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Article 24 prohibits child labour. As per this, no Right to Constitutional Remedies
child below the age of 14 years can be employed
to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any
other hazardous employment.
Right to Freedom of Religion
The right to freedom of religion has been provided
in Articles from 25 to 28. The ideal of secularism
has been realised by a number of provisions in the
Fundamental Rights in which religion is not made
the basis of any qualification. Also, there is no
state religion, that is, the state will respect all
religions equally and will keep equal distance
from all religions. Every citizen has the right to
worship, practise and propagate his religion. Every
religious group can manage its religious affairs. It
can own, acquire and administer property for
religious and charitable purposes.
Some people argue that this right is opposed to
the concept of a secular state. Replying to them,
Lakshmi Kant Maitra (a member in the Drafting
Committee) says, “By secular state, as I understand
it, is meant that the state is not going to make any
discrimination on the ground of religion or
community against any person professing any
particular form of religious faith. This means in
essence that no particular religion in the state will
receive any state patronage whatsoever.”
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The Fundamental Rights were inspired by England’s
Bill of Rights (1689), the United States Bill of
Rights, and the French Declaration of the Right of
man (created during the revolution of 1789).
Cultural and Educational Rights
The Cultural and Educational Rights have been
given in Articles 29 and 30. India is home to
people of different religions, communities,
cultures, races, languages and castes. The
Constitution guarantees to all these people the
right to conserve their language, script and
culture, to receive education and administer any
educational institutions of their choice. This
Article also states that no discrimination will be
practised against them on this ground.
Contemporary Social Science-8
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In the above discussion, we have mentioned the
Fundamental Rights that have been conferred by
the Constitution of India. But what happens when
a Fundamental Right is violated by the
government or any other person? This is a
pertinent question. The Right to Constitutional
Remedies offers the solution. This right is given in
Article 32 and 32-A. It gives all citizens a right to
move the judiciary for the enforcement of the
rights. That is, if a Fundamental Right has been
violated by the state or any other person, then a
complaint can be filed in the Supreme Court or
High Court .
Thus, this Fundamental Right makes all other
rights feasible. This can be called the most
important Fundamental Right. Dr. Ambedkar said
about this, “If I was asked to name the particular
Article in this Constitution as the most important
without which this Constitution would be a
nullity, I could not refer to any other Article
except this one.”
Quiz Time
Fill in the blanks :
1. The ____________ and ____________ Rights
have been given in Articles 29 and 30.
2. Article 24 prohibits ____________ .
3. Article 19 deals with the right to
____________ .
4. Every citizen has the right to worship, practise
and propagate his ____________ .
5. The Right to Constitutional Remedies offers the
____________ .
An Assessment of Fundamental Rights
The Fundamental Rights as mentioned in the
Constitution of India are not absolute because a
person’s right is subject to the right to other
person’s right. That is, every right carries with it a
responsibility. Besides, certain restrictions are
imposed on the enjoyment of Fundamental Rights
so that national security, social decency and law
and order are not compromised. Therefore, the
enactment of certain laws, such as POTA , can be