Class | Subject | Book | Chapter | Session | Questions covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XI | Political Science | Indian Constitution at Work (NCERT) | 2 – Rights in the Indian Constitution | 2026-27 | 10 of 10 |
Chapter at a glance
Topic | Key points |
|---|---|
Bill of Rights | A list of rights guaranteed by the Constitution, with remedies against violation |
Fundamental Rights | Equality (Arts 14–18), Freedom (19–22), Against Exploitation (23–24), Freedom of Religion (25–28), Cultural and Educational (29–30), Constitutional Remedies (32) |
Remedies | Writs: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, quo warranto; NHRC |
Directive Principles | Non-justiciable goals: welfare, equality, living wage, free education, uniform civil code |
Relationship | Fundamental Rights restrain the state; DPSPs guide it; property right removed from FRs by the 44th Amendment (1978) |
Exercise Questions
Write true or false against each of these statements:
Answer
- A Bill of Rights lays down the rights enjoyed by the people of a country.
- A Bill of Rights protects the liberties of an individual.
- Every country of the world has a Bill of Rights.
- The Constitution guarantees remedy against violation of Rights.
Answer
- True b) True c) False — not every country has one (e.g. the UK has no written Bill of Rights in a single constitutional document). d) True — Article 32 provides the right to constitutional remedies.
- True b) True c) False d) True
Which of the following is the best description of Fundamental Rights?
Answer
- All the rights an individual should have.
- All the rights given to citizens by law.
- The rights given and protected by the Constitution.
- The rights given by the Constitution that cannot ever be restricted.
Answer
Fundamental Rights are listed and protected by the Constitution, but they are subject to reasonable restrictions.
- The rights given and protected by the Constitution.
Read the following situations. Which Fundamental Right is being used or violated in each case and how?
Answer
- Overweight male cabin crew are allowed to get promotion in the national airlines but their women colleagues who gain weight are penalised.
- A director makes a documentary film that criticises the policies of the government.
- People displaced by a big dam take out a rally demanding rehabilitation.
- Andhra society runs Telugu medium schools outside Andhra Pradesh.
Answer
- Right to Equality violated — discrimination on the basis of sex in public employment (Articles 14, 15 and 16).
- Right to Freedom of speech and expression used (Article 19(1)(a)).
- Right to Freedom used — the right to assemble peacefully and to freedom of speech (Article 19); they also claim the right to life and livelihood (Article 21).
- Cultural and Educational Rights used — linguistic minorities can establish and administer their own educational institutions (Articles 29–30).
- Equality violated (sex discrimination) b) Freedom of expression used c) Freedom of assembly and speech used (and right to life/livelihood claimed) d) Cultural and educational rights of a linguistic minority used
Which of the following is a correct interpretation of the Cultural and Educational Rights?
Answer
- Only children belonging to the minority group that has opened educational institution can study there.
- Government schools must ensure that children of the minority group will be introduced to their belief and culture.
- Linguistic and religious minorities can open schools for their children and keep it reserved for them.
- Linguistic and religious minorities can demand that their children must not study in any educational institution except those managed by their own community.
Answer
Article 30 gives minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice to preserve their culture; they can reserve seats for their community.
- Linguistic and religious minorities can open schools for their children and keep them reserved for them.
Which of the following is a violation of Fundamental Rights and why?
Answer
- Not paying minimum wages
- Banning of a book
- Banning of loudspeakers after 9 pm.
- Making a speech
Answer
- Violation: not paying minimum wages amounts to forced labour/exploitation, against the Right against Exploitation (Article 23), as held by the Supreme Court.
- Can be a violation of freedom of expression (Article 19(1)(a)), unless justified as a reasonable restriction (e.g. public order).
- Not a violation: it is a reasonable restriction in the interest of public health and peace.
- Not a violation: making a speech is the exercise of a right.
- violates the right against exploitation, and (b) may violate freedom of expression unless it is a reasonable restriction; (c) is a reasonable restriction and (d) is the exercise of a right.
An activist working among the poor says that the poor don’t need Fundamental Rights. What they need are Directive Principles to be made legally binding. Do you agree with this? Give your reasons.
Answer
Answer
I do not fully agree.
- The poor certainly need what the Directive Principles promise — adequate livelihood, living wages, health care, education and social security. Without these, rights can seem empty.
- But Fundamental Rights are equally important to the poor: they protect them against exploitation (bonded labour, child labour), discrimination (untouchability), arbitrary arrest and police excess, and let them organise, speak and protest to demand welfare. Without freedom of speech and assembly, the poor could not even press for the Directive Principles.
- Making all DPSPs legally binding at once may be impractical, since they depend on the resources of the state.
- In practice, the courts have linked the two: the right to life (Article 21) has been interpreted to include the right to livelihood, food, shelter and education, and the Right to Education became a Fundamental Right (Article 21A).
So the poor need both: Fundamental Rights to protect their dignity and voice, and Directive Principles to secure social and economic justice.
No; the poor need Fundamental Rights to protect them from exploitation and to voice demands, as well as Directive Principles for welfare; courts have connected the two through Article 21.
Several reports show that caste groups previously associated with scavenging are forced to continue in this job. Those in positions of authority refuse to give them any other job. Their children are discouraged from pursuing education. Which of their Fundamental Rights are being violated in this instance?
Answer
Answer
- Right to Equality: discrimination on the basis of caste (Article 15), denial of equality of opportunity in employment (Article 16), and the practice of untouchability (Article 17).
- Right to Freedom: freedom to practise any profession or occupation (Article 19(1)(g)); right to life with dignity (Article 21).
- Right against Exploitation: being forced into a job amounts to forced labour (Article 23).
- Right to Education of the children (Article 21A).
Rights to equality (Arts 15, 16, 17 — untouchability), freedom of occupation and dignified life (Arts 19, 21), against exploitation (Art 23) and education (Art 21A).
A petition by a human rights group drew attention of the court to the condition of starvation and hunger in the country. Over five crore tonnes of food grains was stored in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India. Research shows that a large number of ration cardholders do not know about the quantity of food grains they can purchase from fair price shops. It requested the court to order the government to improve its public distribution system.
Answer
- Which different rights does this case involve? How are these rights interlinked?
- Should these rights form part of the right to life?
Answer
a. The case involves:
- the right to food (freedom from hunger);
- the right to life with dignity (Article 21);
- the right to information — knowing one’s entitlements under the PDS;
- the right to constitutional remedies (approaching the court).
They are interlinked: without food, life itself is threatened; without information people cannot claim their food entitlements; and the right to constitutional remedies allows citizens to enforce these rights in court.
b. Yes. Life means more than mere survival; it means living with dignity. Food is the most basic necessity for life. The Supreme Court has held that the right to life includes the right to food (in the PUCL case, it ordered the government to implement food schemes), and the right to information is part of freedom of expression. The National Food Security Act, 2013 followed.
- Rights to food, life, information and constitutional remedies, all interlinked. b) Yes; the right to life includes the right to food and dignity, as the Supreme Court has held.
Read the statement by Somnath Lahiri in the Constituent Assembly quoted in this chapter. Do you agree with him? If yes, give instances to prove it. If not, give arguments against his position.
Answer
“I feel that many of these fundamental rights have been framed from the point of view of a police constable… you will find that very minimum rights have been conceded and are almost invariably followed by a proviso. Almost every article is followed by a proviso which takes away the right almost completely… What should be our conception of fundamental rights?… We want to incorporate every one of those rights which our people want to get.”
Answer
I partly disagree.
Where Lahiri has a point
- Article 19 freedoms are subject to reasonable restrictions on grounds such as public order, security of the state, morality and decency.
- Preventive detention (Article 22) allows a person to be detained without trial for a period.
- During an Emergency (1975–77) many rights were suspended, showing how restrictions can be misused.
Arguments against his position
- No right can be absolute; reasonable restrictions are needed to protect the rights of others and the security of society.
- The restrictions must be reasonable, and courts decide whether they are; the judiciary has struck down many unreasonable laws and has widened rights (e.g. Article 21 now includes livelihood, privacy, clean environment).
- The 44th Amendment strengthened safeguards after the Emergency (e.g. Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended).
- Article 32 — the right to constitutional remedies — makes rights enforceable.
So the Constitution does not take away rights “almost completely”; it balances freedom with order, and the courts guard against misuse.
Partly: restrictions, preventive detention and Emergency powers can curb rights, but reasonable limits are necessary, courts review them and have expanded rights, so rights are not taken away completely.
Which of the Fundamental Rights is in your opinion the most important right? Summarise its provisions and give arguments to show why it is most important.
Answer
Answer
The Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32) is the most important; Dr B.R. Ambedkar called it the “heart and soul” of the Constitution.
Provisions
- Any citizen can move the Supreme Court directly (and High Courts under Article 226) if any Fundamental Right is violated.
- Courts can issue writs:
- Habeas corpus — produce an arrested person before the court;
- Mandamus — order an official to perform a legal duty;
- Prohibition — stop a lower court from exceeding its jurisdiction;
- Certiorari — transfer a case from a lower court or quash its order;
- Quo warranto — ask by what authority a person holds a public office.
Why most important
- It makes all other rights enforceable; without a remedy, rights would be mere promises.
- It protects citizens against misuse of power by the government.
- Through public interest litigation, courts have used it to protect the poor and expand rights.
The Right to Constitutional Remedies (Art 32): it lets citizens approach courts and obtain writs, making all other rights enforceable — the “heart and soul” of the Constitution.
Topic checklist
- Importance of rights; Bill of Rights
- Six Fundamental Rights and their provisions
- Constitutional remedies and writs; NHRC
- Directive Principles of State Policy
- Relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles