Democratic Rights

Question 1. What was Amnesty International’s report on the condition of the prisoners
in Guantanamo Bay?
Answer: (i) Amnesty international 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.
(ii) The prisoners 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.
(iii) Prisoners were not released even after they were officially declared not guilty. An
independent inquiry by the UN supported these findings but the US government paid no
heed.
Question 2. Give a brief description of the citizens’ rights in Saudi Arabia?
Or
What is the position of the citizens in Saudi Arabia with regard to their government?
Answer: Saudi Arabia is a country 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. In such a
country, citizens have very limited scope of freedom:
 They 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 in Saudi Arabia are subjected to many public restrictions. The testimony of one
man is considered equal to that of two women.
Question 3. Give some implications of the Right to Equality.
Or
Mention any three provisions of the Right to Equality.
Answer: The right to equality is an important Fundamental Right. Some of the
implications of this rights are:
 The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, sex or place of birth.
 Everycitizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels and
cinema halls.
 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.
 All
citizens have equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment or
appointment to any position in the government.
Question 4. Describe with an the principle of non-discrimination extends to social life as
well.
Answer: (i) The Constitution mentions one extreme form of social discrimination, the
practice of untouchability. It clearly directs the government to put an end to it.
(ii) The practice of untouchability has been forbidden in any form. Untouchability here
does not only mean refusal to touch people belong to certain castes. It refers to any
belief or social practice which looks down upon people on account of their birth with
certain caste labels.
(iii) Such practice denies them interaction with others or access to public places as equal
citizens. So, the Constitution made untouchability a punishable offence.
Question 5.
What does P. Sainath say about untouchability and caste discrimination?
Or
On the basis of P. Sainath’s news reports in The Hindu enlist various forms of
untouchability and caste discrimination still being practised against Dalits or persons
belonging to Scheduled Castes.\
Answer: In 1999, [Link] travelled to various parts of the country and found many
forms of untouchability still in practice. He found that in many places
 Tea stalls kept two kinds of cups, one for Dalits and one for others;
 Barbers refused to serve dalit clients;
 Dalit students were made to sit separately in the classroom or drink water from
separate pitcher;
 Dalit grooms were not allowed to ride a horse in the wedding procession; and
 Dalits were not allowed to use common handpump or if they did it, the handpump
was washed to purify it.
Question 6. Our Constitution guarantees six kinds of freedom. Name them.
Answer: Under the Indian Constitution all citizens have the right to:
 Freedom of speech and expression.
 Freedom to assemble peacefully and without arms.
 Freedom to form associations and unions.
 Freedom to move freely throughout the country.
 Freedom to reside in any part of the country, and
 Freedom to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
Question 7. Explain the freedom to travel to any part of the country and the freedom to
carry on any occupation.
Answer: We are free to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India. 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.
Question 8. Enlist the procedures which have to be followed by a government or public
officer before arresting or detaining any citizen.
Answer: The Constitution says that no person can be deprived of his life or personal
liberty except according to procedure established by law. 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 given below:
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.
Question 9. What is called PIL? Write in brief about it.
Answer:
 Inrecent years the courts have given several judgements and directives to protect
public interest and human rights. Any one can approach the courts if public interest is
hurt by the actions of government. This is called public interest litigation.
 Onecan write to the judges even on a postcard. The court will take up the matter if the
judges find it in public interest.
 The court check malpractices on the part of public officials.
Question 10. Mention the features of a secular state.
Answer: The features of a secular state are given below:
a. 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.
b. The government cannot compel any person to pay any taxes for the promotion or
maintenance of any particular religion or religious institution.
c. 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.
Question 11. Explain what do you mean by the right to freedom of assembly in a peaceful
manner.
Answer:
(i) 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.
(ii) But 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 arms with them.
(iii) Citizens also can form associations. For examples, workers in a factory can form a
workers’ union to promote their interests. Some people in a town may come together to
form an association to campaign against corruption or pollution or any other issue.
Question 12. ‘Some rights need to be placed higher than the government’. Give reason.
Answer:
Though it is the responsibility of a democratic government to protect its citizens’ rights
but sometimes elected governments may not protect or may even attack the rights of
their own citizens. That is why some rights need to be placed higher than the
government, so that the government cannot violate them. In most democracies basic
rights of the citizens are written down in the Constitution.
Long Answers Type
Question 1. What do you mean by the right to freedom of speech and expression? What
are the limitations of this right?
Answer: Freedom of speech and expression is one of the essential features of any
democracy. Our ideas and personality develop only when we are able to freely
communicate with others. One may think differently from another. One has the right to
think differently and express one’s views accordingly.
One has right to disagree with a policy of government or activities of an association. One
is free to criticise the government or the activities of the association in one’s
conversations with parents, friends and relatives. One has right or freedom to publicise
one’s views through a pamphlete, magazine or newspaper. One can do it through
different means which include paintings, poetry or songs.
Limitations: But this freedom has to be used in the right manner so that it does not harm
others. The limitations of this freedom are:
 One cannot use this freedom to instigate violence against others. .
 One cannot use it to incite people to rebel against government. .
 Onecannot use this freedom to defame others by saying false and mean things that
cause damage to a person’s reputation.
Question 2.
How has expansion of rights taken place from time to time? Or Describe how the scope
of rights has been expanding.
Answer: (i) From time to time, the rights of the citizens have expanded. Certain rights
like right to freedom of press, right to information, and right to education are derived from
the Fundamental Rights.
(ii) Now school educational has become a right for Indian citizens. The governments are
responsible for providing free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of
14 years. ;
(iii) The Right to Information is another important right given to the citizens of India. This
right has been derived from the Fundamental Right to freedom of thought and
expression. We have a right to seek information from government offices.
(iv) Recently the Supreme Court has expanded the meaning of the right to life to include
the right to food.
(v) Our 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 another important Constitutional Right.
(vi) Right to work, right to safe and healthy working conditions, right to adequate
standard of living including adequate food, clothing and housing, right to health, etc. are
another important right which have been evolved over time. Thus, the scope of rights
has been expanding and new rights are evolving over time. They are the result j
of struggle of the people.