NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Political Science Chapter 2 - Rights in the Indian Constitution

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91. Write true or false against each of these statements:

(a) A Bill of Rights lays down the rights enjoyed by the people of a country.

Ans. True

(b) A Bill of Rights protects the liberties of an individual.

Ans. True

(c) Every country of the world has a Bill of Rights.

Ans. False

(d) The Constitution guarantees remedy against violation of Rights.

Ans. True

92. Which of the following is the best description of Fundamental Rights?

(a) All the rights an individual should have.

(b) All the rights given to citizens by law.

(d) The rights given by the Constitution that cannot ever be restricted.

Ans. (c) The rights given and protected by the Constitution.

93. Read the following situations. Which Fundamental Right is being used or violated in each case and how?

(a) Overweight male cabin crew are allowed to get promotion in the national airlines but their women colleagues who gain weight are penalised.

(b) A director makes a documentary film that criticises the policies of the government.

(d) Andhra society runs Telugu medium schools outside Andhra Pradesh.

Ans. (a) Right to Equality is being violated in this situation. Discrimination has been done on the ground of gender.

(b) In this situation Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression is being used by the director of the film.

(d) Under culture and educational rights linguistic minorities have right to set up their own educational institutions to preserve their culture.

94. Which of the following is a correct interpretation of the Cultural and Educational Rights?

(a) Only children belonging to the minority group that has opened educational institution, can study there.

(b) Government schools must ensure that children of the minority group will be introduced to their belief and culture.

(d) Linguistic and religious minorities can demand that their children must not study in any educational institution except those managed by their own community.

Ans. (c) Linguistic and religious minorities can open schools for their children and keep it reserved for them.

95. Which of the following is a violation of Fundamental Rights and why?

(a) Not paying minimum wages

(b) Banning of a book

(d) Making a speech

Ans. Not paying minimum wages is a violation of Fundamental Rights because under Right against exploitation begar or forced labour without payment is a punishable offence.

96. An activist working among the poor says that the poor don’t need Fundamental Rights. What they need are Directive Principles to be made legally binding. Do you agree with this? Give your reasons.

Ans. No, I do not agree with this statement. Fundamental Rights cannot be denied to any section of the society and this is applicable to the poorer sections as well. While implementation of directive principles is required for improving the condition of the poor, fundamental rights are universal as they ensure dignity to every citizen and form the basis for equality among people.

Certain rights like right to constitutional remedy are important to secure protection for the poorest and weakest sections of the society from the arbitrary action of the state.

Enforcement of directive principles is important for ensuring social, economic and political justice. However, freedom of expression is still required to raise voice against any form of discrimination or injustice.

97. Several reports show that caste groups previously associated with scavenging are forced to continue in this job. Those in positions of authority refuse to give them any other job. Their children are discouraged from pursuing education. Which of their Fundamental Rights are being violated in this instance?

Ans. In the above case the following Fundamental Rights are violated:

(a) Right to Freedom: As under this right everyone is free to choose the profession of his/her choice.

(b) Culture and Educational Rights: Their children are discouraged to pursuing education.

(c) Right to Equality: The Untouchability has also been abolished and everyone has the right to equal opportunities in employment because all the citizens are equal before law. Hence, right to equality is also violated.

(d) Right against exploitation: Forced labour is abolished by the Indian constitution.

98. A petition by a human rights group drew attention of the court to the condition of starvation and hunger in the country. Over five crore tonnes of food grains was stored in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India. Research shows that a large number of ration cardholders do not know about the quantity of food grains they can purchase from fair price shops. It requested the court to order the
government to improve its public distribution system.

(a) Which different rights does this case involve? How are these rights interlinked?

(b) Should these rights form part of the right to life?

Ans. (a) This case involves the following rights:

1. Right to Equality where everybody is equal before law and enjoys equal protection of law. This case refers that a large number of ration cardholders do not know about quality of food grains they can purchase from fair price shops.
2. Right against exploitation because the ration shop owners exploit these ignorant people.
3. Right to life because some of the people do not have knowledge about how much quantity they can purchase from ration shops, hence they may have suffered
  due to starvation.
4. Right to Constitutional Remedies is also involved because human rights group drew attention of the court to this condition.

(b) Yes, all these rights should form the part of the right to life.

99. Read the statement by Somnath Lahiri in the Constituent Assembly quoted in this chapter. Do you agree with him? If yes, give instances to prove it. If not, give arguments against his position.

Ans. Yes. Somnath Lahiri said that minimum rights have been conceded and are almost invariably followed by a provision and have been framed from the point of view of police constable. This is visible in certain provisions that are invoked to place restrictions on fundamental rights.

(a) The provision of preventive detention contradicts the right to life and personal liberty and has often been misused by the government.

(b) There are several rights under right to freedom that are restricted by the government in various ways. For example, the provision of restriction over assembly of five or more people in certain areas can be misused by the administration.

100. Which of the Fundamental Rights is in your opinion the most important right? Summarise its provisions and give arguments to show why it is most important.

Ans. (a) Habeas Corpus: The court can order the arrested person to be presented before it under the writ of Habeas Corpus. It can also order the release of a person arrested on unlawful grounds.

(b) Mandamus: This writ is issued by courts when a particular official does not perform the assigned legal duty and violates upon the rights of the individual.

(c) Prohibition: This writ is issued by a higher court when a case is beyond the jurisdiction of lower court.

(d) Quo Warranto: This writ is issued by the court when it finds an individual holding the office, which is not entitled to him.

(e) Certiorari: The court orders the transfer of a pending matter from a lower court or another authority to the higher court.

The Right to Constitutional Remedies provides a legal solution within the framework of the constitution, to the violation of fundamental rights and provides a check on state power. This is the most important right as it safeguards the other fundamental rights. It ensures the realisation of other rights as well as providing a defence for them. According to Dr. Ambedkar, this right is the ‘Heart and Soul of the Constitution’.