Revision Notes
Class - 9 Social Science - Civics
Chapter 5 - Democratic Rights
● Elections & the institutions need to be united with enjoyment of rights to make
the government democratic. Limits must not be crossed over even by the most
suitably elected ruler who are working through established institutional
process. These limits must be set by citizen’s democratic rights. Class 9 Social
Science Chapter 5 from the book Democratic Politics I talks about these rights
and how they should be practised in responsible manner in a democratic
society.
● Life without Rights
The major incidents in history which highlight the drawback of the absence
of democratic rights are:
1. Prison in the Guantanamo Bay
Secretly, 600 people from all over the world were picked up by American
government and were put in a prison in Guantanamo Bay. The government
claimed them as the enemies of the US soil & linked them to the attack on
New York on 11 September 2001, without a legit proof.
2. Citizens’ Rights in Saudi Arabia-
In the Saudi Arabia, relation between the citizens & the government’s position
is mentioned below:
❖ A hereditary king rules that the country & the people have no function in
electing or altering their rulers.
❖ The legislature, as well as the executive, are selected by the king.
❖ No political parties or the political organizations can be formed by any citizen.
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❖ No freedom of religion can then be exercised by the citizens.
❖ There are also many public restrictions on women
3. Ethnic Massacre in Kosovo
Before the partition, Yugoslavia was a small province. The population of it
was vastly ethnic Albanian but the Serbs were the main population of the
country. Milosevic who was a narrow- minded Serb nationalist had won the
election & his government was very antagonistic to Albanians. He wanted the
Serbian domination over the country. Many Serb leaders also believed that
Ethnic minorities like Albanians should either depart from the country or
accept supremacy of the Serbs.
● Rights in a Democracy
All of us really want to live happily without the fear of bad treatment. This
can happen only if other people behave in such a way which does not harm us
or hurt us. Likewise, all our actions should not also harm or hurt others.
When anything is equally possible for others, then a right is readily possible.
A right comes with a duty to value the others’ rights.
The basis of these rights lies on the factors which are recognized by society
as rightful.
There are also three key features that transform a claim into a right:
❖ The claim should be rational.
❖ The claim should be accepted by the society.
❖ The claim should also be authorized by law.
● Why Do We Need Rights in the Democracy
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Every citizen also has the right to vote & right to be elected to government in
a democracy. Rights also play a very significant part in a democracy. Rights
then safeguard minorities from the tyranny of the majority. Rights are
generally assurances which can be put to play when things are not right.
● Rights in the Indian Constitution
Our Constitution also provides for 6 Fundamental Rights, which are as
follows:
1. Right to Constitutional Remedies
Right to constitutional remedies authorises city’s appeal to a court of law in case of
any defiance of the fundamental rights.
2. Right to Equality
The Constitution claims the government shall not refuse equality before the
law or equal protection of the laws to any person in India. According to above
claim, the laws applicable in an equal way to all, irrespective of the person’s
status. This is called rule of law, which is also the base of any good
democracy. As per the rule, no person is above the law & no distinction can
be made between a political leader, government official and an ordinary
citizen.
a. The government can do no discrimination on grounds of religion race, cast,
sex or place of birth.
b. Every citizen shall also have the allowance of entry to public places like shops,
restaurants, hotels, & cinema halls.
c. Use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads, playgrounds & places of public
resorts maintained by government or dedicated to use of the general public
should not have restricted use.
d. For employment or appointment to any position in the government, all the
citizens must enjoy equal opportunity.
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3. Right to Freedom
As per the Indian Constitution, Indian citizens have the right to:
a. Freedom of speech & expression
b. Peaceful assembly
c. Form any associations and unions
d. Move freely throughout the country
e. Dwell in a part of the country
f. Practice a profession, occupation, trade or business
Someone’s right to freedom also cannot be exercised by violating others’ right
to freedom.
● No citizen can be arrested or detained unless he/she has proper legal
justification. Procedures followed for arrest are:
❖ Proper reason for arrest and detention of a person should be told to him/her.
❖ The arrested person should be produced before nearest magistrate within a
period of 24 hours of arrest.
❖ The arrested person has the right to consult or to appoint a lawyer for his
defence.
4. Right Against Exploitation
The Constitution has also clear prerequisites to avert exploitation of the
weaker sections of the society. The Constitution declares three specific evils
as mentioned below:
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a. Selling & buying of human beings i.e. trafficking, usually women, for the
immoral purposes is prohibited by the Constitution.
b. Our Constitution also prohibits forced labour or begar in any form. In beggar
practice, the worker is generally enforced to deliver service to the master for
free or nominal remuneration. On a life-long basis, this is known as bonded
labour.
c. The Constitution also prohibits anyone to recruit a child below the age of 14
to work in any factory or mine or in any kind hazardous work like railways
and ports.
5. Right to Freedom of Religion
Every person also has a right to acknowledge, practice & spread the religion
he/she believes in. A secular country like India also does not consider one
religion as official religion. But this does not mean that a person can do
whatever he/she wants in the name of religion. For example, no human or the
animal sacrifices can be made in the name of supernatural beings.
6. Cultural & Educational Rights
Indian Constitution specifies cultural and educational rights as follows:
a. Right to conserve any kind of distinct language or culture for a section of the
citizens.
b. Right to get admitted to any educational institution which are maintained by
the government or receiving government aid irrespective of religion or
language.
c. Right of minorities to establish & administer educational institutions of their
choice.
● How can we secure these Rights?
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❖ 5 Fundamental Rights are made effective by Right to Constitutional
Remedies. Anyone can also seek a remedy through the court when their rights
are also violated. The Right to Constitutional Remedies are called ‘the heart
and soul’ of our Constitution by Dr B.R. Ambedkar.
❖ Fundamental Rights are assured against the deeds of the Legislatures, the
Executive, & any other institutions of the government.
❖ No law or action which violate the Fundamental Rights can exist.
❖ Taking away or limiting any of the Fundamental Rights which nullifies the
act of the Legislature or the Executive.
● Expanding Scope of Rights
Fundamental Rights are also the foundation of all rights. With time the courts
also gave judgments to expand the scope of rights and our Constitution and
law offer a wider range of rights.
a. Some rights like right to freedom of the press, right to information, & right to
education are derived from the Fundamental Rights.
b. Right to school education: The government is also accountable for giving free
and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14 years.
c. Parliament has then passed a law providing the right to information to the
citizens.
d. The Supreme Court has also extended the right to life to comprise the right to
food.
The Constitution provides many other kind of rights apart from Fundamental
Rights. For example, the right to property and the right to vote are important
constitutional rights.
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