The right to liberty or freedom is the most recognized and treasured of all the rights that are deemed vital for the development of an individual’s individuality. In reality, there can be no true right available to the people without liberty, i.e., the freedom to enjoy one’s rights. As such, liberty is the people’s most prized and valued right. For an individual, liberty is the most valuable asset, therefore strong safeguards are required. The state’s power and the people’s freedoms have been at odds since the dawn of humanity. If the state’s authority is limited, a person has more freedom. The term “liberty” comes from the Latin word “liber,” which meaning “free.” In this context, liberty refers to the freedom from restrictions and the ability to behave as one wishes. In a civil society, however, such a definition of liberty is viewed as undesirable and destructive. Only in the jungle do animals have complete freedom from restrictions. In a civil society, no one can truly be free to act without constraints. As a result, liberty is understood to entail the absence of just those constraints that are deemed unreasonable. Thus, there is a need to protect this liberty and hence the need for safeguards of liberty had risen.

SAFEGUARDS FOR LIBERTY

• The first necessary safeguard is that there should be no special presence of special privileges. All persons must be considered as equal before law and should enjoy equal opportunities. All people should have equal access to power. No person should inherit any special privileges merely because he happens to be born in a rich family.

• The second safeguard for the realization and protection of liberty is the presence of rights. There cannot be liberty where the rights of some depend upon the pleasure of others. No persons should be strong enough to take away the rights of ordinary citizen. Now, in most of the modern constitution’s rights constitute an important part of written document. This gives them a sacred place and special sanctity.

• The people should have freedom to choose and control their rulers. For this, now we have free and fair election system and these electrons held periodically on the basis of universal adult suffrage. This is another safeguard which helps in the protection of liberty

• Independent and impartial judiciary also guards the rights of the people. If judiciary is under the control of the legislature or executive, then the rights of the people will not be secure. The protection of the rights of people is in essence the protection of liberty

• According to Montesque, for the security of individual liberty, functions of the government should be divided into three organs and should be headed by separate persons independent of each other. It is a sight of tyranny when the three powers of the government are concentrated in the hands of a single person. So, separation of powers is necessary for the protection of liberty and also for democracy.

• The commitment of the people to defend their liberty and their full alertness against any encroachment of their liberty is one of the most important safeguards of liberty and this is with reference to the statement in the question that “Eternal Vigilance is the price of liberty”

• Establishment of a democratic system is an essential safeguard of liberty. Both liberty and democracy are supplementary to each other. We cannot conceive of a democracy without the presence of civil, economic, political and individual liberty. Likewise, in the absence of the right to freedom there can be no real democracy.

• For safeguarding Liberty, it is essential that the government should exercise unbiased and impartial control over every section of society. It must act as a responsible transparent and accountable government. This also refers to the point that everyone must be treated equal in the eyes of the government and must not be deprived of their rights owing to the bias of the government.

• For safeguarding liberty against possible dictatorship/ authoritarianism, it is essential that decentralization of powers should be affected. The power of the government, particularly its executive branch should be distributed among a number of organizations and these should be located at all the three levels of government-local, provincial/ regional and national. This prevention of dictatorship forms one of the most important safeguards of liberty.

• Equitable and fairer distribution of income, wealth and resources, and adequate opportunities for lively-hood are essential safeguards of Liberty. Without economic equality, there can be no real enjoyment of liberty and this also helps with the protection of liberty.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

Do follow me on Facebook, Twitter  Youtube and Instagram.

The copyright of this Article belongs exclusively to Ms. Aishwarya Sandeep. Reproduction of the same, without permission will amount to Copyright Infringement. Appropriate Legal Action under the Indian Laws will be taken.

If you would also like to contribute to my website, then do share your articles or poems at adv.aishwaryasandeep@gmail.com

We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.

We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge