Saturday, September 18, 2010

Fundamental Duties of Indians

Education between ages of 6 to 14 has now been declared a Fundamental Right in India.  It is interesting that the very same is already included as a “fundamental duty” of parents in an amendment made in 2002.
Somehow I do not remember being taught any “Fundamental Duties” in school! But they are there anyway in Section 51A of the Indian Constitution.
This section on Fundamental Duties is well worth going through.  (Maybe I missed the lesson in school – if you already know them, please forgive my ignorance!)  They are poetic, inspiring, broad in scope and insight.  I was particularly touched by four of the last five duties, which go beyond the expected patriotic and civic responsibilities.  These are (I quote):
It shall be the duty of every citizen of India -

(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;

(j) 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;
(k) who is a parent or guardian, to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.
Amazing… having read these, I felt truly fortunate to live in a country where caring for the environment,  scientific temper and spirit of inquiry, excellence in one’s own sphere of activity and educating our children are declared as fundamental duties of every citizen !!

3 comments:

  1. What you are saying is true...But the problem with Indians is that they talk too much and do very little...I hate that...If they do not want to do what they talk about why do they care talking about it...??? It is better to do something and then talk about it rather than the reverse...What do you think ?

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  2. I have read this Indian constitution but everything written is good, how to practice it. It is not the problem with Indians, it is the problem with us. There are people who do what they say but for that you need money, power and support. The main problem with Indian is huge population. That is root cause behind every problem in the society.

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  3. I was wondering about pseudo patriotism by Indians abroad. It came to my mind when I saw some cars with Indian number plate in USA. That is a clear violation of the Indian Flag code according to law in India. But I don't know if it is in USA. My concerns was (1) The Indian flag as number plate is clearly under the car logo which is not permitted (2) The number plate in the front is a position which is going to be dirty by insects and mud (3) there are 4 holes on the number plate (Indian flag). That is the law, but morally why do some one want to show patriotism in number plate. It they are really patriotic they should go back to India and do something for the country. How many people sacrificed life for flying the Indian flag. Why these laggards can't understand that? When I talked to them the reply was " I will sleep on the Flag, I will make underwear using it". What can I say? Idiots, pseudo patriots!

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