[BLOG] This Republic Day I Pledge to Uphold My Fundamental Duties. Do You?

Nishant Gambhir talks about the importance of fundamental duties.

As a student of law, I have been trained over the years to work around and for equality. Equality is the result of a balance which is attained by creating a system of force and counter force. This is exactly how modern civil and sovereign societies are designed to function. Equality, liberty and sovereignty are the guiding principles of a good state. The other essential feature of modern day society is the rights which are given to the people. However, to establish a counter force as well as balance the rights, there are duties.

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Jurisprudence, the science and philosophy of justice, says that rights are what the state owes it’s people, but duty is what the people owe the state in return. It’s a plain and simple barter which maintains equilibrium and helps society progress.

However, over the years there seems to be a constant degeneration of the idea of duties, and now an imbalance has come in to the picture. People are getting more and more protective about their rights, primarily because they’re more aware (and a lot of people like us at Lex Do It are working hard to make people aware of their rights). However, they’re getting more and more ignorant about their duties.

Have a look at how well people know their duties:

A worrying trend, isn’t it? We urge you to be aware of your rights. In fact, come to us and we shall help you with them. However at the same time, don’t forget your duties, they’re equally important. With a lack of balance in the functioning of rights and duties, we as a nation will not reach where we’re destined to reach, where we deserve to reach.

Let’s pledge to do our bit for the nation and abide by the duties. Let us be Indians before individuals.

The Constitution of India in Article 51A enshrines 11 fundamental duties upon all citizens of India, namely:

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 which inspired our 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 amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; 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 endeavour and achievement.

Let’s work together to make India a better place.

Wishing you all a very happy Republic Day. Jai Hind!

Featured image: Flickr/Sean Ellis

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