occupations are not for them.
 People from deprived castes cannot be kept to
their traditional occupations.

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 No person can be deprived of his life or personal
liberty
 It means that no person can be killed unless the court has
ordered a death
 sentence.
 It also means that a government or police officer cannot
arrest or detain any citizen unless he has proper legal
justification.
 Even when they do, they have to follow some procedures:
 A person who is arrested and detained in custody will have
to be informed of the reasons for such arrest and detention.
 A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced
before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of
arrest.
 Such a person has the right to consult a lawyer or engage a
lawyer for his defence.

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Right against Exploitation
 Once the right to liberty and equality is granted, it follows
that every citizen has a right not to be exploited.
 The Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares
these illegal.
 First, the Constitution prohibits ‘traffic in human beings’.
Traffic here means selling and buying of human
beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.
 Second, our Constitution also 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.
 Finally, the Constitution also prohibits child labour. No
one can employ a child below the age of fourteen to work in
any factory or mine or in any other hazardous work, such as
railways and ports.
 Using this as a basis many laws have been made to
prohibit children from working in industries such as beedi
making, firecrackers and matches, printing and dyeing.
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Right to Freedom of Religion
 Secularism is based on the idea that the state is concerned only
with relations among human beings, and not with the relation
between human beings and God.
 A secular state is one that does not establish any one religion as
official religion.
 The state has to be neutral and impartial in dealing with all
religions.
 Every person has a right to profess, practice and propagate
the religion he or she believes in.
 Every religious group or sect is free to manage its religious
 affairs. Restrictions on Right to Freedom of 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.
 Religious practices which treat women as inferior or those that
infringe women’s freedom are not allowed. For example, one
cannot force a widowed woman to shave head or wear white
clothes.
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A Secular State
 A secular state is one that does not confer any privilege or
favour on any particular religion. Nor does it punish or
discriminate against people on the basis of religion they
follow.
 Thus the government cannot compel any person to pay any
taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular
religion or religious institution.
 There shall be no religious instruction in the government
educational institutions.
 In educational institutions managed by private bodies no
person shall be compelled to take part in any religious
instruction or to attend any religious worship.

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Cultural and Educational Rights
 Constitution specifies the cultural and educational
rights of the minorities:
 Any section of citizens with a distinct language
or culture have a right to conserve it.
 Admission to any educational institution maintained
by government or receiving government aid cannot be
denied to any citizen on the ground of religion or
language.
 All minorities have the right to establish and
administer educational institutions of their choice.

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How can we secure these rights?/
Right to constitutional remedies
 If rights are like guarantees, they are of no use if there is no one to
honour them.
 We have a right to seek the enforcement of the above mentioned
rights. This is called the Right to Constitutional Remedies.
 This right makes other rights effective.
 When any of our rights are violated we can seek remedy through
courts. If it is a Fundamental Right we can directly approach the
Supreme Court or the High Court of a state.
 That is why Dr. Ambedkar called the Right to Constitutional
Remedies, ‘the heart and soul’ of our Constitution.
 The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue
directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental
Rights. They can also award compensation to the victims and
punishment to the violators.

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PIL (PUBLIC INTEREST
LITIGATION)
Any person can go to court against the violation of
theFundamental Right, if it is of social or public
interest.
It is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Under the
PILany citizen or group of citizens can approach the
Supreme Court or a High Court for the protection of
public interest against a particular law or action of the
government.
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EXPANDING SCOPE OF
RIGHTS
 While Fundamental Rights are the source of all rights, our Constitution
and law offers 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.
 Certain rights like right to freedom of press, right to information, and
right to education are derived from the Fundamental Rights.
Parliament has enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens.
 This Act was made under the Fundamental Right to freedom of thought and
expression. We have a right to seek information from government offices.
 Also, rights are not limited only to Fundamental Rights as enumerated
in the Constitution.
 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. Right to vote in elections is an important
constitutional right.
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Human Rights
 These are universal moral claims that may or may
not have been recognised by law.
 With the expansion of democracy all over the
world, there is greater pressure on governments
to accept these claims.

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CONCLUSION..
 Thus the scope of rights has been expanding and new
rights are evolving over time. They are result of
struggle of the people.
 New rights emerge as societies develop or as new
constitutions are made. The Constitution of South
Africa guarantees its citizens several kinds of new
rights:
 Right to privacy, so that citizens or their home cannot
be searched, their phones cannot be tapped, their
communication cannot be opened.
 Right to an environment that is not harmful to their
health or wellbeing;
 Right to have access to adequate housing.
 Right to have access to health care services,
sufficient food and water; no one may be refused
emergency medical treatment.
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THANKYOU!

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