The Part III of the Constitution of India gives a detailed description on a charter of rights called the ‘Fundamental Rights’. These fundamental rights guarantee civil freedom to all the citizens of India to allow them to live in peace and harmony. These are the basic rights that every Indian citizen has the right to enjoy, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion, place of birth, race, color or gender. These fundamental rights include Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Education Rights, Right against Exploitation, Right to Constitutional Remedies, etc. Anyone guilty of the non-compliance to such Fundamental rights will be punished as mentioned in the Indian Penal Code, subject to the verdict of the judiciary. Fundamental rights for Indians aim at narrowing down the inequalities of pre-independence social practices, especially the abolition of untouchability. They also guarantee the protection of cultural and educational rights of some religious minorities by granting them the liberty to conserve their languages and educational institutions.
There are six fundamental rights documented by the Constitution, such as:
‘Right to Equality’, means equality before law, ruling out any prejudice on the basis of race, religion, caste, creed, gender or place of birth. This right also means an equality of opportunity with respect to employment, abolition of untouchability and also abolition of titles.
‘Right to freedom’ includes a gamut of rights such as right to speech and expression, right to assemble peacefully or to form association, right to move freely throughout the territory of India, right to life and liberty, right to reside and settle in any part of India and so on.
‘Right to Freedom Of Religion’ is another important fundamental right that explains the essence of freedom of conscience and profession, freedom to run religious affairs and freedom to give religious instructions in certain institutions.
‘Right against Exploitation’ talks about the banning of forced labor and prohibition of employment of children in perilous jobs.
‘Cultural and Educational Rights’ of our constitution explains the preservation of language and culture of minorities and right of minorities to establish educational institutions.
‘Right to Constitutional Remedy’ deals with the right to move the courts for issuance of writs & explains the writs of: Habeas corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Quo Warranto, Certiorari. This right also lays down the privileges in respect of the National Commission on Minorities, the National Commission on Women, the National Commission on Scheduled Castes, etc. To summarize, as these rights are the basic human rights which every citizen of India has the liberty to enjoy, they form a very important aspect of the Indian constitution. They help in preserving human dignity and allow every citizen to live with self respect. They accentuate on the fundamental accord of India by guaranteeing the same rights to everyone irrespective of their religion, caste, creed, place of birth, etc.