Chapter 5 Rights - NCERT

1 RightsRightsPolitical Theory67 Chapter 5 RightsIn everyday life we often talk of our Rights . As members of a democratic country wemay speak of such Rights as the right to vote, the right to form political parties, theright to contest elections and so on. But apart from the generally accepted politicaland civil Rights , people today are also making new demands for Rights such as theright to information, right to clean air or the right to safe drinking water. Rights areclaimed not only in relation to our political and public lives but also in relation toour social and personal relationships. Moreover, Rights may be claimed not only foradult human beings but also for children, unborn foetuses, and even animals.

2 Thenotion of Rights is thus invoked in a variety of different ways by different people. Inthis Chapter we will explore: What do we mean when we speak of Rights ? What is the basis on which Rights are claimed? What purpose do Rights serve and, why are they so important?Overview NCERTnot to be republishedRightsRights68 Political WHAT ARE Rights ?A right is essentially an entitlement or a justified claim. It denoteswhat we are entitled to as citizens, as individuals and as humanbeings. It is something that we consider to be due to us; somethingthat the rest of society must recognise as being a legitimate claimthat must be upheld. This does not mean that everything that I regardto be necessary and desirable is a right.

3 I may want to wear theclothes of my choice to school rather than the prescribed uniform. Imay want to stay out late at night but this does not mean that I havea right to dress in any way I like at school or to return home when Ichoose to do so. There is a distinction between what I want andthink I am entitled to, and what can be designated as are primarily those claims that I along with others regardto be necessary for leading a life of respect and dignity. In fact, oneof the grounds on which Rights have been claimed is that theyrepresent conditions that we collectively see as a source of self-respect and dignity. For example, the right to livelihood may beconsidered necessary for leading a life of dignity.

4 Being gainfullyemployed gives a person economic independence and thus is centralfor his/her dignity. Having our basic needs met gives us freedomto pursue our talents and interests. Or, take the right to expressourselves freely. This right gives us the opportunity to be creativeand original, whether it be in writing, or dance, or music, or anyother creative activity. But freedom of expression is also importantfor democratic government since it allows for the free expression ofbeliefs and opinions. Rights such as the right to a livelihood, orfreedom of expression, would be important for all human beingswho live in society and they are described as universal in ground on which Rights have been claimed is that theyare necessary for our well-being.

5 They help individuals to developtheir talents and skills. A right like the right to education, forinstance, helps to develop our capacity to reason, gives us usefulskills and enables us to make informed choices in life. It is in thissense that education can be designated as a universal right. However,if an activity is injurious to our health and well-being it cannot be NCERTnot to be republishedRightsRightsPolitical Theory69claimed as a right. For instance, since medical researchhas shown that prohibited drugs are injurious to one shealth and since they affect our relations with others,we cannot insist that we have a right to inhale or injectdrugs or smoke tobacco.

6 In the case of smoking it mayeven be injurious to the health of people who may bearound the smoker. Drugs may not only injure ourhealth but they may also sometimes change ourbehaviour patterns and make us a danger to otherpeople. In terms of our definition of Rights , smoking ortaking banned drugs cannot be claimed as a WHERE DO Rights COME FROM?In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, political theoristsargued that Rights are given to us by nature or God. The Rights ofmen were derived from natural law. This meant that Rights werenot conferred by a ruler or a society, rather we are born with such these Rights are inalienable and no one can take theseaway from us.

7 They identified three natural Rights of man: the rightto life, liberty and property. All other Rights were said to be derivedfrom these basic Rights . The idea that we are born with certainrights, is a very powerful notion because it implies that no state ororganisation should take away what has been given by the law ofnature. This conception of natural Rights has been used widely tooppose the exercise of arbitrary power by states and governmentsand to safeguard individual recent years, the term human Rights is being used more thanthe term natural Rights . This is because the idea of there being anatural law, or a set of norms that are laid down for us by nature,or God, appears unacceptable today.

8 Rights are increasingly seenas guarantees that human beings themselves seek or arrive at inorder to lead a minimally good assumption behind human Rights is that all persons areentitled to certain things simply because they are human a human being each person is unique and equally valuable. Thismeans that all persons are equal and no one is born to serve through recentnewspapers andmake a list of people smovements that havemade proposals fornew kinds of Rights ?LET S DO ITDo NCERTnot to be republishedRightsRights70 Political TheoryEach of us possesses an intrinsicvalue, hence we must have equalopportunities to be free and realiseour full potential.

9 This conception ofa free and equal self is increasinglybeing used to challenge existinginequalities based on race, caste,religion and gender. Today, the UNDeclaration of human Rights buildsupon this understanding of rightsand it attempts to recognise thoseclaims that the world communitycollectively sees as being importantfor leading a life of dignity and notion of universal humanrights has been used by oppressedpeople all over the world tochallenge laws which segregatethem and deny them equalopportunities and Rights . In fact, itis through the struggles of groupsthat have felt excluded that theinterpretation of existing Rights hassometimes been altered.

10 Slaveryhas, for instance, been abolished,but there are other struggles thathave only had a limited today there are communitiesstruggling to define humanity in away which includes list of human Rights whichpeople have claimed has expandedover the years as societies facenew threats and challenges. Forinstance, we are very conscious KANT ON human DIGNITY .. everything has either a price or adignity. What has a price is such thatsomething else can also be put in its placeas its equivalent; by contrast, that whichis elevated above all price, and admits ofno equivalent, has a dignity. human beings , unlike all otherobjects, possess dignity.