The Fundamental Duties were inserted into the Constitution
of India by the 42th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 on the recommendations
of the Swaran Singh Committee. Ten Fundamental Duties were included in Article
51-A under Part IV-A through this amendment. The 11th Fundamental
Duty [51-1(K) was added by the 86the Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.
The idea behind the incorporation of the Fundamental Duties
was to emphasize the obligations of the citizens in exchange of the
comprehensive Fundamental Rights enjoyed by them. Basically, the Fundamental
Duties were incorporated with the purpose of making the citizens patriotic,
help them to follow a code of conduct that would strengthen the nation, protect
its sovereignty and integrity, help the State in performing its diverse duties
and promote ideals of harmony, unity, common brotherhood and religious
tolerance. These ideals are the very cornerstone of the Constitution. The
Fundamental Duties have highlighted the importance of citizens in the
functioning of the State and urges upon them to do their best to discharge
their duties.
The duties enumerated in Article 51-A are statutory duties
and are enforceable by law. Violation of the duties can be met with punishment.
But the Constitution does not impose penalty for the violation of the duties.
It is left to the Legislatures to prescribe penalty for the violation of
specific duties. Some of these duties are already being enforced though
ordinary law, e.g. there are laws making any activity disrupting the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of India illegal and penal. The
Constitution imposes upon the citizens definite duties towards the society and
towards the State.
The eleven duties are as under.
(a)
to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and
institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
(b)
to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired
our national struggle for freedom;
(c)
to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and
integrity of India ;
(d)
to defend the country and render national service when
called upon to do so;
(e)
to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood
amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional
or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of
women;
(f)
to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite
culture;
(g)
to protect and improve the natural environment
including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have compassion for
living creatures;
(h)
to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the
spirit of inquiry and reform;
(i)
to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
(j)
to strive towards excellence in all spheres of
individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to
higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
(k)
who is parent or guardian to provide opportunities for
education to his child, or as the case may be, ward between the age of six and
fourteen years.
The addition of Fundamental Duties along with exceptions to
the Fundamental Rights limits the operation and free enjoyment of Fundamental
Rights. The critics have called these Duties as moral precepts, pious
platitudes, vague and repetitive. They questioned the very wisdom of
incorporating them in the Constitution. According to them, it is very difficult
to comprehend fully the meaning of some of the Duties, as for example “cherish
and follow the noble ideas of the freedom struggle, scientific temper, humanism
and excellence”.
Some of the duties also do not appear to be capable of legal
enforcement. These can at best be regarded as ‘directory’. As regards
enforceability of these duties, it has been held that these duties being of
individual citizens cannot be enforced through mandamus, as they cast no public
duties. However, there is no doubt that these duties are a constant reminder to
us of the national goals as well as the basic norms of political order. They
may inspire us to inculcate in ourselves a sense of social responsibility. The
Supreme Court has held that Article 51 A can be used to interpret ambiguous
statutes. Fundamental Duties have been particularly invoked in litigation
concerning the environment. They are much of an educational and psychological
value for the citizens. Article 51A is confined to ‘citizens’ unlike some of
the articles relating to Fundamental Rights which extend to ‘all persons’.
Nice one. thanks
ReplyDeleteNicely explained.thank u very much...........
ReplyDeleteNice article. We, Indians should develop scientific temperament and eradicate superstitions from all spheres of life.
ReplyDeleteNice article. We, Indians should develop scientific temperament and eradicate superstitions from all spheres of life.
ReplyDeleteGood Article.
ReplyDelete