Democratic Rights Test - 8

Article 17 of Constitution of India declares untouchability as an offence. Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden The enforcement of any disability arising out of Untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.

The right to property is not a Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right. In the original Constitution, the right to property was listed as a fundamental right. By the 44th Amendment to the Constitution, the right to property was removed as a fundamental right and instead, a new provision was added to the Constitution i.e. Article 300-A making it a constitutional right. 

Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India though reasonable restrictions can be imposed on this right in the interest of the general public, or Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India, which is subject to reasonable restrictions by the State in the interest of the general public, or for protection of the scheduled tribes because certain safeguards, as are envisaged here, seem justified to protect indigenous and tribal people from exploitation and coercion are all under the influence of Fundamental Rights.

The framers of the constitution of India while framing the fundamental rights, took caution as to what fundamental rights have to be applied to foreigners and what rights have to be specifically reserved for the citizens of India. And accordingly, only a few are available to non-citizens.

All individuals are free to follow their conscience and practice any religion. According to the Constitution, the government does not have any religion. It treats all religions as equal. India is a secular country.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar called Article 32 of the Indian Constitution i.e. Right to Constitutional remedies as 'the heart and soul of the Constitution'.

It was made so because mere declaration of the fundamental right without an effective machinery for enforcement of the fundamental rights would have been meaningless. Also, a right which does not have a remedy is a worthless declaration. Thus, the framers of our constitution adopted the special provisions in the article 32 which provided remedies to the violated fundamental rights of a citizen.

Fundamental Rights find a place in Part 3 of the Constitution of India. These rights give people protection from oppressive governments and place a duty on the government to uphold them. If our rights are violated by the government, we can go to the court for protection of these rights. There are 6 fundamental rights which are:

1. Right to Equality
2. Right to Freedom
3. Right against Exploitation 
4. Right to Freedom of Religion 
5. Cultural and Educational Rights 
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies

Supreme Court acts as a custodian of our Constitution and protects our Fundamental Rights. The Supreme Court is called the guardian of the Constitution as it protects the fundamental rights of citizens from being getting violated by any organ of the government. If any person feels that their fundamental right has been violated, they can directly go to supreme court, according to article 32 of Indian Constitution.