Fundamental Duties In India: Background, Implementation And Judicial Decisions

Key Takeaways

• Fundamental Duties were incorporated into the constitution by the 42nd Constitution Amendment Act of 1976.
• They consist of 11 duties of citizens, though originally contained 10.
• They were recommended by the Swaran Singh Committee.
• They are contained in Article 51A of Part IVA of the constitution.
• They are not legally enforceable in any court of law.

Introduction

Duties and rights are completely inseparable, as they are like two sides of a coin. In every sphere of life, whether it be your home, society, or country, wherever there exists a right, a corresponding duty exists. In the words of Swami Vivekananda, “By doing well the duty which is nearest to us, the duty which is in our hands now, we make ourselves stronger.”

India is a country that has a tradition of people performing their duties, right from historical times. The performance of one’s kartavya always found emphasis in our culture.Duties serve very useful services. A democratic country can never flourish if the citizens are unwilling to be active in governance, and assume responsibilities and fulfill duties.

Background

The constitution which came into effect on 26 January 1950, contained 395 articles and 8 schedules but had no mention of any fundamental duties. The concept of duties for the citizens was initially promulgated by Gandhi, who believed that “the true source of rights is duties, if we discharge our duties, rights will not be far to seek”.Shriman Narayana Agarwal ex-governor of Gujarat and a staunch Gandhian economist, who authored the Gandhian Constitution of Free India in 1946, gave a constitutional avatar to this thought. The Gandhian constitution intertwined fundamental duties with fundamental rights. It was laid down that all fundamental rights prescribed in the constitution were subject to the performance of the fundamental duties. Shriman Narayana’s approach of conjoining rights with the compliance of duties was a rare sight in those times, something which the constituent assembly themselves had overlooked.

The concept of fundamental duties was borrowed from the constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic.

Implementation

Fundamental rights which form the bedrock upon which the Indian society is built were frequently subject to deliberate and prolonged discussions among the assembly. But at the same time, there is no historical evidence that suggests that there were any important debates or discussions on Fundamental Duties. The constituent assembly had never considered including any duties for the citizens, despite being aware of its political, moral, and social importance.

Thus, it is important to understand how fundamental duties found their place in the constitution.

The fundamental duties were included in the constitution in Article 51A contained in Part-IV A by means of the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, often referred to as a “mini-constitution” or “Indira Constitution”,in the year 1976.The country was under emergency as proclaimed by Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister, on the grounds of “internal disturbance”. It came at a time when civil rights were curbed and elections were suspended. Thousands were arrested by the government under MISA.As per historian Ramachandra Guha, opposition leaders were jailed, and constitutional amendments were passed to prolong Mrs. Gandhi’s rule.

Political motives aside, Indira Gandhi sought to establish a democratic balance, wherein people would not only be conscious of their rights but their duties too. The idea behind introducing fundamental duties was never to smother the rights of the citizen. Thus, a formal committee headed by the then external affairs minister Swaran Singh was set up, to study the question of amendment of the constitution in the light of experience. The Swaran Singh Committee was further asked by the all-India congress committee to introduce certain obligations and fundamental duties, that are owed by every citizen to the nation.Fundamental Duties helped define the moral obligations of the people of India, and also promoted patriotism and universal brotherhood

Initially, there were 10 fundamental duties that were prescribed to the citizens, which intended to bring into line the Indian constitution with Article 29(1) of the universal declaration of human rights.The duties drawn by the committee included upholding India’s sovereignty, adherence to the Indian constitution,following the ideals of our freedom strugglers, the spirit of common brotherhood, preserving the natural environment, developing scientific temper, safeguarding public property, and ultimately striving for excellence. The committee had also recommended imposing penalties and punishments on citizens who did not abide by the duties, but the idea was rejected by congress. Thus, the fundamental duties, unlike the fundamental rights, are not legally enforceable.

H.R. Gokhale, who was the then law minister, justified the inclusion of fundamental duties, stating that a section of people in post-independent India, particularly during the emergency in 1975, had no intention of fulfilling their obligations or respecting the legal order established in the country. He called it a poem that embodied noble ideals of harmony and rhythm with the help of the impression of the hand of the PM.

In the year 2002, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government added another duty by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act which emphasized providing educational opportunities to children between 6-14 years.

Judicial Decisions

Though the fundamental duties are not enforceable legally, it does not mean that it holds no importance as held by the Apex Court in Minerva Mills Ltd v. Union of India [(1980) 3 SCC 625].Many Fundamental duties have been made legally enforceable through various laws. These include the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, National Honour Act 1971,the forest (conservation) act 1980 and thereby imposing punishments, obligations, and fines, acting as stringent regulations.

In the year 1998, the Justice Verma Committee was constituted to formulate a methodology and strategy for initiating a programme with the goal of teaching fundamental duties and enforcing them in educational institutions. InJaved v State of Haryana [(2003) 8 SCC 369], the supreme court observed that fundamental rights are to be read with fundamental duties and the directive principles of state policy and thus they should not be read in isolation.

Conclusion

A country can never survive if its citizens do not actively assume responsibility and contribute to nation-building. Every citizen has certain duties towards their country that they must fulfill. Despite them lacking legal enforceability, it is crucial that all citizens follow these duties.Being aware of our duties is just as important as being aware of our rights. Duties form the essence of democracy. Performance of these duties helps in uplifting the society.Any right not backed up by duties leads to anarchy.Thus,rights and duties must co-exist.