Previous Year Question
In the context of India, which one of the following is the correct relationship between Rights and Duties?
Rights are correlative with Duties.
Rights are personal and hence independent of society and Duties.
Rights, not Duties, are important for the advancement of the personality of the citizen.
Duties, not Rights, are important for the stability of the State.
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Rights and duties are correlative and complementary. Effective enjoyment of one person’s right ordinarily depends upon the State and other members of society performing corresponding duties.
For example:
A person’s right to life is accompanied by the duty of others not to harm that life and the State’s duty to provide protection.
Freedom of expression carries a responsibility to respect the reputation and rights of others and public order.
The right to a clean environment corresponds with the citizen’s duty to protect the environment under Article 51A(g).
A child’s right to education under Article 21A is connected with the duty of a parent or guardian under Article 51A(k) to provide educational opportunities.
Option (a) is correct. Rights protect individual liberty, dignity and development, while duties ensure that rights are exercised with due regard for social interests and the rights of others.
Option (b) is incorrect. Rights are exercised within society. No right can be completely independent of society, law and the rights of other individuals.
Option (c) is incorrect. Rights are essential for the development of personality, but duties are also important. Duties promote discipline, tolerance, responsibility and social cooperation.
Option (d) is incorrect. Duties alone cannot ensure the stability of a State. If the State fails to protect rights, governance may become oppressive. Democratic stability requires both rights and duties.
The Indian Constitution balances them in the following manner:
Part III guarantees Fundamental Rights.
Part IV prescribes social and economic responsibilities of the State.
Part IVA and Article 51A prescribe Fundamental Duties of citizens.
The freedoms under Article 19 are accompanied by reasonable restrictions relating to the rights of others, public order, security of the State and morality.
The correlation between rights and duties does not mean that every Fundamental Right necessarily has one identical Fundamental Duty corresponding to it. It means more broadly that a system of rights depends upon citizens and the State performing related responsibilities.