The article has been written by Divya of 1st year from NLU, Vizag.
In Gita it has always taught us about “We should do our duties without expecting any fruit”. As we talk about awareness for rights in all spheres but now it’s right time to discuss about our responsibilities because with great power comes great responsibilities. With rights comes duties. When we became capable knowing about our duties , with the help of 42nd Constitutional Amendment in the 1976 they were introduced upon recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. The Constitution of the former USSR was the source for the concept of Fundamental Duties. Japan was the only democratic country with citizen duties up until that point. The communist government held the view that obligations and rights are equally important. Under Article 51A of the Indian Constitution, Fundamental Duties are incorporated into Part IV. The duties were initially ten in number, but after the 86th Amendment was passed in 2002, they were increased to eleven.
The 10 fundamental duties are as follows:
- To oblige with the Indian constitution and respect the national anthem and flag
- To cherish and follow the noble ideas that inspired the national struggle for freedom.
- To protect the integrity, sovereignty and unity of India.
- To defend the country and perform national services if and when the country requires.
- To promote the spirit of harmony and brotherhood amongst all the people of India and renounce any practices that are derogatory to women.
- To cherish and preserve the rich national heritage of our composite culture.
- To protect and improve the natural environment including lakes, wildlife, rivers, forests etc
- To develop scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry.
- To safeguard all public property.
- To strive towards excellence in all genres of individual and collective activities.
- 11th fundamental duty which was added by 86th amendment in 2002 in this list is, To provide opportunities for education to children between 6to 14 years of age, and duty as parents to ensure that such opportunities are being awarded to their child.
However, since these obligations are not upholdable, no legal action will be made to defend them in court. However, it was also a sensible choice to make fundamental obligations unenforceable. This was done because the majority of Indians lack literacy, which makes it impossible to enforce these obligations. Most people are not aware of their constitutional duties. If the fundamental obligations in the current situation were enforced, it would result in pandemonium and persecution of people. Additionally, it is difficult to carry out these obligations because they are not adequately explained and are entirely contingent on how the state and the DPSPs function.
Importance of the fundamental duties
A constant reminder to fulfil the duty towards the nation
Every Indian citizen should be reminded that while they are entitled to all essential rights, they also have some obligations to fulfil in order to contribute to the development of a great country. They must comprehend that obligations and rights are intertwined.
A sense of commitment and discipline
They cultivate a sense of dedication and discipline among the populace as well as patriotic impulses. They serve as a constant reminder of the obligations you have to your country and how fulfilling those obligations is crucial for both your personal growth and the progress of the entire nation.
Help to determine whether a law is constitutional or not
In matters of public interests, the court can turn up to the fundamental duties to help determine whether a particular decision may hamper the general interest of public or will work in their favour. If any law works to uplift any one of the fundamental rights, it can be declared as a valid law granted approval.
MAINTAINING THE SOVEREIGNTY
when people aim to fulfil a certain set of duties, they get a sense of brotherhood and unity. This helps in establishing a harmonious relationship between the constitution and its people.
Relevance of Fundamental Duties in Present Times
In 1998 our late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government had appointed the Justice J.S. Verma Committee to operationalise the suggestions to teach fundamental duties to the citizens of the country.
Under Article 51A(e) , it seeks to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood, transcending the barrier of religion , language etc.
Under 51A(g), there is duty to protect and improve the environment.
Under 51A(h) it envisages about developing a sense of oneness, a scientific temper and the spirit of inquiry nor a healthy , secular attitude.
Under 51A(f) “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” tells about the composite culture India has.
It is rightly said by our honourable PM that children should be taught the Constitution and even Supreme Court stated that since duties are obligatory for citizens, the state should strive to achieve the same goal.
The rights and duties have to coexist together. Otherwise it will lead to anarchy. The Fundamental Duties serve as a constant reminder of national goals as well as inculcate a profound sense of responsibility.
Major Case Laws
M.C. Mehta V. Union Of India & Ors
The petition was complaining that neither government nor citizens were giving enough attention to stop the pollution of river Ganga from pollution and keep it clean. SC held that for at least 1 hour in a week on protection and improvement of natural environment in all educational institution. The direction to central government was given to make available books written on subjects of awareness. The suggestion was also made for active participation by keeping cities, towns, village, clean throughout India at least once a year.
Aruna Roy V. Union of India
The main contention of the case was about National Curriculum Framework for School Education as challenged that it violates Article 28 and is against secular fabric of our nation. The court later made it clear that it is not imparting any religious instructions which are prohibited under Article 28 . These are just fulfilling purpose of what is inscribed in Article 51A(e) which says, the people will strive to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood should be maintained among all the people of India, irrespective of caste, creed, culture and language and on renouncing several practices that are derogatory to dignity of a woman.
Conclusion
Despite non-enforceability, Fundamental duties are essence of a democratic state like India. Any democratic nation like India can’t survive when citizens are not willing to take an active role in governance and responsibilities for best interest of the country. The best part is ‘Fundamental’ word before duties as it gives equal status against Fundamental Rights and can be correlated. It is also a duty of government to make fundamental duty a part of curriculum of schools and every students should be taught them. Awareness will be the better for the country to promote the relevance of duties in the present time.
Reference
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/relevance-of-fundamental-duties
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