Chapter 6

Democratic Rights

Class- IX

Question and Answers

1. Explain the prisoners’ condition in Guantanamo Bay.
i)  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 American
Navy.
ii) The American government said that they were enemies of the US and linked to
the attack on New York on 11 September 2001. In most cases the governments
of their countries were not asked or even informed about their imprisonment.
iii) Families of prisoners, media or even UN representatives were not allowed to
meet them. The US army arrested them, interrogated them and decided whether
to keep them there or not.
iv) There was no trial before any magistrate in the US. Nor could these prisoners
approach courts in their own country.

2. What was the basic reason for the ethnic massacre in Kosovo?
i) Kosovo was a province of Yugoslavia before its split. In this province the
population was overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian. But in the entire country,
Serbs were in majority.
ii) 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.
iii) This massacre was being carried out by the army of their own country, working
under the direction of a leader who came to power through democratic
elections. This was one of the worst instances of killings based on ethnic
prejudices in recent times.
iv) Finally several other countries intervened to stop this massacre. Milosevic lost
power and was tried by an International Court of Justice for crimes against
humanity.
3. In what respects are rights of citizens denied in Saudi Arabia?
i) The country is ruled by a hereditary king and the people have no role in
electing or changing their rulers.
ii) The king selects the legislature as well as the executive. He appoints the
judges and can change any of their decisions.
iii) Citizens cannot form political parties or any political organizations.
iv) Media cannot report anything that the monarch does not like.
v) 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.
vi) Women are subjected to many public restrictions. The testimony of one man
is considered equal to that of two women.

4. Why rights are important  importance in Democracy.

i) Every one desires a system where security, dignity and fair play are assured to
everyone. No one should be arrested without proper reason and information.
And if someone is arrested, he or she should have a fair chance to defend
themselves.
ii) Such assurance cannot apply to everything. One has to be reasonable in what
one expects and demands of everyone else, for one has to grant the same to
everyone.
iii) But the assurance does not remain on paper, that there is someone to enforce
these assurances, that those who violate these are punished. In other words,
people want a system where at least a minimum is guaranteed to everyone –
powerful or weak, rich or poor, majority or minority. This is the spirit behind
thinking about rights.
5. What are rights?
Rights are claims of a person over other fellow beings, over the society and over
the government.
Rights are reasonable claims of persons recognized by society and sanctioned by
law.
6. What are the three qualities that a claim should have to become a right?
i) It should be reasonable claims of citizens that are equally possible for others.
ii) It should be recognized by society. Rights acquire meaning only in society.
iii) It should be sanctioned by law.
7. ‘The notion of rights changes from time to time and society to society’. Expalin with example.
What all rights that we enjoy today were not granted to citizens in the early period.
Two hundred years ago anyone who said that women should have right to vote
would have sounded strange. Today not granting them vote in Saudi Arabia
appears strange.
8. What is the role of rights in Democracy?

OR

 Why do we need rights in a democracy?
i) 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.
ii) Things may go wrong when some citizens may wish to take away the rights of
others. This usually happens when those in majority want to dominate those in
minority.
iii) The government should protect the citizens’ rights in such a situation. 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 these. In most democracies
the basic rights of the citizen are written down in the constitution.

9. Explain the term Right to Equality.
i) The Constitution says that the government shall not deny to any person in India
equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws. It 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. It means that no
person is above the law. There cannot be any distinction between a political
leader, government official and an ordinary citizen. No person can legally claim
any special treatment or privilege just because he or she happens to be an
important person.
ii) This basic position is further clarified in the Constitution by spelling out some
implications of the Right to Equality. The government shall not discriminate
against any citizen on grounds of religion, caste, ethnicity, sex or place of birth.
Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels,
and cinema halls.
iii) 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.
iv) 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.
10. Why do we consider Right to freedom a cluster of several rights?

OR What are the main provision of right to freedom.
There are many freedoms included under Right to Freedom. Under the Indian
Constitution all citizens have the right to:
i) Freedom of speech and expression
ii) Citizens have the freedom to hold meetings processions rallies and
demonstrations on any issue. (Assembly in a peaceful manner)
iii) Form associations and unions
iv) Move freely throughout the country
v) Reside in any part of the country, and
vi) Practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

11. What are the provisions in the Constitution regarding the Right against
exploitation?
The Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares these illegal.
i) First, the Constitution prohibits ‘traffic in human beings’. Traffic here means
selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.
ii) 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. When this practice takes place on a
life-long basis, it is called the practice of bonded labour.
iii) Finally, the 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. 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.
12. Explain the right to freedom of religion.
a. India is a secular state. A secular state is one that does not establish any one
religion as official religion. Indian secularism practices an attitude of an equal
distance from all religions. The state has to be neutral and impartial in dealing
with all religions.
b. Every person has a right to profess, practice and propagate any religion that
he or she believes in.
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.
13. What are the cultural and educational rights granted to minorities?
i) Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture have a right to
conserve it.
ii) 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.
iii) All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions
of their choice.

14. Explain the term Right to Constitutional remedy.
a. Fundamental Rights are guaranteed against the actions of the Legislatures, the
Executive, and any other authorities instituted by the government. There can be
no law or action that violates the Fundamental Rights.
b. If any act of the Legislature or the Executive takes away or limits any of the
Fundamental Rights it will be invalid. We can challenge such laws of the central
and state governments, the policies and actions of the government or the
governmental organizations like the nationalized banks or electricity boards.
c. Courts also enforce the Fundamental Rights against private individuals and
private bodies. The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue
directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights. They
can also award compensation to the victims and punishment to the violators.

15. How can judiciary protect fundamental rights of citizens?
i) In case of any violation of a Fundamental Right the aggrieved person can go to a
court for remedy. The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue
directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights. They
can also award compensation to the victims and punishment to the violators
ii) Now, any person can go to court against the violation of the 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. One can write to the judges even on a postcard. The
court will take up the matter if the judges find it in public interest.

16. Explain the expanding scope of rights.
i) From time to time, the courts gave judgments to expand the scope of rights.
Certain rights like right to freedom of press, right to information, and right to
education are derived from the Fundamental Rights.
ii) 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.
iii) Parliament has enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens. This
Act was made under 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. Also, rights are not limited only to Fundamental Rights
as enumerated in the Constitution.
v) 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 an important constitutional right.
Sometimes the expansion takes place in what is called human rights. These are
universal moral claims that may or may not have been recognized by law. In that
sense these claims are not rights. With the expansion of democracy all over the
world, there is greater pressure on governments to accept these claims.

17. What are fundamental rights?
These are the basic rights granted to citizens of India by the Constitution. In
India, like most other democracies in the world, rights are mentioned in the
Constitution. Some rights which are fundamental to our life are given a special
status. They are called Fundamental Rights.

18. What are the new rights granted to the Government of South Africa to its
people?
i) Right to privacy, so that citizens or their home cannot be searched, their phones
cannot be tapped, their communication cannot be opened.
ii) Right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well being;
iii) Right to have access to adequate housing.
iv) Right to have access to health care services, sufficient food and water; no one
may be refused emergency medical treatment.