INTRODUCTION

Rights are legal, social, or ethical principle of freedom or entitlement that is,
rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people
or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or
ethical theory. Rights are of essential importance in such disciplines
as law and ethics, especially theories of justice and deontology.
Duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing "; old french: deu, did, past
participle of devoir; Latin: debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a term that
conveys a sense of moral commitment or obligation to someone or
something. The moral commitment should result in action it is not a matter
of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty,
that person theoretically commits himself to its fulfilment without
considering their own self-interest. This is not to suggest that living a life of
duty entirely precludes a life of leisure; however, its fulfillment generally
involves some sacrifice of immediate self-interest. Typically, "the demands
of justice, honor, and reputation are deeply bound up" with duty
Rights and duties are closely related and cannot be separated from one
another. Both go side by side. These are the two sides of the same coin. If the
state gives the right to life to a citizen, it also imposes an obligation on him
to not to expose his life to dangers, as well as to respect the life of others. If I
have a right to work and earn, it is also my duty to recognize the same right
of others.
Rights can be enjoyed only in the world of duties. For every right there is
corresponding duty. When the people fail to discharge their duties properly,
the rights all become meaningless. “I can enjoy my rights only if the others
allow me to do the same. I have” the right to life and it is the duty of others to
respect my life and not to cause any harm to me.”
 RIGHTS
 HISTORY OF RIGHTS

The specific enumeration of rights has differed greatly in different periods

of history. In many cases, the system of rights promulgated by one group
has come into sharp and bitter conflict with that of other groups. In the
political sphere, a place in which rights have historically been an important
issue, constitutional provisions of various states sometimes address the
question of who has what legal rights.
Historically, many notions of rights were authoritarian and hierarchical,
with different people granted different rights, and some having more
rights than others. For instance, the right of a father to respected from his
son did not indicate a right from the son to receive a return from that
respect; and the divine right of kings, which permitted absolute power
over subjects, did not leave a lot of room for many rights for the subjects
themselves.
In contrast, modern conceptions of rights have often emphasized liberty
and equality as among the most important aspects of rights, as was
evident in the American and French revolutions.
The specific enumeration of rights has differed greatly in different periods
of history. In many cases, the system of rights promulgated by one group
has come into sharp and bitter conflict with that of other groups. In the
political sphere, a place in which rights have historically been an important
issue, constitutional provisions of various states sometimes address the
question of who has what legal rights.

Historically, many notions of rights were authoritarian and hierarchical,

with different people granted different rights, and some having more
rights than others. For instance, the right of a father to respected from his
son did not indicate a right from the son to receive a return from that
respect; and the divine right of kings, which permitted absolute power
 over subjects, did not leave a lot of room for many rights for the subjects
themselves.
In contrast, modern conceptions of rights have often emphasized liberty
and equality as among the most important aspects of rights, as was
evident in the American and French revolutions.

 MEANING OF RIGHTS

“State is known by the rights that it maintain” saw prof. Laski. The state
ought to guarantee the enjoyment of a certain number of the basic human
rights which are essential for good life. “Rights are” as Hobbes describes
“what we may expect from others and other from us and all genuine rights
are condition of social welfare”. Thus the rights anyone may claim are
partly those which are essential to every man in order to be national
human person and partly those which are necessary for the fulfilment of
his social responsibility”. Rights have been defined by a number of political
thinkers. Some of the important definitions are given below:
1. “Rights are those condition of social life without which no man can seek to
be himself at his best”- Laski
2. According to Sri Niwas Shastri, “in its essence a rights is an arrangement,
rules or practice sanctioned by the law of the community and conducive to
the highest moral good of the citizen”.
3. Rights are one man’s capacity of influencing the acts of another by means
of the opinion and the force of the society”- Holland
4. “Rights are a reasonable claim to freedom in the exercise of certain
activities- Wilde
5. HOBBOUSE says, “rights are what we may expect from others and from us
and all genuine rights are condition of social welfare. Thus ,the rights
anyone may claim are partly those which are essential to every man in
order to be a rational human person and partly those which are
necessary for the fulfilment of the function that society expects from him
. They are conditioned by, and correlated to his social responsibilities.
 CLASSIFICATION OF RIGHTS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
INDIA
There is a marked difference between the rights and powers. Beast enjoy
power in the jungle and not the rights. If the power of man are not
recognised by society and are not used by him for common welfare, they
cannot be called rights. Social recognition and the guarantee of the state
enable the power of man to take the shape of rights. As a matter of fact all
genuine rights are condition of social welfare. They are the sum total of
those opportunities which ensure enrichment of individual personality.
Hence they form the basic condition of man’s good life and his social
welfare. The following are the rights:
1. NATURAL RIGHTS : Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the
laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and therefore
universal and inalienable (i.e., rights that cannot be repealed or restrained
by human laws). The concept of natural law is closely related to the
concept of natural rights. During the Age of Enlightenment, the concept of
natural laws was used to challenge the divine right of kings, and became
an alternative justification for the establishment of a social contract,
positive law, and government – and thus legal rights – in the form of
classical republicanism. Conversely, the concept of natural rights is used by
others to challenge the legitimacy of all such establishments.

2. MORAL RIGHTS : These rights depend on the ethical feeling of man and
they are guaranteed by any legal authority. For example, parents have the
rights that they should be assisted by their children in their old age. And if
their children do not serve them or assist them in their old age, they
cannot seek the people did not enjoy any such natural rights before the
origin of society or the state. Moral rights are rights of creators of
copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and, to a
lesser extent, in some common law jurisdictions. They include the right of
attribution, the right to have a work published anonymously or
pseudonymously, and the right to the integrity of the work.
3. LEGAL RIGHTS : Legal rights are, clearly, rights which exist under the rules
of legal systems or by virtue of decisions of suitably authoritative bodies
within them. Their use is pervasive in modern legal systems. We talk of
legislatures having the legal right to pass laws, of judges to decide cases, of
private individuals to make wills and contracts; as well
as of constitutions providing legal rights to the citizens against fellow
citizens and against the state itself. Yet it has been suggested that even
some sophisticated earlier systems. legal rights have been further divided
into fundamental, political, social or civil rights.

 FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS : Fundamental Rights is a charter of rights

contained in Part III of Constitution of India. It guarantees civil liberties
such that all Indians can lead their lives in peace and harmony as citizens
of India. These include individual rights common to most liberal
democracies, such as equality before law, freedom of speech and
expression, religious and cultural freedom and peaceful assembly,
freedom to practice religion, and the right to constitutional remedies for
the protection of civil rights by means of writs such as habeas corpus.
Violation of these rights result in punishments as prescribed in the Indian
Penal Code or other special laws, subject to discretion of the judiciary. The
Fundamental Rights are defined as basic human freedoms that every
Indian citizen has the right to enjoy for a proper and harmonious
development of personality. These rights universally apply to all citizens,
irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste or gender. Aliens
(persons who are not citizens) are also considered in matters like equality
before law. They are enforceable by the courts, subject to certain
restrictions. 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.
The constitution of India ensure people the fundamental rights . People of
India enjoy six fundamental rights these are:
 Right to Equality (article 14 to 18)
 Right to freedom (art. 19 to 22)
 Right against exploitation (art. 23 &24)
  Right to freedom to religion ( art. 25 to 28)
 Cultural and educational rights (art. 29 to 30)
 Right to constitutional remedies (art. 32 to 35)

 POLITICAL AND CIVIL RIGHTS : Civil and political rights are a class of rights
that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments,
social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's ability to
participate in the civil and political life of the society and state without
discrimination or repression.

 CIVIL RIGHTS : Civil rights include the ensuring of peoples' physical and
mental integrity, life, and safety; protection from discrimination on
grounds such as race, gender, national origin, colour, age, political
affiliation, ethnicity, religion, or disability and individual rights such as
privacy and the freedoms of thought, speech, religion, press, assembly,
and movement.

 POLITICAL RIGHTS: Political rights include natural justice (procedural

fairness) in law, such as the rights of the accused, including the right to a
fair trial; due process; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy; and
rights of participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of
association, the right to assemble, the right to petition, the right of self-
defence, and the right to vote.

Civil and political rights form the original and main part of international
human rights. They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (with economic, social, and cultural rights
comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human
rights considers this group of rights to be "first-generation rights", and the
theory of negative and positive rights considers them to be generally
negative rights.
 DUTIES

 MEANING OF CONCEPT OF DUTY

Duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; Old French: deu, did,
past participle of devoir; Latin: debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a term
that conveys a sense of moral commitment or obligation to someone or
something. The moral commitment should result in action;[citation
needed] it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When
someone recognizes a duty, that person theoretically commits himself to
its fulfilment without considering their own self-interest. This is not to
suggest that living a life of duty entirely precludes a life of leisure;
however, its fulfilment generally involves some sacrifice of immediate self-
interest. Typically, "the demands of justice, honour, and reputation are
deeply bound up" with duty.
Cicero, an early philosopher who discusses duty in his work “On Duty",
suggests that duties can come from four different sources:

1. As result of being human

2. As a result of one's particular place in life (one's family, one's country,
one's job)
3. As a result of one's character
4. As a result of one's own moral expectations for oneself.

Various derivative uses of the word have sprung from the root idea of
obligation, a concept involved in the notion of duty; thus it is used in the
services performed by a minister of a church, by a soldier, or by any
employee or servant.
Many schools of thought have debated the idea of duty. While many
assert mankind's duty on their own terms, some philosophers have
absolutely rejected a sense of duty.[citation needed]
 Duty has to be accepted and understood on the basis of one's foundation
of sense and knowledge. Therefore, duty and its manifestations vary with
values from culture to culture. On one hand duty may be seen as terms of
reference, job description, or behaviour - and it is all of that ... but duty is
not only about doing things right, it is about doing the right thin.
 CLASSIFICATION OF DUTIES
If we have right to enjoy our rights ,it is our cardinal duty to perform our
duties. If the state guarantees the enjoyment of certain rights to, us the
state at the same time, want us to perform certain duties also. Otherwise,
we are punished . We have certain moral duties to perform and certain
legal duties which are bound to perform.

1. MORAL DUTIES: The term moral duties or obligation has a number of

meanings in moral philosophy, in religion, and in layman's terms. Generally
speaking, when someone says of an act that it is a "moral obligation," they
refer to a belief that the act is one prescribed by their set of values.

Moral philosophers differ as to the origin of moral duties , and whether

such obligations are external to the agent (that is, are, in some sense,
objective and applicable to all agents) or are internal (that is, are based on
the agent's personal desires, upbringing, conscience, and so on).

Obligation being a set code by which a person is to follow. (Obligations)

can be found by an individual's peers that set a code that may go against
the individual's own desires. The individual will express their morality by
the person following the set code(s) through seeing it as good to appease
society.

 FILIAL DUTIES: In most cultures, children are expected to take on duties in

relation to their families. This may take the form of behaving in such a way
that upholds the family’s honor in the eyes of the community, entering
into arranged marriages that benefit the family’s status, or caring for ailing
relatives. This family-oriented sense of duty is a particularly central aspect
to the teachings of Confucius, and is known as Xiao, or filial piety. As such,
the duties of filial piety have played an enormous role in the lives of
 people in eastern Asia for centuries. For example, the painting Lady Fang
and the Bear, from ancient China, depicts the heroic act of a consort of the
emperor placing herself between her husband and a rampaging bear. This
is meant to be taken as an example of admirable filial behaviour. Filial
piety is considered so important that in some cases, it outweighs other
cardinal virtues: In a more modern example, "concerns with filial piety of
the same general sort that motivate women to engage in factory work in
Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and elsewhere in
Asia are commonly cited by Thai prostitutes as one of their primary
rationales for working in the skin trade". The importance of filial piety can
be expressed in this quote from "The Analects of Confucius": "Yu Tzu said,
'It is rare for a man whose character is such that he is good as a son and
obedient as a young man to have the inclination to transgress against his
superiors; it is unheard of for one who has no such inclination to be
inclined to start a rebellion. The gentleman devotes his efforts to the
roots, for once the roots are established, the Way will grow there from.
Being good as a son and obedient as a young man is, perhaps, the root of a
man's character.

2. LEGAL DUTIES: There is a marked difference between legal and moral

duties. The responsibility to others to act according to the law. Proving the
duty (such as not to be negligent, to keep premises safe, or to drive within
the speed limit) and then showing that the duty was breached are
required elements of any lawsuit for damages due to negligence or
intentional injuries.

An individual is legally bound to perform legal duties or not to perform

them, he will be punished by the state. It is the legal duty of every citizen
to show obedience to the constitution, command of law and pay taxes
regularly and honestly. It is our legal duty to remain loyal to our country.
Traitors are tried by the judiciary and are punished by the state. If the
state recruits us in army compulsory at the time of emergency, it is our
duty to join the army and make our best possible efforts to defend the
country.
 FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES: Fundamental Duties are sections of the
Constitution of India that prescribe the fundamental obligations of the
State to its citizens and the duties of the citizens to the State. These
sections comprise a constitutional bill of rights for government policy-
making and the behaviour and conduct of citizens. These sections are
considered vital elements of the constitution, which was developed
between 1947 and 1949 by the Constituent Assembly of India.
The Fundamental Duties are defined as the moral obligations of all
citizens to help promote a spirit of patriotism and to uphold the unity of
India. These duties, set out in Part IV–A of the Constitution, concern
individuals and the nation. Like the Directive Principles, they are not
enforceable by law.

The Fundamental Duties noted in the constitution are as follows:

It shall be the duty of every citizen of India —

 To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the
National Flag and the National Anthem.
 To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national
struggle for freedom.
 To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
 To defend the country and render national service when called upon to
do so.
 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.
 To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; to
protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes,
rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
 To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and
reform.
 To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.
 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.
 Who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to
his child or ward, as the case may be, between the age of six to fourteen
years(this fundamental duty has been added by 86th constitutional
amendment in 2002).

 IMPORTANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

 The fundamental duties enumerated in Article 51A constitute a constant

reminder to the citizens that they have duties in building up a free,
egalitarian, healthy and responsible society. These are expected to act
as damper to reckless and anti-social activities on the part of some
individuals.
 India is a multi-racial and multi-religional country. Such a vast
democratic country like India can prosper only when the citizens of this
country respect its integrity and promotes cultural harmony.
 Environmental pollution has become a great cause of concern, not only
for Indian, but for the entire humanity. Unless, we all take the pledge to
keep our environment free from pollutants, there remains the threat of
undesirable consequences.
 The inclusion of providing opportunity for education for children as a
Fundamental duty is a big step forward towards safeguard of human-
rights and abolition of social injustices.
 RELATION BETWEEN RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Rights and duties are necessarily co relative. According to one view, every
right has a corresponding duty. Therefore,, there can be no duty unless
there is someone to whom it is due. There can be no right without a
corresponding duty or a duty without a corresponding right, just as there
cannot be parent without a child. Every duty is a duty towards some
person or persons in whom a corresponding right is vested. Likewise,
every right is right against some person or persons upon whom a co
relative duty is imposed. Every right or duty involves a vinculum juris or a
of legal obligation by which two or more persons are bound together.
There can be no duty unless there is someone to whom it is due.
Likewise, there can be no right unless there is someone from whom it is
claimed.

 According to HOLLAND every right implies the active or passive

forbearance by others of the wishes of the party having the right. The
forbearance on the part of others is called a duty. A moral duty is that
which is demanded by the public opinion of society and a legal duty is
that which is enforced by the power of the state.

 The view of SALMOND is that rights and duties are co relatives. If there
are duties towards the public, there are rights as well. There can be no
duty unless there is some person to whom that duty is due. Every right or
duty involves a bond of obligation. Minerva mills ltd v. union of India

 The SUPREME COURT observed that there may be a rule which

imposes an obligation on an individual or authority, and yet it may not be
enforceable in court of law, and therefore not give rise to a
corresponding enforceable right in another person. But it would still be a
legal rule because it prescribes a norm of conduct to be followed by such
individual or authority. The law may provide a mechanism for
enforcement of this obligation, but the existence of the obligation does
 not depend upon the creation of such mechanism. The obligation exists
prior to and independent of, the mechanism of enforcement. A rule of
law because there is no regular judicial or quasi-judicial machinery to
enforce its command. Such a rule would exist despite any problem
relating to its enforcement.

 Rights and duties are two phases of the same thing. Rights are considered
to be essential for the expansion of human personality. They offer to the
individual a sufficient scope for free action and thus prepare ground for
self-development.

 Although rights arc of great significance in a democratic stale yet they

become meaningless in the absence of duties. Rights involve obligations
as well.

 An individual has rights so that he may make his contribution to the social
good. One has no right to act unsocially, man’s rights imply his claims on
society and duties indicate the claim of society on the individual. This
means that an individual owes to the society certain duties as he obtains
rights

According to PROF. LASKI there is a four-fold connection between rights

and duties.

1. My Right implies Your Duty:

Every right of an individual involves a corresponding duty of others. For

example, my right to life implies that others should give protection and
security to my life.

My right to move about freely implies a corresponding duty resting on

others that they should not interfere with my free movement.
2. My Rights imply My Duty to admit a similar Right of others:

The conditions of life which I need for myself arc also needed by others.
This indicates that every right is a duty in itself. If an individual exercises a
right, he must bear in mind that the same right belongs to others as well.

If I have the right to freedom of speech, it is my duty to see that I may not
be a hindrance in the free exercise of this right by others.

3. I should exercise My Right to promote Social Good:

A person He guarantees the rights to the majority in the society to

remove the should not abuse the right given to him by the State.

For example, if he uses the right to freedom of speech for spreading

communal bitterness or society cannot deprive man of these rights; these
are inherent and to preach violence and anarchy, it becomes an act
counter to the social alienable rights, good. The state will then be
justified in depriving the person of his right if he has abused it.

4. Since the State guarantees and maintains My Rights, I have the Duty
to support the State:

It becomes my cardinal duty to serve the state in full spirit. If rights spring
to us from the becomes our duty to perform certain duties towards the
state. If the state protects us, it becomes our cardinal duty that we should
pay taxes regularly and s remain faithful and loyal to the state. Treachery
is a crime.

Thus, it is quite clear that rights and duties are so closely related to each
other, that they cannot be separated from each other. If every individual
pays ‘ attention only to his rights and does not perform his duties to
others, rights o individual will cease to exist.
There is a close relationship between the rights and duties. They are the
same conditions viewed from different angles. They are the two sides of
the same coin. If we have the right to speech, writing, wandering, running
institutions and any religion we like, it is our duty, at the same time that
we should not spread evils in society by our writing work or by our
lectures.

If we have the right to vote, we should make the proper use of this right
and cast our vote in favour of the honest and deserving candidate. If we
have the right to make the use of roads for our vehicles, it becomes, at
the same time, our duty that we should keep to the left so as to avoid
accidents.
BIBLIOGRAPHY