Fundamental Duties

Rights and duties are two sides of the same coin. My right to a clean street depends on everyone's duty not to litter. The original Constitution listed the rights of citizens but said nothing about their duties. This was corrected in 1976.

How the duties were added

On the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee, the 42nd Amendment (1976) added a new Part IVA with a single article, Article 51A, listing ten Fundamental Duties. The idea was drawn from the constitution of the former Soviet Union. The 86th Amendment (2002) added an eleventh duty, about education.

The eleven duties

It shall be the duty of every citizen of India:

1. to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and the national anthem;
2. to cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national struggle for freedom;
3. to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
4. to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
5. to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood among all the people of India, rising above religious, linguistic and regional differences, and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
6. to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
7. to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures;
8. to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
9. to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
10. to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity, so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of achievement;
11. as a parent or guardian, to provide opportunities for education to one's child or ward between the ages of six and fourteen years.

(The list above gives each duty in slightly simplified words.)

Are the duties enforceable?

Like the Directive Principles, the Fundamental Duties cannot be enforced directly through a court. There is no punishment in the Constitution for failing to perform them. But Parliament can make laws to give effect to them, and several exist: for example, laws against insulting the national flag and anthem, against damage to public property, and for the protection of wildlife and the environment. Courts also keep the duties in mind when they interpret laws.

Duties and rights compared

• Fundamental Rights are available to all citizens, and some to foreigners too. Fundamental Duties apply only to citizens.
• Rights can be enforced in court; duties cannot.
• Rights are claims of the individual against the State; duties are obligations of the individual towards the nation and society.

Living the duties as a student

The duties are not abstract. Standing in respect for the national anthem, keeping the classroom and the park clean, not scribbling on monuments, saving water, planting a tree, asking "why?" in a science class, treating classmates of every religion and language as friends, and refusing to join in teasing a girl are all ways of carrying out Article 51A every day.