Human rights in India: It is the duty of every nation to create such laws and conditions that protect the basic Human rights of its citizens. India being a democratic country provides such rights to its citizens and allows them certain rights including the freedom of expression. These rights, which are called ‗Fundamental Rights‘ form an important part of the Constitution of India.
These rights are fundamental in three different ways.
First, these are basic human rights. As human beings we have the right to enjoy these rights.
Secondly, our Constitution gives us these fundamental rights and guarantees. These rights are necessary for the citizens of our country to act properly and live in a democratic manner.
NATIONAL SEMINAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
Page 160
Thirdly, the procedure for the effective enforcement of these guaranteed Fundamental Rights has been mentioned in the constitution itself. Every citizen of India has the right to move to a court of law if he/she is denied these rights. The Constitution is there to safeguard her/his rights.
Fundamental rights in India: The Constitution guarantees to us six Fundamental Rights. The six Fundamental Rights as mentioned in our Constitution 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.
NEED TO ENSURE HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION: Needs-based development approaches to education have, to date, failed to achieve the Education for All goals. Because it is inclusive and provides a common language for partnership, a rights-based approach – although certainly not without tensions and challenges – has the potential to contribute to the attainment of the goals of governments, parents and children. Girls‘ right to education, for example, can be achieved more effectively if measures are also implemented to address their rights to freedom from discrimination, protection from exploitative labour, physical violence and sexual abuse, and access to an adequate standard of living. Equally, the right to education is instrumental in the realization of other rights. Research indicates, for example, that one additional year of schooling for 1,000 women help prevent two maternal deaths.
It promotes social cohesion, integration and stability: Human rights promote democracy and social progress. Even where children have access to school, a poor quality of education can contribute to disaffection. Basing education on human rights education, which emphasizes quality, can encourage the development of school environments in which children know their views are valued. It includes a focus on respect for families and the values of the society in which they are living. It can also promote understanding of other cultures and peoples, contributing to intercultural dialogue and respect for the richness of cultural and linguistic diversity, and the right to participate in cultural life. In this way, it can serve to strengthen social cohesion.
It builds respect for peace and non-violent conflict resolution: Human Rights Education is founded on principles of peace and non-violent conflict resolution. In achieving this goal, schools and communities must create learning environments that eliminate all forms of physical, sexual or humiliating punishment by teachers and challenge all forms of bullying and aggression among students. In other words, they must promote and build a culture of non- violent conflict resolution. The lessons children learn from school-based experiences in this regard can have far reaching consequences for the wider society.
It contributes to positive social transformation: Human rights education empowers children and other stakeholders and represents a major building block in efforts to achieve social transformation towards rights-respecting societies and social justice.
It is more cost-effective and sustainable: Treating children with dignity and respect – and building inclusive, participatory and accountable education systems that respond directly to the expressed concerns of all stakeholders – will serve to improve educational outcomes. In too many schools, the failure to adapt to the needs of children, particularly working children, results in high levels of dropout and repeated grades. Children themselves cite violence and abuse, discriminatory attitudes, an irrelevant curriculum and poor teaching quality as major
NATIONAL SEMINAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
contributory factors in the inability to learn effectively and in subsequent dropout. In addition, health issues can diminish the ability of a child to commence and continue schooling, and for all children, especially girls, an inclusive education can reduce the risk of HIV infection. A rights- based approach is therefore not only cost-effective and economically beneficial but also more sustainable.
It produces better outcomes for economic development: Human rights education can be entirely consistent with the broader agenda of governments to produce an economically viable workforce. Measures to promote universal access to education and overcome discrimination against girls, children with disabilities, working children, children in rural communities, and minority and indigenous children will serve to widen the economic base of society, thus strengthening a country‘s economic capability.
It builds capacity: By focusing on capacity-building and empowerment, rights- based approach to education harnesses and develop the capacities of governments to fulfill their obligations and of individuals to claim their rights and entitlements.
Importance of human rights: The importance of the human rights movement is that it tells people that one cannot call a society a good and a just society until all its citizens enjoy these human rights. The human rights laws aim at eliminating unjust discrimination against any human being. The concept of Human rights is based on the principle of human solidarity, cooperation, and development and access of all to the common heritage of humankind. The impact and importance of human rights are so deep and strong that the constitutions of India, Indonesia, Costa Rica and other countries incorporated many of the provisions of rights codified in the said Declaration in their respective constitutions. This may be treated as landmark the history of progress of civilization. The Charter of human rights exerts tremendous pressure on all political authorities. Strong vigilance is noticed throughout world against the violation of human rights.
Women empowerment: The issue of Women empowerment and inequality have been taken up as a Human rights issue. Several institutions, organizations are working hard to create awareness among the masses. It is high time that every person within the society come forward in support women in her fight for justice. She should be treated at par with men all venues of social framework. Her position need to be elevated.
Limitations: However, the Declaration of Human Rights is not above limitations. 1. These rights do not enjoy legal sanction.
2. These are somewhat but extra-legal and non-justifiable rights.
However, it remains to be said that the human rights enlisted in the international for are a firm resolve. Hence, the moral principles expressed through these rights, have deeper, and more profound and more lasting influence than any legal instrument.
Conclusion: Even today, there are several instances of human rights violation at various places of the world. There can be no permanent and regular prosperity of human beings unless every colony education to be effective needs to be contextualized too. Thus it is not enough to teach abstract principles of human rights taken from United Nations‘ documents or our Constitutions. Our historical context as nation as well as local contexts needs to be reflected in human rights education. The contextualizing of human rights is essential for nurturing of peace. Creative reflections on local situations from a human rights perspective would help the schools greatly, to become the societies‘ most important peace makers. Some say that we Indians should have fewer rights than people living in Western countries. They say, the human rights concepts are Western. Only people who have all the rights could say this to people who have much less rights. We keep masses of humanity without rights and condemn the growing consciousness of rights as a Western one. This would mean that to be
NATIONAL SEMINAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
Page 162 Indian one has to put up with one‘s bondage, one must remain submissive, one must eat less and work more. Is that what our women and our children need to believe? Is that what our workers and peasants need to believe while multinational companies with the help of our elite take away the fruit of their labours, and the fruit of our lands? The relativist theory, though couched in nationalist terms is not nationalist at all. It work for the benefit of big companies Western or otherwise. Try or nation creates such conditions in which human rights are enjoyed by its natives.
References
Challam, K.S. Education and Weaker Sections. New Delhi: Inter India Publications .1998. Chandra, U. Human Rights. Allahabad: Law Agency Publications.2007.
Carlos S.N., The Ethics of Human Rights, Clarindo Press Oxford, 1991.
The Human Rights Education Resourcebook”, second edition, Human Rights Education Associates (HREA), 2000. Available on-line at
http://www.hrea.org
Commonwealth Expert Group in Democracy and Development http://www.thecommonwealth.org Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
http://www.polity.org.za
Harare Commonwealth Declaration www.thecommonwealth.org Singapore Declaratio,www.thecommonwealth.org/