Fundamental Rights of Indian Constitution
Fundamental Rights in India
“Constitution is not merely a lawyer’s document [1] it is a vehicle of life and spirit is always the spirit of age”
4th Year BA LLB Student
Kerala Law Academy Law College
The Fundamental Rights are named so because they are protected and guaranteed by the Constitution, which is the fundamental law of India. The Fundamental Rights are included in Part 3 of the Indian Constitution from Articles 14 to Article 35. All the Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution are taken from or inspired from the Constitution of the USA i.e., the Bill of Rights. Part 3 is also described as the Magna Carta of India. It carries a very comprehensive and long list of ‘justiciable’ Fundamental Rights. The Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution are more detailed than those found in the Constitution of any other country in the world. These are guaranteed by the Constitution without any discrimination against all persons. These are intended for promoting the idea of political democracy. They protect the freedoms and liberties of the people against the invasion by the State authority. They aim at establishing a government not of men but of laws.
Right to equality (Article 14 – Article 18): It guarantees Equality before Law and Equal Protection of Laws, also the prohibition of discrimination on certain grounds such as religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth give equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. Abolish the[2] untouchability and prohibit its practice, Abolition of all titles except military and academic.
Right to freedom (Article 19 – Article 22): Protection of six rights regarding freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession. These six rights are protected against only state action and not private individuals. These rights are not available to foreigners but available only to the citizens. Grants protection against excessive and arbitrary punishment to an accused person. It is available for both citizens and foreigners. Right to Freedom also states that no person shall be deprived his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. It also provides that the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the ages of six to fourteen years. It grants protection to persons who are arrested or detained.
Right against exploitation (Article 23 – Article 24): It prohibits human trafficking, forced labour and other similar forms of forced labour. It also prohibits the employment of minor children below the age of 14 years in any mine, factory or other hazardous activities like construction work or railway.
Right to freedom of religion (Article 25 – Article 28): All persons are equally allowed freedom of conscience and the right to freely practice, propagate and profess religion. Every religious section shall have the following rights:
1. Maintain and establish institutions for religious and charitable purposes
2. Manage its own affairs in matters of religion
3. Acquire and own movable and immovable property
4. Administer such property in accordance with law
5.Gives Freedom from Taxation for Promotion of a Religion : it means that no person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for the maintenance or promotion of any particular religious denomination or section.
Cultural and educational rights (Article 29- Article 30): Any section of the citizens in any part of India having a definite script, culture or language of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same. No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of caste, language, religion or race. All minorities shall have the right to administer and establish educational institutions of their choice.
Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32- Article 35): The right to remedies for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of an aggrieved citizen(if any person violated the Fundamental Rights is mentioned in Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. It is also called the right to get the Fundamental Rights protected is in itself a fundamental right. Article 32 makes the fundamental rights real.
The fundamental rights have been included[3] in the Constitution because they were considered to be essential for the development of the personality of each and every individual and are there to preserve human dignity and respect. Most of these rights are enforceable against the state by way of their language while some of these rights can be directly enforced against both the state as well as, a private individual.
Verify whether original has punctuation.
It abolishes untouchability and all titles except military and academic.
Very good article with sufficient content