"The true source of right is duty. If we all discharge our duties, rights will not be far to seek. If leaving duties unperformed we run after rights, they will
escape us like will-o-the wist, the more we pursue them, the farther they will
fly.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
The Constitution of India, the longest written Constitution of the world, has envisaged for a holistic approach towards civic life in our democratic polity. Certain non-derogable rights to empower the citizens have been guaranteed within the Constitution as Fundamental Rights. Since human conduct cannot be confined to the realm of Fundamental Rights, the Constitution has envisaged certain duties, which are correlated to these rights as they go hand in hand towards cementing the intrinsic principles of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice which are instilled in the very formation of the Constitution itself, and hence these duties have been described as Fundamental Duties.
True, the framers of the Constitution did not deem it appropriate to incorporate these duties in the text of the Constitution when it was originally promulgated. There could have been several reasons for this omission.
Firstly, the concept of Dharma is deeply rooted in Indian society. Certain duties are practiced by every Indian citizen regardless of a threat of penalty as they are considered sacrosanct.
Secondly, the duties of citizens are encapsulated in the preamble itself which contains not only the aspirations of the people i.e. the goals of the nation, but also the assurances of the Constitution.
It is thereby implied that whatever is required for the fulfillment of these goals be undertaken by every citizen as his/her duty towards the nation*1 in order to instil these ideals in the generations to come. Moreover, logically, the Fundamental Rights enlisted in the Constitution bring in an inference of a set of duties that are essential for their realisation. If these rights are to be available to people, they are indeed obligated to perform their corresponding duties.*2
A majority of the Amendments to the Constitution during the Emergency were scrapped by the 44th Amendment but the Parliament did not touch the Amendment on Fundamental Duties. That shows how the country seriously meant the duties to be written in the Constitution and to be instilled in civic life.
No democratic polity can ever succeed where the citizens are concerned only about their rights and are not willing to be active participants in the process of governance by assuming responsibilities, discharging citizenship duties, and coming forward to give their best to the country. Hence these duties not only instil the values that form the grundnorm of our society, but they also go even further to give an identity to the cherished nationalistic ideals of our struggle for freedom and hence enshrine the pillars on which our nation has been built upon. Towards that end it should be understood that there are three things which build a nation:
• The first is noble ideals.
• The second is the capability of the citizens for achieving these ideals.
• The third and very significant is also the constant and relentless effort made by each citizen to strive for excellence and take his country forward.
The Fundamental Duties in this sense act as the very foundation of human dignity and national character.
This Article is written by Mayank Pratham. He is currently pursuing his B.A.LL.B. at University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU and is in his first year.
REFERENCES
1. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Need to remember our fundamental duties as we remember our fundamental rights, The Indian Express (Nov. 26, 2019,10:47AM), https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/fundamental-duties-rights-indian-
constitution-6136622.
2. Trimbak K. Tope, Fundamental Duties and Justiciability (1982).
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