Every citizen takes advantage of fundamental rights in any democracy in the world. These fundamental rights ensure that each citizen at least knows what the constitution has for him. The constitution helps every democratic country to run its regular activities smoothly. But every right comes with some responsibilities. In our case of fundamental rights, it comes with fundamental duties. But do you know what are fundamental duties or do you have any basic understanding of fundamental duties?
In this blog, you will know everything about fundamental duties every person living in a democracy should know. It will enrich your knowledge about the fundamental rights and duties that the Constitution expects you to follow. Let’s start with what are fundamental duties.
What are Fundamental Duties?
Fundamental duties make the citizen responsible for certain tasks. In other words, fundamental duties expect an individual that performs tasks to abide by the law and doesn’t break any law rules in India and regulations.
Chapter IV-A with just one Article 51-A dealing with such a Code of 10 fundamental duties of Indian constitution for Indian Citizens. These fundamental duties of Indians were first introduced by the 42nd Amendment Act of 1976. Because fundamental rights and duties are related, fundamental duties are meant to act as a regular responsibility to every citizen. Although the constitution explicitly granted them certain Fundamental Rights, it also required them to obey some basic fundamental legal rights and duties of democratic conduct and behaviour. Because such fundamental duties of Indian Constitution permit balance in democracy.
Why Do We Need For Fundamental Duties
India is a nation where people from various castes, creeds, religions, sects, and other groups live together. In order to preserve peace and harmony and to promote a sense of brotherhood and unity among them, there are some fundamental duties as well. These fundamental duties of the Indian constitution are there to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of our nation. These fundamental duties of Indian constitution have indisputable importance. It serves to remind the populace that fundamental duties and rights are intertwined.
What are Fundamental Duties Sources?
The Indian constitution is the biggest written constitution in the world. It is developed from different democratic constitutions. The founding fathers tried to use all the fundamental duties according to India’s circumstances. Here is one thing that needs to be pointed out no Western country’s constitution directly mentions the responsibilities of people.
The Japanese Constitution is one of the democratic constitutions around the world that mentions specific civic obligations. Citizens’ fundamental rights and duties are generally determined by the common law and judicial decisions in countries, like Britain, Canada, and Australia. The duties of citizens are only briefly mentioned in the French Constitution. The American Constitution simply specifies fundamental rights. It makes no mention of citizen obligations.
The Yugoslavian Constitution’s Article 32, Chapter VII of the Soviet Constitution, Chapter II of the Constitution of the Republic of China, and other socialist country constitutions are a few of them. However, all the aforementioned countries have a strong focus on the fundamental duties of citizens. All of the above countries expressly outline the tasks of the populace and give everyone the “Right to Work.” Whereas the Indian Constitution currently does not. Every citizen who is expected to do specific duties for the country should consequently provide different rights as well, and one of them is the “right to labour.”
What are Fundamental Duties Offers Us?
Article 51-A Says that the following shall be the fundamental duties of every citizen of India:
- To Follow the constitution and respect its ideal and institutions and abide by the law mentioned here.
- To cherish and obey the noble ideals that play a critical role in inspiring our national struggle for freedom.
- To support and safeguard the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India
- Revere and attach to the principles that motivate our nation’s struggle for freedom.
- Defend the nation and do national service when necessary.
- Foster harmony and the spirit of universal brotherhood among all Indians transcending religious, linguistic, and regional diversity.
- To foster humanism, the scientific mindset, and the spirit of reform.
- To protect public property and abstain from violence.
- To pursue excellence in all realms of individual and group work, so that the country consistently rises to greater heights of endeavour and achievement. The 86th Amendment to the Indian Constitution was passed in 2002. It also included a further Fundamental Responsibility.
- The parent or guardian, to provide his child, or as the situation may be, ward, between the ages of six and fourteen, with chances for education.
- To protect and enhance the environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife.
Conclusion
The Fundamental Duties fill a long-standing need while being ambiguous. Since they incorporate some of the values, views, and beliefs of famous monks, thinkers, social reformers, and public leaders from different democratic nations. Fundamental duties also offer an ongoing recall that obligations and rights coexist. The purpose of establishing the Fundamental Duties is to make citizens aware of their obligations. They have to do their country and their homeland. It amplifies John F. Kennedy’s advice to “ask what you can accomplish for the country, not what the nation can do for you” very well.
Let’s summarise this whole article in one paragraph that will assist every person reading this blog from the very beginning. The Fundamental Duties are meant to act as a prompt to each person living in the nation. Although the Indian Constitution confers some basic Fundamental Rights explicitly, it also compels individuals to obey some basic fundamental duties of the Indian constitution of democratic behaviour because fundamental rights and duties are correlative.
There have been instances when persons, especially law enforcement officials, have flagrantly violated fundamental duties, which has led to violations of other people’s fundamental rights and duties.