DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS
Violation
of Citizens’ rights by the USA
1.
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 America’s Navy.
2.
The American government said
that they were enemies of the US and linked to the attack on New York on 11 September
2001.
3.
Families of prisoners, media
or even UN representatives were not allowed to meet them. The US army arrested them,
interrogated them and decided to keep them there. There was no trial before any
magistrate in the US
4.
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.
5.
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.
Violation
of Citizens’ Rights in Saudi Arabia
1.
The country is ruled by a hereditary
king and the people have no role in electing or changing their rulers.
2.
The king selects the
legislature as well as the executive. He appoints the judges and can change any
of their decisions.
3.
Citizens cannot form
political parties or any political organisations. Media cannot report anything
that the monarch does not like.
4.
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.
5.
Women are subjected to many public
restrictions. The testimony of one man is considered equal to that of two
women.
Violation
of Citizens’ Rights in Yugoslavia (Kosovo)
1.
Kosovo was a province of Yugoslavia
before its split. In this province the population was overwhelmingly ethnic
Albanian muslims. But in the entire country, Serbs(Christians) were in
majority.
2.
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.
3.
74-year-old Batisha Hoxha
was sitting in her kitchen with her 77- year–old husband Izet, staying warm by
the stove. She knew, five or six soldiers had burst through the front door and
were demanding her children.
4.
They
shot Izet three times in the chest. When her husband dying, the soldiers pulled the wedding ring off and even before she comes out of the house they
burnt her house.
5.
This was typical of what
happened to thousands of Albanians in that period. This was one of the worst instances
of killings based on ethnic prejudices in recent times. Finally Milosevic lost power
and was tried by an International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity.
What
are rights?
Rights
are reasonable claims of persons recognised by society and sanctioned by law.
Why
do we need rights in a democracy? (OR) Rights are necessary for the very sustenance
of a democracy.
1.
In a democracy every citizen
has to have the right to vote and the right to be elected to government.
2.
For democratic elections to
take place it is necessary that citizens should have the right to express their
opinion, form political parties and take part in political activities.
3.
Rights protect minorities
from the oppression of majority. They ensure that the majority cannot do
whatever it likes. Rights are guarantees which can be used when things go
wrong.
4.
The government should
protect the citizens’ rights. But sometimes elected governments may not protect
or may even attack the rights of their own citizens.
5.
That is why some rights need
to be placed higher than the government, so that the government cannot violate
these. In most democracies the basic rights of the citizen are written down in
the constitution.
What
is Right to Equality? How does it apply in providing equality, liberty and
justice to Indians?
1. Right to equality 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.
2. It means that no person is above the law. There cannot be any
distinction between a political leader, government official and an ordinary
citizen.
3. The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on
grounds of religion, caste, ethnicity, sex or place of birth.
4. 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.
5. 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. No citizen shall be discriminated against or made
ineligible for employment on the grounds mentioned above.
6. The Constitution mentions one extreme form of social
discrimination, the practice of untouchability, and clearly directs the
government to put an end to it. The practice of untouchability has been
forbidden in any form.
What
is Right to Freedom? What are the kinds of freedom given to the Indians?
Right
to Freedom means absence of interference in our affairs by others – be it other
individuals
or
the government.
1. Indian Constitution gives the right to Freedom of speech and
expression
2. Right to Freedom to assemble in a peaceful manner
3. Right to Freedom to form associations and unions
4. Right to Freedom to move freely throughout the country
5. Right to Freedom to reside in any part of the country
6. Right to Freedom to practice any profession, or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business.
7. Citizens have the freedom to hold
meetings, processions, rallies and demonstrations on any issue.
8. Your freedoms should not cause public nuisance or disorder. You
are free to do everything which injures no one else
Rules
to be followed by the government or police officer when arrest or detain any citizen
1. A person who is arrested and detained in custody will have to be informed
of the reasons for such arrest and detention.
2. A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced before the
nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of arrest.
3. Such a person has the right to consult a lawyer or engage a lawyer
for his defense.
4. Such a person not be tortured or beaten.
5. Such a person to be allowed to meet his family members and
relatives.
Right
against Exploitation (What are three specific evils which are declared illegal
in the constitution?)
1.
Constitution makers thought it was necessary
to write down certain clear provisions to prevent exploitation of the weaker sections
of the society. The Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares
these illegal.
2.
First, the Constitution prohibits
‘traffic in human beings’. Traffic
here means selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral
purposes.
3.
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.
4.
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.
5.
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.
How
is Right to Freedom of Religion practiced in India?
1.
Secularism is based on the
idea that the state is concerned only with the relation between human beings
and God. A secular state is one that does not establish any one religion as
official religion.
2.
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. A right to propagate one’s religion, however,
does not mean that a person has right to compel another person to convert into
his religion by means of force, fraud, inducement or allurement.
3.
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
are not allowed.
4.
Discrimination against
people on the basis of religion is not allowed. Thus the government cannot
compel any person to pay any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any
particular religion or religious institution.
5.
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.
What
are the guarantees given under the Cultural and Educational Rights?
1.
The language, culture and
religion of minorities that needs special protection. Otherwise, they may get
neglected or undermined by the majority. That is why the Constitution specifies
the cultural and educational rights of the minorities.
2.
Any section of citizens with
a distinct language or culture has a right to conserve it.
3.
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.
4.
All minorities have the
right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
5.
Here minority does not mean
only religious minority at the national level. In some places people speaking a
particular language are in majority; people speaking a different language are
in a minority.
How can we secure the fundamental rights? (Right to Constitutional Remedies)
1.
The fundamental rights in the Constitution are
important because they are enforceable. We have a right to seek the enforcement
of the above mentioned rights. This is called the Right to Constitutional Remedies.
2.
This is a Fundamental Right.
This right makes other rights effective. It is possible that sometimes our
rights may be violated by fellow citizens, private bodies or by the government.
When any of our rights are violated we can seek remedy through courts.
3.
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.
4.
Courts also enforce the Fundamental
Rights against private individuals and bodies. The Supreme Court and High
Courts have the power to issue directions, orders or writs
for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
5.
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.
EXPANDING
SCOPE OF RIGHTS (Constitutional Rights)
1.
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.
2.
Now school education 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.
3.
Parliament has enacted a law giving the right
to information to the citizens. We have a right to seek information from
government offices.
4.
Recently the Supreme Court has expanded the
meaning of the right to life to include the right to food.
5.
The right to property and right
to vote in elections are important constitutional rights.
Constitution of South Africa guarantees its citizens several kinds
of new rights:
1. Right to privacy, so that citizens or their home cannot be searched,
their phones cannot be tapped, their communication cannot be opened.
2. Right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or
wellbeing.
3. Right to have access to adequate housing.
4. Right to have access to health care services, sufficient food and water;
no one may be refused emergency medical treatment.
Human right activists all over the world seek a set of rights as a
standard of human rights. These include:
1.
Right to work: opportunity
to everyone to earn livelihood by working.
2.
Right to safe and healthy
working conditions, fair wages that can provide decent standard of living for
the workers and their families
3.
Right to adequate standard
of living including adequate food, clothing and housing.
4.
Right to social security and
insurance.
5.
Right to health: medical
care during illness, special care for women during childbirth and prevention of
epidemics
6.
Right to education: free and
compulsory primary education, equal access to higher education.
