Dept of Political Science 

CIA III
Course Teacher: Ms. Manisha
Name: Lingam Monisha

Class: BA II Section A

Group: HPP

Roll No: 120420156003

Academic Year 2020-2021

Email id of the student: [email protected]

Mobile No: 9100213566

Sem: IV

Topic: Fundamental Duties

Code No: Constitution and policies of India– Sem IV / Course Code No: 404

Course Teacher: Ms. Manisha

 Fundamental Duties
INTRODUCTION:
Though the rights and duties of the citizens are
correlative and inseparable, the original constitution
contained only the fundamental rights and not the
fundamental duties. In other words, the framers of the
constitution did not feel it necessary to incorporate the
fundamental duties of the citizens in the constitution.
However, they incorporated the duties of the state in the
constitution in the form of directive principles of state
policy (DPSP). Later in 1976, the fundamental duties of
citizens were added in the constitution. In 2002, one more
fundamental duty was added.
The Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution are inspired by the
constitution of erstwhile USSR. Notably, none of the constitutions of
major democratic countries like USA, Canada, France, Germany,
Australia and so on specifically contain a list of duties of citizens.
Japanese constitution is, perhaps, the only democratic constitution in
the world which contains a list of duties of citizens. The socialist
countries, on the contrary, gave equal importance to the fundamental
rights and duties of their citizens. Hence, the constitution of erstwhile
USSR declared that the citizen’s exercise of their rights and freedom
was inseparable from the performance of their duties and obligations.
 Swaran Singh Committee Recommendations

In 1976, the Congress party set up the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee to make
recommendations about fundamental duties, the need and necessity of which was felt during
the operation of the internal emergency (1975-1977). The committee recommended the
inclusion of a separate chapter on fundamental duties in the constitution. It stressed that the
citizens should become conscious that in addition to the enjoyment of rights, they also have
certain duties to perform as well. The Congress government at centre accepted these
recommendations and enacted the 42nd constitutional amendment act in 1976. This
amendment added a new part, namely, Part IV A to the constitution. This new part consists of
only one article that is, Article 51 A which for the first time specified a code of 10 fundamental
duties of the citizens. The ruling Congress party declared the non-inclusion of fundamental
duties in the constitution as a historical mistake and claimed that what the framers of the
constitution failed to do was being done now. Though
 Though the Swaran Singh Committee suggested the incorporation of 8 fundamental
duties in the constitution, the 42nd constitutional amendment act (1976) included 10
fundamental duties.
Interestingly, certain recommendations of the Committee were not accepted by the
Congress party and hence, not incorporated in the constitution.
These include:

No law imposing such

The parliament may penalty or punishment
provide for the shall be called in
imposition of such question in any court on Duty to pay taxes
penalty or punishment the ground of should also be a
as may be considered infringement of any of
appropriate for any the fundamental rights or fundamental duty
non-compliance with on the ground of of the citizens
or refusal to observe repugnancy to any other
provisions of the
any of the duties. constitution.
 List of Fundamental Duties

According to Article 51 A, it shall be the duty of every citizen of India:

 To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and
the national anthem.

 To cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national struggle for freedom.

 To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

 To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.

 To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of
India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to
renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

 To value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture.
To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers
and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.

To develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.

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; and

To provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the age of 6
and 14 years. This duty was added by the 86 th constitutional amendment act,
2002.
 Features of the Fundamental Duties
Following points can be noted with regard to the characteristics of the Fundamental Duties:

1. Some of them are moral duties while others are civic duties. For instance, cherishing noble
ideals of freedom struggle is a moral precept and respecting the constitution, national flag and
national anthem is a civic duty.

2. They refer to such values which have been a part of the Indian tradition, mythology, religions
and practices. In other words, they essentially contain just a codification of tasks integral to the
Indian way of life.

3. Unlike some of the fundamental rights which extend to all persons whether citizens or
foreigners, the fundamental duties are confined to citizens only and do not extent to foreigners.

4. Like the DPSP, the fundamental duties are also non-justiciable. The constitution does not
provide for their direct enforcement by the courts. Moreover, there is not legal sanction against
their violation. However, the parliament is free to enforce them by suitable legislation.
 Criticism of Fundamental Duties
The fundamental duties mentioned in Part IV A of the constitution have been criticised on the
following grounds:

1. The list of duties is not exhaustive as it does not cover other important duties like casting
vote, paying taxes, family planning and so on. In fact, duty to pay taxes was recommended
by the Swaran Singh Committee.

2. Some of the duties are vague, ambiguous and difficult to be understood by the common
man. For example, different interpretations can be given to the phrases like ‘noble ideals’,
‘composite culture’, ‘scientific temper’ and so on.

3. They have been described by the critics as a code of moral precepts due to their non-
justiciable character. Interestingly, the Swaran Singh Committee had suggested for penalty
or punishment for the non-performance of fundamental duties.
4. Their inclusion in the constitution was described by the critics
as superfluous. This is because the duties included in the
constitution as fundamental would be performed by the people
even though they were not incorporated in the constitution.

5. The critics said that the inclusion of fundamental duties as an

appendage to Part IV of the constitution had reduced their
value and significance. They should have been added after
PART III so as to keep them on par with fundamental rights
 Significance of Fundamental Duties
In spite of criticisms and opposition, the fundamental duties are considered significant
from the following viewpoints:

1.They serve as a reminder to the citizens that while enjoying their rights, they should
also be conscious of duties they owe to their country, their society and to their fellow
citizens.

2.They serve as a warning against the anti-national and antisocial activities like burning
the national flag, destroying public property and so on.

3.They serve as a source of inspiration for the citizens and promote a sense of
discipline and commitment among them. They create a feeling that the citizens are not
mere spectators but active participants in the realization of national goals.
4.They help the courts in examining and determining the constitutional validity of a
law. In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that in determining the constitutionality of any law, if a
court finds that the law in question seeks to give effect to a fundamental duty, it may consider
such law to be ‘reasonable’ in relation to Article 14 (equality before law) or Article 19
(six freedoms) and thus save such law from unconstitutionality.

5.They are enforceable by law. Hence, the Parliament can provide for the imposition
of appropriate penalty or punishment for failure to fulfil any of them.

H R Gokhale, the then Law Minister, gave the following reason for incorporating the
fundamental duties in the Constitution after 26 years of its inauguration: ‘In post-independent
India, particularly on the eve of emergency in June 1975, a section of the people showed no
anxiety to fulfil their fundamental obligations of respecting the established legal order. The
provisions of chapter on fundamental duties would have a sobering effect on these restless
spirits who have had a host of anti-national subversive and unconstitutional agitations in the
past’.
Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, justified the inclusion of fundamental duties in
the Constitution and argued that their inclusion would help to strengthen democracy.
She said, ‘the moral value of fundamental duties would be not to smoother rights but to
establish a democratic balance by making the people conscious of their duties equally
as they are conscious of their rights’.

The Opposition in the Parliament strongly opposed the inclusion of fundamental duties
in the Constitution by the Congress government. However, the new Janata Government
headed by Morarji Desai in the post-emergency period did not annull the Fundamental
Duties. Notably, the new government sought to undo many changes introduced in the
Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act(1976) through the 43rd Amendment Act
(1977) and the 44th Amendment Act (1978). This shows that there was an eventual
consensus on the necessity and desirability of including the Fundamental Duties in the
Constitution. This is more clear with the addition of one more Fundamental Duty in 2002
by the 86th Amendment Act
 Verma Committee Observations
The Verma Committee on Fundamental Duties of the Citizens (1999) identified the existence
of legal provisions for the implementation of some of the Fundamental Duties. They are
mentioned below:

1.The Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act (1971) prevents disrespect to the
Constitution of India, the National Flag and the National Anthem.

2.The various criminal laws in force provide for punishments for encouraging enmity between
different sections of people on grounds of language, race, place of birth, religion and so on.

3.The Protection of Civil Rights Act 4 (1955) provides for punishments for offences related to
caste and religion.

4.The Indian Penal Code (IPC) declares the imputations and assertions prejudicial to national
integration as punishable offences
5. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 provides for the declaration
of a communal organization as an unlawful association.

6.The Representation of People Act (1951) provides for the disqualification of

members of the Parliament or a state legislature for indulging in corrupt
practice, that is, soliciting votes on the ground of religion or promoting enmity
between different sections of people on grounds of caste, race, language,
religion and so on.

7.The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 prohibits trade in rare and endangered
species.

8.The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 checks indiscriminate deforestation

and diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
Thank
you