Human Rights in India

Human rights are the basic rights available to any human being by virtue of his birth in human race. It is inherent in all human beings irrespective of their nationality, religion, language, sex, colour or any other consideration. The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 defines Human Rights as: “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”.

Human rights whenever guaranteed by a written Constitution may be called as fundamental rights in the sense that a written Constitution is a fundamental law of the land, although it is not the exhaustive source of Constitutional law which is enforceable by a Court.

The Constitution of India is the highest law of the land and all laws, national or local, customary or statutory, past and future draw their validity and legitimacy from it. The Preamble to the Constitution of India emphasises the principle of equality as basic to the Constitution. Equality of opportunity to all irrespective of their caste, colour, creed, race, religion and place of birth which constitutes one of the core values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, also forms a part of Preamble to the Constitution of India.

Human rights in India is an issue complicated by the country’s large size and population, widespread poverty, lack of proper education, as well as its diverse culture, despite its status as the world’s largest sovereign, secular, democratic republic. The Constitution of India provides for Fundamental rights, which include freedom of religion. Clauses also provide for freedom of speech, as well as separation of executive and judiciary and freedom of movement within the country and abroad. The country also has an independent judiciary as well as bodies to look into issues of human rights.

The 2016 report of Human Rights Watch accepts the above-mentioned facilities but goes to state that India has “serious human rights concerns. Civil society groups face harassment and government critics face intimidation and lawsuits. Free speech has come under attack both from the state and by interest groups. Muslim and Christian minorities accuse authorities of not doing enough to protect their rights. The government is yet to repeal laws that grant public officials and security forces immunity from prosecution for abuses.”

Fundamental Rights In India

The rights guaranteed under Part III (Articles 12-35) of the Constitution of India. There are six fundamental rights (Article 12 – 35) recognised by the Indian constitution : the right to equality (Articles 14-18), the right to freedom (Articles 19-22), the right against exploitation (Articles 23-24), the right to freedom of religion (Articles 25-28), cultural and educational rights (Articles 29-30) and the right to constitutional remedies (Article 32 and 226).[1]

While the Constitution also creates other rights, such as the Right to Property, they are not fundamental rights. In cases of fundamental rights violations, the Supreme Court of India can be directly petitioned under Article 32 of the Constitution. The Rights have their origins in many sources, including England’s Bill of Rights, the United States Bill of Rights and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man.and Rights of women

Fundamental rights for Indians have also been aimed at overturning the inequalities of pre-independence social practices. Specifically, they have also been used to abolish untouchability and thus prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, gender or place of birth. They also forbid trafficking of human beings and forced labour (a crime). They also protect cultural and educational rights of religious establishments. Right to property was changed from fundamental right to legal right.