Rights in the Indian Constitution — Class 11 Political Science

This chapter studies the Fundamental Rights in Part Three of the Indian Constitution and the limits on them. It opens with real cases — the Asian Games workers paid less than minimum wage (a violation of the right against exploitation) and Machal Lalung, jailed 54 years as an undertrial — to show why rights and their implementation matter. A list of rights protected in a constitution is called a Bill of Rights. Fundamental Rights differ from ordinary legal rights because they are guaranteed by the Constitution and can only be changed by amending it, and the judiciary can declare executive or legislative actions illegal if they violate them; yet they are not absolute and may carry reasonable restrictions. The chapter explains six Fundamental Rights: the Right to Equality (equality before law, no discrimination, equality of opportunity, abolition of untouchability and titles, with reservations under Article 16(4)); the Right to Freedom (including Article 21's right to life and personal liberty, preventive detention and rights of the accused); the Right against Exploitation (banning begar and child labour); the Right to Freedom of Religion; Cultural and Educational Rights of minorities; and the Right to Constitutional Remedies (writs like habeas corpus), which Ambedkar called the "heart and soul" of the Constitution. It distinguishes Fundamental Rights from the non-justiciable Directive Principles of State Policy and notes the 42nd Amendment's Fundamental Duties.