UNIT 8 RIGHTS AND CITIZENSHIP

Structure Objectives Introduction What is Citizenship?

8.2.1 Citizenship and Individualism 8.2.2 Citizenship and Multiculturalism

Citizenship and Rights in the Indian Constitution

8.3.1 8.3.2 8.3.3 8.3.4 8.3.5 Who are the Citizens of India? Recognition of Community in Indian Citizenship Directive Principles of State Policy Rights and Franchise Duties of Citizenship

Tensions in Citizenship
8.4.1 Citizenship and Gender

Pathways to Citizenship Let Us Sum Up Key Words Some Useful Books Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

8.0 OBJECTIVES
The constitution of India is a comprehensive document giving details about the rights and citizenship. When you finish reading this unit you should be able to understand the legal-formal aspects of citizenship as incorporated in Part I1 of the Constitution of India. .Reading it wifh Part 111, IV and IVA of the Constitution on Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties respectively, you should also be able to comprehend the nature of citizenship as envisaged by the constitution makers. After going through this unit you should be able to explain: the meaning of citizenship the specific nature of citizenship in India .. citizenship and rights in the constitution of India .* the elements of citizenship pathways to citizenship paradoxes 1 tensions and criticisms of citizenship

8.1 INTRODUCTION
Citizenship presents a range of issues and questions viz., what is citizenship? Is it a legal status allowing the enjoyment of certain rights or does it involve also duties and responsibilities? What are the elements of citizenship? Who is a citizen? What is the relationship between the citizen and the state? These and other questions have been at the core of what may be called a 'theory of citizenship'. It must be borne in mind that while citizenship aims to assure equality, socio-ecbnomic categories of gender, class, caste, race, nationality etc., determine the extent to which we enjoy our rights of citizenship, have access to the various conditions essential for the full development of our personalities, or even the extent to which we can exercise our duties of citizenship. While technological advances and globalisation have brought peoples of the world and within states closer, there is also a growing awareness of cultural differences among them. Important questions pertaining to inequalities among

Philosophy of Indian Constitution

nation-states in the world and-withinthem along lines of gender, class, caste, ethnicity, nationality etc., have been raised. While one may have grown up thinking that citizenship has to do with individual rights and duties, there has been a growing realisation that cultural / religious communities, while participating in the common national life, have also the right to maintain their own cultures. Rights of citizenship therefore, also have to cater to the needs of specific cultural groups. Issues of community rights have thus acquired much sig~lificancein recent scholarship and policy decisions. When we proceed to the other sections we must keep in mind the issues raised here viz., issues of individual and co~nmunityrights and the various factors which determine the enjoynlent of citizenship rights, in other words, citizenships' relationship to caste, class, gender, ethnicity and national identity.

8.2 WHAT. IS CITIZENSHIP?

Perhaps the most widely accepted definition of citizenship is 'full and equal membership in a political community'. This definition was given by the English Sociologist T. H. Marsllall in his work Citizenship and Social Class written in 1949. The philosophical roots of this definition can be traced to the Greek and Roman conceptions of man as a political being and citizenship as fhe capaciv to govern and to be governed. While the former is indicative of the primacy accorded to a man's identity as citizen (restricted only to free native-born men) requiring active participation in the political community (city-states), the Roman tradition brought in the idea of citizenship as a equality before the law. The janapadas of ancient legal / juridical status i~nplying India with their unique system of participatory decision-making'in popular assemblies of the people (the sabhas and samitis) which in some instances also elected the king, draw affinity with elements of Greek citizenship in that both are associated with autonomous, self-governing communities requiring active participation of citizens in the governance of the community.

8.2.1 Citizenship and Individualism

It was, however, the French Revolution and the 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens' that established the notion of the citizen as a 'free and autonomous individual' entitled to take part in making decisions that all are required to obey, combining thereby the classical notions of citizenship with individualism. With the development of capitalist market relations and the growing influence of liberalism in the nineteenth century, the notion of the citizens as individuals with private and conflicti~ig interests gradually gained primacy. The ideas of citizenship as a primarily civic activity, public spiritedness and active political participation in a community of equals were now being seen as belonging to the past.

8.2.2 Citizenship and Multi-culturalism

In much of liberal theory till most of the twentieth century, the bias in favour of the individual citizen continued and citizenship was seen as a legal status indicating the possession of rights which an individual citizen held equally with others. The dominant liberal model of citizenship has, however, been criticised precisely on these grounds. The idea that the (individual) citizen can enjoy rights independent of the community to which he/she belongs, has been questioned. Given that modern societies are' n~ulticultural, specific contexts, cultural, religious, ethnic, linguistic, etc., of citizens the are being seen as determining citizenship in significant ways. In most western religious and racial co~n~nunities pressed for rights which would have societies ethn~c, look at their special needs and would thereby substantiate the formal equality of citizenship. 'There is a growing effort to redefine citizenship by giving due importance to cultural differences among individuals and strike a balance between the numerous cultural, religious, ethnic, linguistic identities while constructing a common political

identity of the citizen of the nation. A notion of 'differentiated citizenship' has therefore gained currency to accommodate the needs of specific cultural groups.

Rights and Citizenship

8.3 CITIZENSHIP AND RIGHTS IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

In this section we shall study the definition, nature and scope of citizensliip in India. The enforcement of the Constitutioli on 26th January 1950 made an importa~it difference to the status of the people of India. Tliey were no longer British subjects, but citizens of the Republic of India and derived their status as such from the Constitution, wliich they, in their collective capacity as tlie 'people' of India (through their 'representatives' in tlie Colistituent Assembly) enacted, adopted and gave to themselves. Implicit in the Preamble is the commitment to 'secure' to all its citizens, justice, liberty, equality and fraternity - ideals, wliicli set tlie grounds for giving substance to citizenship.

8.3.1 Who are the Citizens. of India?

Part 1 of the Constitution (Articles 5 to 1 l), titled Citizenship, answers the qiiestion 1 'Who is a citizen of India?' at tlie time of the colnlnencement of tlie Constitution on 26 November 1949, i.e. the date on wliicli the Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly. While the Constitution came into full force only on 26 January 1950, provisions dealing with citizensliip (Articles 5 to 9), became operative on the date of its commenceme~it. Tlie distinction between tlie Indian citizen and the noncitizen (alien) thus becanie effective on this date. While a citizen elljoys certain rights and performs duties wliicli distinguisli himllier from an alien, the latter lias certain rights of 'personhood' wliicli sllie possesses irrespective of the fact that slhe i's not a citizen. Under Articles 5 to 8 of the Constitution the following categories of persons became the citizens of India at the date of the commencement of Constitution:
a) those domiciled and born in India; b) tliose domiciled, not born in India but either of wliose parents was born in India; C) those domiciled, not born in India, but ordinarily resident in India for more than five years; d) those resident in India, who migrated to Pakistan after 1 March 1947 and returned later on resettlement permits; e) those resident in Pakistan, who migrated to India before 19 July 1948 or those who came afterwards but stayed on for more than 6 months and got registered; f) tliose whose parents and grandparents were born in India but were residing outside India.

Through Article 1 1 the Constitution autliorised the Parliament to make laws pertaining to acquisition and termination of citizenship subsequent to tlie commencement of the '~onstitution. Tlie Citizenship Act (LVII of 1955) made elaborate provisions specifying how citizenship could be acquired by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation or through incorporation of territory. Tlie Act was amended i l l 1986 to deal with largescale lnigratio~ifrom Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and some African countries. Unlike the United States of America (U.S.A.) where citizens have dual citizenship, national citizenship and that of the federal unit (states), Indians do not have separate citizenship of the states. Unlike some countries which allow its citizens to hold simultaneously multiple citizenship is permitted in Italy), an the citizenship of two cou~itries'(e.~., Indian citizen loses herlliis citizenship if sllie acquires tlie citizenship of another country.

Philosophy of Indian Constitution

8.3.2 Recognition of Community in India's Citizenship

We mentioned in the previous section that the notion of citizenship as prevalent in the nineteenth century and understood thereafter, was largely a system of rights and obligations that defined the relationship between nation-states and their individual members. The defining parameters of this relationship was constituted by equajity and freedom. Equality hinted at an identity and sameness as against iniquitous systems based on ascriptive hierarchies of race and caste. Freedom read with equality would then imply a freedom to pursue individual aims and aspirations to the best of one's capacities in conditions where social differences have been negated or minimised. The citizen in liberal theory was thus the 'floating individual' shorn of all characteristics of his / her social context. It may be pointed out, however, that these defining principles of citizensliip were not seen as commensurate with the kind of social relations whicli existed in non-western societies e.g., India, where religion and caste were seen as the basis of social life. This so called 'difference' in the organisation of tlie social structures in the West and East was sought by the colonisers as a justification for subjecting the colonised population(s) to imperial rule. We also saw that liberal theory in the eighties is increasingly seeking ways to accommodate itself to multicultural societies in the West and the realisation that community membership forms a significant determining factor of the individual member's needs and capacities. If one reads carefully Part III of the Constitution of India enumerating the Fundamental Rights of the citizens of India, one notices that both the individual and the community have been made the subjects of these rights. One can say therefore, that there exists two languages of rights in the constitution, one catering to the individual citizen and the other to the community. By and large Articles 14 to 24 appear to give to individual citizens the various rights of equality and freedom while Articles 25 to 30, seem to cater to the specific needs of religious-cultural communities. A closer reading of the Articles would, however, show that there is in fact no compartmentalisation and some seemingly individual-catering rights are interwoven with a commitment to community rights. If, for example, one looks at Articles 14 and IS, one sees that they assure equality before the law for every citizen and seek to substantiate this equality by prohibiting discriminatio~i based on caste, religion, race etc., thus mitigating differences provided by social contexts. The articles, however, also reserve for the state a commitment to community-ship, in other words, allowing for certain rights in favour of Scheduled Castes, Sclieduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. Thus Article 15 lays down that 'The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them' and then in clause (4) reserves for the state the right to make 'any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes'. Similarly Article 16 which guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment, also provides for compensatory discrimination in favour of certain communities. Article 17 abolishes untouchability, a debilitating condition imposed on the Scheduled Castes. Articles 25 to 30 concern themselves with freedom of religion and minority rights assuring freedom of conscience, the freedom to religious communities to establish and maintain religious ilistitutions and to 'manage their ow11affairs in matters of religion', to acquire and administer property, impart religious education, preserve their language, script, culture etc. This cluster of rights deals explicitly with the rights of religious and cultural communities and minority groups and also f o r m the basis of tlie rights of religious communities to ad~niliister themselves in civil matters by their own 'personal laws'. A significant factor in this cluster of rights is the scope given to the Indian state to regulate, reform and in some cases administer these communities and institutions. Thus, while the (individual) citizen of liberal theory persists as a subject of rights, the Constitution gives significance to tlie tommunity as a relevant collective unit determining the circumstances of the lives of individuals. The Indian Constitution has thus made community membership a relevant consideration for differentiation among citizens, so

that equality among citizens could be made more substantive. It has introduced thus a 'differentiated-citizenship' to assure that Communities (e.g. Scheduled Castes or Dalits) which had in the past been victims ofsocial discrimination and continue to be disadvantaged, were able to compete on equal terms with the rest of society. Social equality was also substantiated by assuring that while the claims of each community to be culturally difference could be preserved, there would at the same time be an assurance of sameness or equality among communities. The rights of the various communities to preserve their cultural heritage was therefore recognised in the Constitution and the state was to assure non-discrimination. Thus, social and religious communities were given the right to be culturally different and the state was to assist them in preserving their difference. At the same time, the notion of social equality also required that historical disabilities were compensated and equality was made substantive by assuring equality of opportunities. Thus caste communities were compensated for past discriminations and segregation by including them in the body politic as equal citizens. This equality was assured by giving them special provisions to overcome circumstantial disabilities. A policy of reservations in public employ~nent was therefore envisaged. (Gurpreet Mahajan, Identities and Rights, Aspects o f Liberal Democracy in India, OUP, Delhi, 1998, Chapter: Introduction: Negotiating Differences Within Liberalism).

Rights and Citizenship

8.3.3 Directive Principles of State Policy

Part IV of the Constitution, titled Directive Principles of State Policy, contains certain non-justiciable rights. These rights, unlike the ones in the preceding section, are not enfol'ceable by courts, but are in the nature of reminders or directives for lawmaking, to usher'in conditions in which the rights enumerated in the previous section become more meaningful. Like the previous section, however, the rights in this section too, show a 'simultaneous commitment' to both 'community-ship' and 'citizen-ship', in other words to both the community and the individual citizen. Article 38 for example directs the State to commit itself to 'promote the welfare of the people' by promoting a 'social order' in which 'justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life'. To achieve this the state is asked to 'strive to minimise inequalities of income' and also 'eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities'. The significant reminder, however, is that this justice and equality is to be achieved 'not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations'. Article 46 likewise instructs the States to 'promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular, of the sclleduled Castes and Tribes' and 'protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation'. By and large the Directive Principles envisage an active role of the state in providing a range of socially ameliorative or welfare rights ranging from access to an adequate means of livelihood, equal pay for equal work, health arid strength of workers, living wage for workers, provision of just and humane conditions of work, right to work, to education, to public assistance, to equal justice and free legal aid, to adequate nutrition and health etc. Article 44 of the Directive Principles enjoins the State to 'secure for all its citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India'. This article needs special attention because it encapsulates what we earlier mentioned as the Constitution's 'simultaneous commitment' to individual and community rights. It moreover, provides a window into the tensions which inform citizenship, and its criticism from some quarters, especially the feminists. We shall take the article and its implications in detail in the following section.

8.3.4 Rights and Franchise

Apart from the provisions in these Parts, other sections of the Constitution, are also interspersed with provisions which give substance to citizenship. Provisio~ls

Philosophy of Indian Constitution

to 'elections' and 'franchise' are especially ilnportant in the context of the long history of deprivation of political rights under colonial rule. It is significant that the Constitution made 'universal adult franchise' the basis of elections to the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly of States. Article 326 of the Constitution conferred voting rights to all citizens above the age of 21 (changed to 18 by the Constitution 61st Amendment Act of 1988, with effect from 1 April 1989). It is crucial that the Constitution did not lay down any property and education criteria. Women, who in most western countries were enfranchised only in the present century, were also enfranchised on equal footing with men.

8.3.5 Duties of Citizenship

The constitutional provisions of citizensllip and rights discussed so tar might lead one to believe that citizenship is only about a legal status, defining who are the citizens of India and what are their rights or the conditions in which these rights might be enjoyed. A growing body of scholarship believes, however, that such a legal-formal corlceptualisatio~lof citizenship as status, is at best a passive notion, answering the question, who is a citizen, only partially. They would want us to move beyond these 'basic structures' (of equality and social justice) which the Constitution seeks to establish, to concentrate also on the notion of citizenship as a function of 'responsible' participation. Citizenship then, would transcend its passive connotation to become also a measure of activity. The basis of a citizen's sense of belonging to the national community, would come then from the attitudes and qualities of responsibility and virtues which distinguish her/him as a 'good' citizen. Responsible participation would manifest itself in diverse social situations viz., how citizens view or act amidst potentially competing forms of national, regional, ethnic, or religious identities; their ability to tolerate and work together wit11 others who are different from thenlselves; their desire to particjpate in the political process in order to promote the public good and hold political authorities accountable; their willingness to show self-restraint and exercise personal responsibility in their econolnic demands and personal choices which affect their health and environment etc. Such citizenship qualities, it is said, make a democracy stable and governable. Various voluntary institutions and organisations within society including schools, environmental groups, unions and associations are regarded as inculcating these virtues of citizenship. By an amendment (42nd Amendment Act, 1976) a list of Fundamental Duties of Citizens of India was inserted in the Constitution in the form of Article 51A in Part IVA. The legal status of Fundamental Duties, which are addressed to dle citizens is quite like the Directive Principles, which are addressed to the State, in the sense that there are no provisions for their direct enforcement. It may be pointed out here, however, that the Supreme Court has held the Fundamental Duties to be obligatory in nature and although there is no provision in the constitution for their ertforcement, any law seeking to implement them rnay be 'reasonable' under the law. The list of duties, which are 10 in number, nonetheless, gives an insight into what rnight be seen as constituting 'good' citizenship. Some of them enjoining citizens to strive towards 'excellence' and developing 'scientific temper' or safeguarding 'public property' appear generally to instill sincerity and responsibility. A general slant is, however, towards imbibing a sense of national commonality. It is thus a duty of every citizen of India to respect symbols of national unity like the national flag, the Constitution and the National Anthem and sources of common heritage like the 'national struggle for freedom' and the tradition of 'composite culture'. Citizens are also expected to preserve the 'sovereignty' and 'unity' of the country not only by pledging to 'defend' the country and offer 'national service' but also by spreading a feeling of 'common brotherhood'.
Check Your Progress Exercise 1 Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.

ii) Check your answers with model answers given at the end of this unit.

1)

What is citizenship? Describe modern notion o f citizenship.

l i g h t s and Citizenship

....................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................

2) How has the constitution sought to balance individual and community rights?

.......................................................................................................................
3)
What are the "non-justiciable" rights?

8.4

TENSIONS IN CITIZENSHIP

I t has often been pointed out that the Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles embody the value o f freedom and equality, made complete and substalitive by ideals o f economic and social justice. Criticisms coming from various quarters point out, however, that the nature o f citizenship in tlie Indian Constitution and the manner in which i t has unfolded over the years, have shown that the values o f freedom and equality have been largely elusive. Studying tlie nature o f empowerment o f citizens within the Constitution, A.R.Desai, a Marxist scholar points out the that not only are rights precarious nature o f rights i n the Constitution. He e~nphasises not resewed to the people, tliere is no preservatio~i f tlie Fundamental Riglits already o guaranteed to them. The Constitution itself permits and provides the procedure for their amendment and over-riding by the State. Further, the Directive Principles are not addressed to the people, which means that tlie people cannot move the courts to instruct the government to provide conditions in which their rights could be made more meaningful. Again, asserts Desai, while there does not appear to be any explicit system o f accountability for the State, the people are given some 'fundamental duties'. Desai feels that in the absence o f any similar obligations for the State, the provisions relating to Fundamental Duties could be used to abridge the basic rights o f citizens. Finally, the fact that certain basic rights such as tlie rights to work, shelter, education and medical amenities are not Fundamental Rights indicates the class and gender biases o f the Constitution-makers. Under such conditions large sections o f 'toiling' citizens i.e. the socially and economically underprivileged, including women, are forced to live in conditions in which their empowerment as citizens remains unrealised.

8.4.1 Citizenship and Gender

A major lacuna relating to tlie citizenship rights o f women lies in the fact that a crucial
in provision relating to tlie removal o f discrimination against women, co~iditions which substantive citizenship rigl;ts can be enjoyed by women are listed only as Directive Principles. Article 3 9 for example provides that the State shall 'direct its policies towards securing', (a) that tlie citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means o f livelihood; and (c) that there is equal pay for equal work for both

Philosophy o f I n d i a n Constitution

rnen and women. Although the courts have in certain cases intervened to provide equal pay'for equal work, substantive eco~iomic equality for women remains elusive. Legally too, women face numerous disabilities. The provisions o f Article 44 o f the Directive Principles advising the State to 'secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory o f India' has been particularly in focus in recent years. Various women's groilps have demanded that this directive be implemented to rectify women's subordinate positio~iin matters pertaining to marriage, dowry, divorce, parentage, guardianship, maintenance, inlieritance, succession etc., which are presently determined by the 'personal laws' o f specific religious communities. While there is a diversity o f opinio~i among women's groups, they liave by and large, demanded a system of gender-just laws which would help them realise tlieir potential as citizens.

8.5 PATHWAYS TO CITIZENSHIP

Towards tlie beginning, we defined citizensliip as 'ful I' and 'equal' membersliip in a community, i~nderstood tlie modern context as the nation-state. We have seen that in social I economic contexts (caste, gender, class, religion) are important factors deterlninilig tlie extent to wliicli a persoli is able to realize this 'full' and 'equal' membership. l'lie Constitution, as we have seen, holds out tlie promise o f assuring this real isation for a l sections o f people, by re~noving 1 debilitating circumstances or providing enabling conditions. Tlie previous section, liowever, also shows 11sthat at any give11moment, tlie realisation o f citizenship is mediated by class, gender, religion, caste etc., in mutually incompatible or even a~itagonistic o f alignments. Tlie State set itself may fail in its proniise o f providing the resources for the realisatio~i f citizenship o even become an aggressor and violator and alternatively, it may, through its institi~tions o f citizens' riglits. 1-his, however, does not mean that citize~isliip s a static category. i The history o f the origins o f citizenship as a system o f equality against hierarchical and ascriptive inequalities has shown that citizensliip lias always been a mosaic o f struggles. People's movements have historically been conducive to the enhancement o f citizensliip riglits. Tlie suffrage movemelits in western countries succeeded in getting the right to vote for women. Workers movements worldwide have contributed towards the regulation o f work hours, amelioratio~io f work conditions and welfare measures for industrial workers. A range o f popular movements and struggles seeking to redefine or enlarge the frontiers o f citizenship have also occurred in India. Almost all o f them had roots in local situations but tlie issues tliey raised stranded up with similar issi~es raised elsewhere, and agitated the minds o f a wider public. The women's movement, tlie dalit movement, tlie environmental movement, the peasant niove~nelit etc., not only liigliliglit tlie manner in wliicli citizensliip is eroded but also bearings on tlle definition o f the nature and substance o f citizenship liave i~nportant riglits. The struggles by the people o f Nar~nada valley against tlie building o f Sardar Sarovar Dam, for example, liigliliglits tlie claims o f the people o f the Narmada valley to the riglit to protest against tlieir marginalisation at the hands o f the government. A t the very basis of tlie struggle, however, is also the consistent refusal o f the people o f tlie valley to give up tlieir identity, their history, tlieir culture and means o f livelihood, which tliey derived fro111 generations o f living as a self-sustaining community in the region. Tlie struggle thus aspires to check the erosion o f the rights o f people by the develop~nental policies of the State and also demands the provision o f social co~iditions which would make tlieir riglits substantive. Over tlie years a number o f governrne~ital institutions have also contributed towards the broadening o f tlie scope o f citizens' rights. I n recent years tlie Supreme Court lias positively responded to tlie Social Action Litigation (SAL) I Public Interest Litigations (PIL)) brought by Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) or concern9 individuals, adding facets to citizen's riglits. In several ways decisions by courts liave also

augmented the notion of citizen to bring certain ~narginalised sections into the orbit of rights. From the' late 1970s, for instance, tlie Supreme Court reversed the existing legal attitude towards prisoners to give them 'all rights enjoyed by free citizens except those which explicitly taken away by the terms of their sentence'. (Charles Sobraj vs. Superintendent, Central Jail, Tihar, AIR, 1978, SC, 15 14). Similarly, the National Commission for Women, set up in 1992, under a Parliamentary Act (The National Commissio~ifor Wome~iAct, 1990) has, through wide ranging investigative and recommendatory powers, concerned itself with matters relating to women's rights under the constitution and issues of women's socio-economic conditions, has health and violence against them. Over the years the Co~nmissio~i taken up cases of violence, torture. and harassment of wolneli (including molestation, rape, dowry family, in tlie related violence, custodial rape and death, torture and harassment witlii~i workplace, and issues of women's legal and political riglits for investigatio~iand redemption. Tlie National Human Riglits Com~nission another institution establislied is by an Act of Parliament (Tlie National Human Rights Act, 1993) to inquire into violations of people's rights. Institutions like the National Commission for Women and National Human Riglits Commission, when effectively used or pressurised by the people, could contribute towards substantiating citizenship.

Rights and Citizenship

Check Your Progress Exercise 2 Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
ii) Check your answers with the model answers given at the end of tliis unit. 1 ) What are the major limitations of Indian Constitiltion concerning citizenship rights of women and other under privileged sections?

2) In what way do the institutions, like National Colnmissio~ifor Woman and the National Human Rights Commission help us enhance our citizenship rights?

8.6

LET US SUM UP

The Indian Constitution gives rights to both tlie individual citizen and the community. It~creates thus the free and equal (individual) citizen and also attempts to preserve the identity of cultural communities. Frequently, however, community riglits may actilally

Philosoplly o f Indian Constitution

restrict citizenship rights o f some sections primarily that o f women. The particular contexts o f individual citizens (caste, class, gender etc.) greatly condition the extent to which rights may be enjoyed by people. Citizensllip is, however, not a static category and there are various ways in which the scope and substance o f these rights can be enhanced, through popular 1 individual initiative and struggle or through recourse to courts and institutions catering to public grievances.

8.7 KEY WORDS

Ascriptive Hierarchies
:

A hierarchy denotes. a pyramidal system o f inequality - a vertically organised structure where those at the top dominate the, rest. Ascriptive hierarchies would refer to systems where conditions o f birth would determine the hie'rarcliical organisation o f people. Caste system is an example o f ascriptive hierarchy. Citizens are full and equal members o f a political community wllicll in the present dominant global form o f political structure is the nation-state. A relatio~iship between the individual and the state based on reciprocal rights, duties and responsibilities. A collection o f people o r social group distinguished by a strong collective identity based on bonds o f comradeship, loyalty, duty as well as by ties o f emotion and kinship. The concept advocates the incorporation o f members o f certain (cultural) groups not only as individuals but also as members o f groups, their rights depending in part on this group membership catering to their special needs. Domicile refers ordinarily to a persons residence, generally o f a fixed and legally recognised nature. The lndian Constitution does not define domicile. A Supreme Court decision in 1966 (Md. Raza vs State o f Bombay, AIR, 1966 SC 1436) has established that a permanent residence and the intention to reside there indefinitely are two important constituents o f domicile. Ethnicity is commonly understood as a form o f distinctive cultural identity encompassing values and traditions. I t involves a sentiment o f loyalty towards a population, cultural groups or territorial area. Unlike sex whicll points at biological difference, gender refers to social and cultural distinctio~i betweell men and women. According to feminists gender discriminations take place when biological differences become the basis for different, dependent and subservient social roles and positions for women.

Citizens

Citizenship

Community

Differentiated citizenship

Domicile

Ethnicity

Gender

It refers to tlie web of interco~i~iectio~is I interdepetidence between the local, regional, national and iiiter~iatio~ial events, processes and decisions wliicli conditions tlie lives of individuals worldwide. Territorially determined cotn~nunities people of in ancient India for~ned.on basis of ethnicity, the dialect, social customs, geographical location and socio-political status. According to Puranic sources 165 janapadas distributed over seven regions existed in ancient India.
A political comni unity emplias ises political

Rights and Citizenship

,
Political community
'

allegiances and civic loyalties within the cornniu~iityrather than cultural/ernotional identity. Citizenship lias frequently beeri seen as a manifestation of this a'llegiancewliicli holds people together in a shared identity as citizens.
I !

Preamble (to the Constitution):

A document setting out the ideals, ainis and objects which tlie Constitution ri~akers intended to realise tliroi~glitlie co~istitutio~i.

Race

1I
I

I I 1
I

A scientifically and politically co~itroversial category, race refers to biological (genetic) differences which supposedly distinguish one group of people from another. For long, race lias beeri used to explain cultural differences among people, and the attribution of civilisational inferiority arid backwardness to sonie and superiority to others. The right to vote, or the exercising of that right.

Suffrage

8.8 SOME USEFUL BOOKS AND ARTICLES

D.D.Basu, Introduction to the Consfifutior~ Irlditr, Wadliwa and Company, Nagpi~r, o f latest edition (chapters dealing with Citizenship, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles). A.R.Desai, 'Emp~weringthe Sovereign Citizens of India: Sonie Constitutional Obstacles' in Ablia Avastlii ed. Social trnd Cultural Diversifies, D.P. Mukerji in Memorium, Rawat Publications, Jaipur, 1997. Niraja Gopal Jayal, Denlocracy and the State, OUP, Delhi, 1999, (Chapter 4, Section IV: Citizenship in the 1Varrnada Valley). Subhasli Kasliyap, Citizens and the Consfitution,Publications Division, Government of India, Delhi, 1997.
f Gurpreet Mahajan, Identities and Rights, Aspecfs o Liberal De~nocracyin hidiu, OUP, Delhi, 1998, (Chapter: Introduction: Negotiating Differences Within Liberalism).

,,,,..uph)

of Indian

o~rsI~tution

8.9

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1)
2) The ability to govern and be governed Free and autonomous individual entitled to take part i n the decision-making. By giving provisions for the protection o f rights o f the individuals and o f the specific religious and cultural communities.

3) The Directive Principles o f state policy.

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

1) 2) 1-he constitutional rights given to the citizens, especially the under-privileged are not properly guarenteed. They raise tlie issues relating to the rights o f wornen and other citizens through various means including the public Interest litigation and social Action Litigation.