Human Rights in India
Human Beings are a great gift of God on earth. These are the person which with their vision and intelligence has changed the world into a modern view. However, nowadays we always come to hear about exploitation of human beings on the basis of caste, creed, religion, sex and ethnicity. Well in general this is not at all permissible. We’ve also heard people suffering from political atrocities which are again a violation of the law. Hence in lieu of the above, today we are going to discuss about Human Rights in India. Before discussing further about this, let see what actually Human rights mean.
According to the High Commissioner of United Nations Human Rights Division: “Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.”Therefore in layman terms we can say that Human rights refer to the basic rights that are believed to be entitled to every human-being. Every human-being are entitled to certain rights and freedom irrespective of their origin, ethnicity, race, color, nationality, citizenship, sex or religion. These rights are considered universal for humanity.
Now since we have understood what actually Human rights means, then let’s talk this in context to India. Well, India is a country with broad ethnic cultures, thus proving the concept of Unity in Diversity. India being a democratic country provides such rights to its citizens and allows them certain rights including the freedom of expression. These rights, which are called ‘Fundamental Rights’ form an important part of the Constitution of India. These rights are fundamental in three different ways; First, these are basic human rights. As human beings we have the right to enjoy these rights; Secondly, our Constitution gives us these fundamental rights and guarantees. These rights are necessary for the citizens of our country to act properly and live in a democratic manner; Thirdly, the procedure for the effective enforcement of these guaranteed Fundamental Rights has been mentioned in the constitution itself. Every citizen of India has the right to move to a court of law if he/she is denied these rights. The Constitution is there to safeguard her/his rights.
Now we came to know that the Indian Constitution has mentioned the rights of human for their benefit. To list down them, the Constitution of India guarantees six fundamental rights to its natives, which are:
Right to Equality
Right to freedom
Right against Exploitation
Right to Freedom of Religion
Cultural and Educational Rights
Right to Constitutional Remedies.
Human rights in India require the existence and protection of a well-regulated society. Only the society and the state can guarantee these human rights to the individual. But to enjoy these rights perfectly the citizens of India too must observe the social norms properly. However, in India under “the Protection of Human Rights 1993 (№10 of 1994)”, the Human Rights have been defined in the following way:
“Human rights” means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India.”
In India Human Rights also includes the following on the basis of civil, political, economic and social rights:
The right to freedom of expression
The right to property
The right to freedom of assembly
The right to privacy
The right to vote.
The right to an adequate standard of living
The right to adequate food, housing, water and sanitation
The rights you have at work
The right to education.
India has also enacted the protection of Human Rights Act in 1993 and also constituted the National Human Rights Commission, the State Human Rights Commission in different States and Human Right Courts. Hence in context to the above mentioned and also focusing on women empowerment, safety and development of child, India (under Human Rights drive) have taken the following steps till date:
Sati Practice has been prohibited in India.
The minimum age for marriage has been fixed by law. A boy below the age of 21 and a girl below the age of 18 cannot marry.
The Protection of Human Rights Act, was enacted in 1993.
Right to Information act was passed in 2005.
Child Labor (below the age of 14) is prohibited in factories, and mines.
Right to education has been accepted as a fundamental right in India. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was passed in 2009.
Dowry System has been prohibited by law. The Dowry Prohibition Act was passed in 1961.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was passed in 2005 to protect women from domestic atrocities.
Child Marriage Act 1929 was enacted in order to abolish child marriages in India.
A woman could not be arrested after 6pm in India. If is being arrested then it should only be done by a female officer and should be kept in Women Cell and should be produced in front of the Magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.
If a woman arrested is pregnant, then she should be imprisoned, not in a cell, but in a mother care home under medical supervision.
Looking at the above it is now apparent that India has definitely taken enormous steps in protecting the Human Rights of the Indian Citizens. It is just that we have jotted down the pointers for general interest of the public with a view that this might help the citizens to become aware of their obligatory rights and practice them in a diligent manner. Thank you!
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