Fundamental Duties as a Salient Feature

At a Glance

• What it is Duties of the citizens listed in Part IV-A (Article 51A), added in 1976
• Added by The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee
• Number Ten when added; the 86th Amendment Act, 2002 added the eleventh
• Inspired by The Constitution of the erstwhile USSR
• Nature Non-justiciable, confined to citizens; Parliament can enforce them by suitable legislation
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Polity: Salient Features

Where Does It Fit?

The Fundamental Rights say what the State may not do to the citizen. The Directive Principles say what the State should do. The Fundamental Duties complete the picture by naming what the citizen owes. This topic describes how the duties came into the Constitution and what they contain. The full treatment belongs to the category on Fundamental Duties.

Why Were Duties Added Later?

The rights and duties of the citizens are correlative and inseparable, but the original Constitution contained only the Fundamental Rights and not the Fundamental Duties. The framers did not feel it necessary to include the duties of citizens. They did incorporate the duties of the State, in the form of the Directive Principles. In 1976 the Fundamental Duties of the citizens were added to the Constitution, and in 2002 one more was added.

The Fundamental Duties are inspired by the Constitution of the erstwhile USSR. None of the Constitutions of major democratic countries like the USA, Canada, France, Germany and Australia specifically contain a list of duties of citizens. The Japanese Constitution is perhaps the only democratic Constitution in the world that contains a list of duties of citizens. The socialist countries gave equal importance to the fundamental rights and duties of their citizens.

What Did the Swaran Singh Committee Recommend?

The Congress Party set up the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee to make recommendations about Fundamental Duties, the need for which was felt during the operation of the internal Emergency (1975–77). The committee recommended a separate chapter on Fundamental Duties in the Constitution, and stressed that citizens should become conscious that, in addition to the enjoyment of rights, they also have certain duties to perform.

The Congress Government at the Centre accepted these recommendations and enacted the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976. It added Part IV-A, consisting of only one Article, Article 51A, which for the first time specified a code of ten Fundamental Duties of the citizens. The committee had suggested eight duties, but the Amendment Act included ten.

Certain recommendations of the committee were not accepted and not incorporated in the Constitution.

• Parliament may provide for the imposition of such penalty or punishment as may be considered appropriate for non-compliance with any of the duties.
• No law imposing such penalty or punishment shall be called in question in any court on the ground of infringement of any Fundamental Right or of repugnancy to any other provision of the Constitution.
• The duty to pay taxes should also be a Fundamental Duty.

What Are the Fundamental Duties?

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

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 that inspired the 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, and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
6. to value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s 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 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; and
11. to provide opportunities for education to his or her child or ward between the age of six and fourteen years. This duty was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.

What Are the Features of the Fundamental Duties?

• Some are moral duties and others are civic duties. Cherishing the noble ideals of the freedom struggle is a moral precept, and respecting the Constitution, the National Flag and the National Anthem is a civic duty.
• They refer to values that have been a part of the Indian tradition, mythology, religions and practices; they essentially codify tasks integral to the Indian way of life.
• Unlike some of the Fundamental Rights, which extend to all persons including foreigners, the Fundamental Duties are confined to citizens.
• Like the Directive Principles, they are non-justiciable. The Constitution does not provide for their direct enforcement by the courts, and there is no legal sanction against their violation. However, Parliament is free to enforce them by suitable legislation.

What Is the Criticism and the Significance?

Critics said that the list is not exhaustive because it leaves out duties such as casting a vote and paying taxes; that some duties are vague, with phrases such as “noble ideals”, “composite culture” and “scientific temper” open to different interpretations; that because they are non-justiciable they are a code of moral precepts; that their inclusion was superfluous; and that adding them as an appendage to Part IV reduced their value, since they should have been added after Part III to keep them on par with the Fundamental Rights.

In spite of this, they are significant. They remind citizens that while enjoying their rights they should be conscious of their duties; they warn against anti-national and antisocial activities like burning the national flag and destroying public property; they inspire discipline and commitment, and make citizens active participants in realising national goals; and they help the courts in examining the constitutional validity of a law. In the Mohan Kumar Singhania case (1991) the Supreme Court held that Article 51A can be used to interpret ambiguous laws in order to determine their constitutionality. In the Ramlila Maidan Incident case (2012) it observed that a common thread runs through Parts III, IV and IV-A of the Constitution.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Direct Prelims material: The amendment that added the duties, the committee, the number of duties and the 2002 addition can be asked directly.
• Completes the trio: Rights, Directive Principles and Duties can be asked together in one question.

What Came Next?

The next topics take up secularism as a feature of the Indian State, universal adult franchise and single citizenship.

Key People and Terms

• Part IV-A and Article 51A The Part and the sole Article containing the Fundamental Duties
• Swaran Singh Committee Recommended a separate chapter of duties
• 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 Added Part IV-A with ten duties
• 86th Amendment Act, 2002 Added the eleventh duty, on education of children between six and fourteen
• Mohan Kumar Singhania case (1991) Article 51A can be used to interpret ambiguous laws

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask whether duties belong in a Constitution at all. Use these points to add depth.

• Correlative rights and duties: The rights and duties of citizens are correlative and inseparable.
• Without penalty: The Swaran Singh Committee’s suggestion of penalties was not accepted, so the duties remain moral and civic precepts.
• Vagueness: Phrases such as noble ideals and composite culture are open to different interpretations.
• Judicial use: Courts can use Article 51A to interpret ambiguous laws.
• Consensus: The Janata Government that sought to undo many 42nd Amendment changes did not annul the duties, and the 2002 addition followed.