Rights — Class 11 Political Science

This chapter explains what rights are and why they matter. A right is essentially an entitlement or a justified claim — something that society must recognise as necessary for leading a life of dignity and self-respect, and for our well-being. Not everything we want is a right; an activity injurious to health (like taking banned drugs) cannot be claimed as a right. The chapter traces the source of rights: seventeenth and eighteenth century thinkers spoke of natural rights given by nature or God — to life, liberty and property — which are inalienable. Today the term human rights is preferred, resting on the assumption that all persons are entitled to certain things simply because they are human, as in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Kant's moral conception holds that human beings possess dignity and must be treated as ends, never merely as means. Legal recognition matters greatly: a Bill of Rights in a constitution gives rights primary importance, called Fundamental Rights in India. Rights place obligations on the state to act and to refrain from acting, and they place obligations on citizens too — to protect the common good, respect others' rights, balance conflicting rights, and stay vigilant against restrictions justified in the name of security. The chapter classifies rights into political, economic and cultural.