• Dictionary meaning of word “RIGHTS” is a moral or legal entitlement to have or do something.
• Rights are the claims to do or have certain things which are essential for complete development of every citizen, Using these rights citizen can live dignified life without any harassment or interference by the state or any other individual.
• The rights of Indian Citizens are discussed in Part III of Indian constitution.

Fundamental Rights:

• India is a democratic nation, hence the state guarantees certain basic or fundamental rights to all its citizens.
• It helps in smooth functioning of the state and therefore the goals of social, economic, political and cultural development of the nation can be achieved.
• These rights safeguard every citizen against the abuse or misuse of power by the government.
• At the same time from an individual or a group. It provides protection for religious, cultural, social and political minorities. Indian constitution has given SIX fundamental rights.

Actual Extract of Constitution is as follows

Article 12: Definition:

• In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, “the State” includes the Government and Parliament of
  India and the Government and the Legislature of each of the States and all local or other authorities within the
  territory of India or under the control of the Government of India.

Article 13: Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights:

1. All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.
2. The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by this Part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.
3. In this article, unless the context otherwise requires,—
   (a) “law” includes any Ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having
   in the territory of India the force of law;
   (b) “laws in force” includes laws passed or made by a Legislature or other competent authority in the
   territory of India before the commencement of this Constitution and not previously repealed, notwithstanding that any such law or any part thereof may not be then in operation either at all or in particular areas.
4. Nothing in this article shall apply to any amendment of this Constitution made under article 368. ( Added by the Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, November 1971, s.2. by the then Indira Gandhi government)

Analysis:

• Article 13 that the Constitution prohibits the Parliament and the state legislatures from making laws that “may take away or abridge the fundamental rights” guaranteed to the citizens of the country.
• The provisions under Article 13 ensure the protection of the fundamental rights and consider any law “inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights” as void.
• The Supreme Court has observed that the Article 13 refers to a ‘legislative’ law (made by a legislature) and does not include a ‘constituent’ law (made to amend the Constitution)
• Using article 13. The Indian judiciary is approached to ensure fairness in administrative action
• Using article 13. The Indian judiciary is approached to rule on questions of legislative competence, mainly in the context of Center-state relations.
• Article 13 section 4 was added by the Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, November 1971, s.2. by the then Indira Gandhi government. The objective was to nullify the Supreme Court’s ruling that had left the Parliament with no power to curtail the Fundamental Rights. This provision added more power to the Parliament when it comes to amending the Constitution. It brought Fundamental Rights within the purview of amendment procedure and judicial intervention or review of those amendments was prohibited. The amendment faced criticism from media, the jurists and the members of the Constituent Assembly. This new provision made it obligatory for the President to give his assent when a Constitution Amendment Bill is submitted to him.

Actual Extract of Constitution for Right of Equality is as follows

Article 14: Equality before law:

• The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.

Article 15: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth:

1. The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
2. No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to (a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or (b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public.
3. Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.
4. Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision
   for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes
   and the Scheduled Tribes. (Added by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, s. 2.)
5. Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 shall prevent the State from making
   any special provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of
   citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so far as such special provisions relate to their
   admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by
   the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30.

Article 16: Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment:

• There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State.
• No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State.
• Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament from making any law prescribing, in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office [under the Government of, or any local or other authority within, a State or Union territory, any requirement as to residence within that State or Union territory] prior to such employment or appointment.
• Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments
  or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.
• Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for reservation 3[in matters
  of promotion, with consequential seniority, to any class] or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State.]
• Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from considering any unfilled vacancies of a year which are reserved for being filled up in that year in accordance with any provision for reservation made under clause (4)
  or clause (4A) as a separate class of vacancies to be filled up in any succeeding year or years and such class of
  vacancies shall not be considered together with the vacancies of the year in which they are being filled up for
  determining the ceiling of fifty percent. reservation on a total number of vacancies of that year.]
• Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any law which provides that the incumbent of an office
  in connection with the affairs of any religious or denominational institution or any member of the governing body thereof shall be a person professing a particular religion or belonging to a particular denomination.

Article 17: Abolition of Untouchability:

• “Untouchability” is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of “Untouchability” shall be an offense punishable in accordance with law.

Article 18: Abolition of titles:

1. No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State.
2. No citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign State.
3. No person who is not a citizen of India shall, while he holds any office of profit or trust under the State, accept without the consent of the President any title from any foreign State.
4. No person holding any office of profit or trust under the State shall, without the consent of the President, accept any present, emolument, or office of any kind from or under any foreign State

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• A body of fundamental rules and regulations according to which a country is organized and governed, is called a constitution.
• In constitution the structure and organization of government, its powers and functions are given. Besides this, the rights and duties of the people are also mentioned.
• The first constitution of the world is a document called Magna Carta (means Great Charter) was signed by King John of England on 15 June 1215. This was the first written documents regarding the structure and organization of government, its powers, and functions. Many democracies all over the world have based their constitutions on the guidelines of Magna Carta.

The Framing of Indian constitution:

• India got freedom from the British on 15 August 1947. British transferred the political power to India, To decide the source, objectives, and nature of the state was a major task.
• The framing of the Indian constitution was done by a constituent assembly, made up of people representing different opinions, all the communities and all the classes of India. Dr Rajendra Prasad was chairman of the constituent assembly.
• The Constituent Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9 December 1946 in the Constitution Hall which is now known as the Central Hall of Parliament House.  Those who present in a front row were Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Acharya J.B. Kripalani, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Smt. Sarojini Naidu, Shri Hare-Krushna Mahatab, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Shri Sarat Chandra Bose, Shri C. Rajagopalachari and Shri M. Asaf Ali. Two hundred and seven representatives, including nine women, were present.
• The Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days to be precise) to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India.
• During this period, it held eleven sessions covering a total of 165 days. Of these, 114 days were spent on the consideration of the Draft Constitution.

Sessions of the Constituent Assembly:

• First Session: 9-23 December 1946
• Second Session: 20-25 January 1947
• Third Session: 28 April – 2 May 1947
• Fourth Session: 14-31 July 1947
• Fifth Session: 14-30 August 1947
• Sixth Session: 27 January 1948
• Seventh Session: 4 November 1948 – 8 January 1949
• Eighth Session: 16 May – 16 June 1949
• Ninth Session: 30 July – 18 September 1949
• Tenth Session: 6-17 October 1949
• Eleventh Session: 14-26 November 1949, on 26 th November 1949, the constitution of India was passed.
• The Assembly met once again on 24 January 1950, when the members appended their signatures to the Constitution of India

Important Committees of Constituent Assembly and Their Chairmen:

• Committee on the Rules of Procedure: Rajendra Prasad
• Steering Committee: Rajendra Prasad
• Finance and Staff Committee: Rajendra Prasad
• Credential Committee: Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar
• House Committee: B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
• Order of Business Committee:   K.M. Munsi
• Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag:   Rajendra Prasad
• Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly:  G.V. Mavalankar
• States Committee: Jawaharlal Nehru
• Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas: Vallabhbhai Patel
•  Minorities Sub-Committee:  H.C. Mookherjee
• Fundamental Rights Sub Committee: J.B. Kripalani
• North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee: Gopinath Bardoloi
• Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam) Sub-Committee:  A.V. Thakkar
• Union Powers Committee:  Jawaharlal Nehru
• Union Constitution Committee:  Jawaharlal Nehru
• Drafting Committee: B.R. Ambedkar

Republic of India:

• The constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950.
• India was declared the Sovereign Democratic Republic. Sovereign means an independent country which is not subject to any outside authority and not influenced by any outer power during the formulation of its foreign policies and internal affairs. Democratic means governed by people, for the people, and by the people. Republic means a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
• This day is celebrated as Republic Day in India.
• The event is celebrated by a grand military parade and floats, music and dances from different states of India in New Delhi on Rajpath.

Key Features of the Indian Constitution:

Federalism:

• Federalism refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country. In India, we have three level system.
  governments at the centre level, governments at the state level and  Panchayati Raj is the third level of government.
• India is a country of vast cultures and aspirations. Hence needs, culture, and aspirations of each region are different.  The person sitting in capital cannot take a decision on behalf of everyone in the country. Hence another level of government in the states is established so that decisions could be made for that particular region.
• Each state in India enjoys autonomy in exercising powers on certain issues. In the case of national concern, all of these states follow the laws of the central government.
• The Constitution of India contains lists that detail the issues that each level of government can make laws on.
• The Constitution specifies the source of income of each level of government.
• All persons in India are governed by laws and policies made by each of these levels of government.

Parliamentary Form of Government:

• The different levels of government consist of representatives who are elected by the people. 
• Members of the Constituent Assembly felt that the parliamentary form of government would help encourage a democratic mindset and break the clutches of traditional caste, class and gender hierarchies.
• People of India have a direct role in electing their representatives.
• Every citizen of the country, irrespective of his/her social background, can contest in elections.
• These representatives are accountable to the people.

Separation of Powers:

• There are three parts of the State. These are the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The legislature refers to our elected representatives of parliament or legislative assemblies. The executive is a smaller group of
  people who are responsible for implementing laws and running the government (Ministerial Council). The judiciary refers to the system of courts in this country.
• In order to prevent the misuse of power by any one branch of the State, the Constitution
  says that each of these parts should exercise different powers. Each part acts as a check on the other part of the State. Thus the balance of power between all three parts of the state is ensured.

Fundamental Rights in Indian Constitution:

• The section on Fundamental Rights in the constitution of India has often been referred to as the ‘conscience’ of the
  Indian Constitution.
• Fundamental Rights, protect citizens against the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by the State. The
  Constitution, thus, guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as well as against other individuals.
• Rights of minority communities are protected.  The Constitution guarantees the rights of minorities against
  the majority.
• In addition to Fundamental Rights, the Constitution also has a section called Directive Principles of State Policy. This is a guide to the independent Indian State to make laws and policies that help reduce the poverty of
  the masses.

Secularism:

• A secular state is one in which the state does not officially promote any one religion as the state religion.

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