Social Science SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS(3 Mark)

• Every society makes certain rules to regulate one’s conduct. They tell us what is right and what is wrong. What is recognised by the society as rightful becomes the basis of rights.
• The notion of ‘right’ changes from time to time and society to society.
• When the socially recognised claims are written into law, they acquire real force. Otherwise, they remain merely as natural or moral rights.
• When law recognises some claims, they become enforceable. We can then demand their application. When fellow citizens or the government do not respect these rights, we call it violation of our rights.

In India, people follow different religions. Therefore, India remained neutral in matters of religion and chose to be a secular country. A secular state or a country is one that does not establish any one religion as official Following constitutional provisions declare India to be a secular state:

1. The Constitution provides to all its citizens the freedom to profess, practise and propagate any religion of their choice.
2. There is no official religion for India. Unlike Sri Lanka where Buddhism is the state religion, Islam in Pakistan and Christianity in England, our Constitution does not provide any special status to any religion.
3. The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

A liberty or right whose protection from governmental interference is guaranteed by a constitution. See also bill of attainder, contracts clause, due process, equal protection, ex post facto law, freedom of contract, overbreadth, search, and self-incrimination (privilege against).
Some examples are the right of free speech, free exercise of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, etc.

1. The constitution mentions an extreme form of social discrimination, the practice of untouchability and clearly directs the government to put an end to it.
2. The practice of untouchability has been forbidden in any form.
3. Untouchability, here does not only mean refusal to touch people belonging to certain castes. It refers to any belief or social practice which looks down upon people on account of their birth with certain caste labels.
4. Such practice denies them interaction with others or access to public places as equal citizens. So, the constitution made untouchability a punishable offence.

According to the preamble of the constitution of our country, India is secular and gives freedom to the citizens to chose their religion. Hence government can't compel anybody to pay for the maintainence of any religion.

1. The constitution says that the government shall not deny to any person in India equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws.
2. It means that the laws apply in the same manner to all, regardless of a person’s status. This is called the ‘Rule of Law’.

Right to equality is violated here as according to this every citizen of India before the law whether he is from upper or lower caste or rich or poor. Right of freedom is also violated as it grants personal liberty. He or She can carry any profession or business.

Importance of public interest litigation:

1. Any one can approach the courts if public interest is hurt by the actions of government. This us called public interest litigation (PIL).
2. The courts intervene to prevent the misuse of the government's power to make decisions.
3. They check mal practices on the part of public officials .
4. The judiciary enjoys high level of confidence among the people

Untouchability is the term used for an extreme form of social discrimination where people in India are not allowed to bathe in same tank.

PIL is called as Public Interest litigation. Under PIL, any citizen or group of citizens can approach the Supreme Court or a High Court for the protection of public interest against a particular law or action of the government.

• Citizens are free to reside and settle in any part of India.
• This right allows lakhs of people to migrate from villages to towns and from poorer regions of the country to prosperous regions and big cities.
• For example, a person who belongs to Assam wants to start a business in Hyderabad. He may not have any connections with that place or people there, he may have not seen it ever. Yet as a citizen of India, he has the right to set up base there.

False.
Explanation:
Voting may be seen as a civic right rather than a civic duty. While citizens may exercise their civil rights (free speech, right to an attorney, etc.) they are not compelled to. Furthermore, compulsory voting may infringe other rights. Forcing them to vote ostensibly denies them their freedom of religious practice.

Constitutional provisions for the security of females and children:

1. Right to equality which says that there should be no differentiation on the grounds of sexuality and equal opportunities for females should be granted.
2. Right against exploitation which restricts individual trafficking, especially females for unethical purposes. Right against exploitation also forbids infant labor, where nobody can employ the children below the age of 14 in any sort of work.
3. Right to education which presents for free and mandatory education for adolescents up to the age of 14.

1. Rights are reasonable claims of persons.
2. Rights are recognised by the society.
3. Rights are sanctioned by law.

‘Begar’ is a practice where the worker is forced to render service to the ‘master’ free of charge or at a nominal remuneration. When this practice takes place on a lifelong basis, it is called the practice of bonded labour.

The government shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds of religion, caste, ethnicity, sex or place of birth. Every citizen shall have access to public places like shops, restaurants, hotels and cinema halls. All citizens have equality in the matters relating to employment also.

1. Kosovo was a province of Yugoslavia before it split. In this province, the Serbs were in minority and Albanians were in majority, while it was the other way round in the rest of the country.
2. A narrow-minded Serb nationalist Milosevic had won the elections. His government was hostile to the Kosovo Albanians.
3. He wanted the Serbs to dominate the country. Many Serb leaders thought that ethnic minorities like the Albanians should either leave the country or accept the dominance of the Serbs.

This is because our fundamental rights are dependent on each other means that one right protects other right. This is because our fundamental rights are dependent on each other means that one right protects other right.

1. Te prisoners were not allowed to meet their families and relatives and even to the UN representatives.
2. They were tortured in the ways that were against the laws of America.
3. Tey were not released even when they were declared officially not guilty.

RTI is Right to Information. Parliament has enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens. This Act was made under the Fundamental Right to freedom of thought and expression. We have a right to seek information from government offices.

It is expected from the government in a democracy to protect the citizens' rights. But sometimes elected governments may not protect or may even attack the rights of their own citizens. That is why some rights need to be placed higher than the government, so that the government cannot violate them.

Every citizen has a right not to be exploited. There are clear provisions in the Constitution that prevent exploitation of the weaker sections of the society.
The Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares these illegal:

1. The Constitution prohibits trafficking in human beings. Traffic here means selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.
2. Our Constitution also prohibits forced labour or begar in any form.
3. It also prohibits child labour. No one can employ a child below the age of fourteen to work in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous work, such as railways and ports.

1. Our ideas and personality develop only when we are able to freely communicate with others. Even if hundred people think in one way, you should have the freedom to think differently and express your views accordingly.
2. You may disagree with a policy of the government or activities of an association. You are free to criticise the government in your conversation with parents, friends and relatives.
3. You may publicise your views through a pamphlet, magazine or newspaper. You can do the same through paintings, poetry or songs.

Yes, this is true because the Constitution of India provides a provision of ‘rule of law’ which means that no person is above the law. The laws apply in the same manner to all, regardless of person’s status (whether he is a Prime Minister or a farmer).

Independence was declared February 17, 2008. and the new constitution became effective on June 15, 2008. Serbia continued to claim Kosovo as an integral part despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice in July 2010 supporting Kosovo's independence.

Right to Education. The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine.

The Constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities:

1. Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture have a right to conserve it.
2. Admission to any educational institution maintained by the government or receiving government aid cannot be denied to any citizen on the grounds of religion or language.
3. All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Here, minority does not mean only religious minority at the national level.

In order to protect our fundamental right Supreme Court and High Court can issue write and we can say that so called WRIT is a weapon which can be used to protect our fundamental rights.
There are 5 type of Writ which Supreme Court and High Court can issue i.e.

1. Habeas writ can be issued whenever there is illegal detention( arrest ), the literal meaning of this write is “you may have the body”.
2. Mandamus writ issued by the Court to give command to lower Court or tribunal or public authority to perform there work.
3. Certiorari writ can be issued to quash the order all ready passed by subordinate Court or tribunals.
4. Quo-warranto writ can be issued to restrain a person from holding a public office for which he is not entitled to hold, literal meaning of this write is “by what authority”.
5. Prohibition writ can be issued against subordinate Court or tribunal to stop them from doing that thing which is beyond there jurisdiction

PIL is Public Interest Litigation.

1. In case of any violation of a Fundamental Right, the aggrieved person can go to a court for remedy.
2. But now, any person can go to court against the violation of a Fundamental Right, if it is of social or public interest. This is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
3. Under the PIL, any citizen or group of citizens can approach the Supreme Court or the High Court for the protection of public interest against a particular law or action of the government.

1. Right to Constitutional Remedies is a fundamental right. This right makes other rights effective.
2. It is possible that sometimes our rights may be violated by fellow citizens, private bodies or by the government. When any of our rights is violated, we can seek remedy through courts.
3. If it is a Fundamental Right, we can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state.

That is why, Dr. Ambedkar called the Right to Constitutional Remedies ‘the heart and soul’ of our constitution.

• Every person has a right to profess, practise and propagate the religion he or she believes in.
• Every religious group or sect is free to manage its religious affairs.
• A right to propagate one’s religion, however, does not mean that a person has the right to compel another person to convert into his religion by means of force, fraud, inducement or allurement.

It is language, culture and religion of minorities that needs special protection. Otherwise they may get neglected or undermined under the impact of the language, religion and culture of the majority. That is why, the constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities.

1. Such reservations are not against the right to equality. For equality does not mean giving everyone the same treatment, no matter what they need. Equality in real sense means giving everyone an equal opportunity to achieve whatever one is capable of.
2. Sometimes it is necessary to give special treatment to someone in order to ensure equal opportunity.
3. This is what job reservations do. Just to clarify this, the Constitution says that reservations of this kind are not a violation of the Right to Equality.

Human Rights are universal moral claims that may or may not have been recognised by law. But then rights give you a right to be treated as equal by law. Every human being who is born anywhere has the right to live and enjoy his life and should not be tortured by any means.

1. To promote democracy.
2. To promote right to live.
3. To promote rights of minorities.
4. To give people right to freedom of conscience.
5. To give people right to express.

When Saudi Arabia held municipal elections in the 50s and 60s, women were not allowed to vote or stand for office. No further elections were held until 2005. Despite some expectation that women would be allowed to participate on that occasion, Saudi officials decided that they would not.

Right to Equality, one of the six fundamental rights , bans untouchability. Article 17 of Part 3 says: Abolition of Untouchability. “Untouchability” is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.

Moral rights are personal rights that connect the creator of a work to their work. Moral rights are about being properly named or credited when your work is used, and the way your work is treated and shown. Moral rights require that your name is always shown with your work. This is called right of attribution.

The Constitution of India provides Fundamental Rights under Chapter III. Article 21. Protection Of Life And Personal Liberty: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
The main object of Article 21 is that before a person is deprived of his life or personal liberty by the State, the procedure established by law must be strictly followed. Right to Life means the right to lead meaningful, complete and dignified life. It does not have restricted meaning.

1. The prisoners were being tortured in ways that violated the US laws.
2. They were being denied the treatment that even prisoners of war must get as per the international treaties.
3. Prisoners were not released even after they were officially declared ‘not guilty’.

The Constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities in the following ways:

1. Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture have a right to conserve it.
2. Admission to any educational institution maintained by government or receiving government aid cannot be denied to any citizen on the ground of religion or language.
3. All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

1. Right to Freedom.
2. Right to Equality.
3. Cultural & Educational Right.
4. Right against Exploitation.

Expressing ideas on social issues is permitted by Article 19 of the constitution.It states that all citizens have the right:

1. To freedom of speech and expression.
2. To assemble peacefully without arms.
3. To form associations and unions.
4. To practice any profession.

In this dispute, Madhurima is right. The Registrar, by questioning and interfering in her personal affairs, is violating her right to freedom. Also, the social question of adopting the husband’s surname has roots in a religious practice which treats women as weaker and inferior. In lieu of this, forcing Madhurima to change her name is an infringement on her right to equality and right to freedom of religion.

1. It is possible that sometimes our rights may be violated by fellow citizens, private bodies or by the government. When any of our rights are violated, we can seek remedy through courts. If it is a Fundamental Right, we can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state.
2. Fundamental Rights are guaranteed against the actions of the Legislatures, the Executive and any other authorities instituted by the government. There can be no law or action that violates the Fundamental Rights.
3. If any act of Legislature or the Executive takes away or limits any of the Fundamental Rights, it will be invalid. We can challenge such laws of the central and state governments.
4. Courts also enforce the Fundamental Rights against private individuals and bodies. The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue directions, orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
5. Courts can also award compensation to the victims and punishment to the violators. Our judiciary is very powerful and can do whatever is needed to protect the rights of the citizens.

Under the Indian Constitution, all citizens exercise a number of freedoms which are all covered in the right to freedom. So every citizen has the right to all of the following freedoms:

1. Freedom of speech and expression.
2. Freedom of assembly in a peaceful manner.
3. Freedom to form associations and unions.
4. Freedom to move freely throughout the country.
5. Freedom to reside in any part of the country.
6. Freedom to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

In a democracy, every citizen has to have the right to vote and the right to be elected to government. For democratic elections to take place it is necessary that citizens should have the right to express their opinion, form political parties and take part in political activities.

Following procedure needs to be followed:

1. A person who is arrested and detained in custody will have to be informed of the reasons for such arrest and detention.
2. A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of arrest.
3. Such a person has the right to consult a lawyer or engage a lawyer for his defence.

1. They are reasonable claims of persons.
2. They are recognised by society.
3. They are sanctioned by law.