Open Forum

New Delhi, 17 December 2025

Modi’s Stress On Duties

CAN RIGHTS BE IGNORED?

By Dhurjati Mukherjee 

In his letter to the citizens on ‘Constitution Day’ or ‘Samvidhan Divas’, Prime Minister Modi waxed eloquence on the citizens’ primary responsibility to perform duties without in any way upholding their justiciable fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution or other constitutional rights central to the individuals to lead a dignified life. 

The letter referred to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Birsa Munda and Guru Tegh Bahadur and flimsily claimed that they gave primacy to duties which Modi claimed, “the Constitution also emphasises through a dedicated chapter on fundamental duties in Article 51A.” These duties, he said “guide us on how to collectively achieve social and economic progress,” invoking Mahatma Gandhi who, according to Modi “believed that a duty well performed creates a responding right and that real rights are a result of the performance of duty.” 

Modi may be right in quoting Gandhi who said rights of individuals flowed from the duties, but the latter was always concerned about the poor and the marginalised getting their due share of rights. Gandhi himself moved a resolution on Fundamental Rights in 1931 in the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress and it, among others, contained, Freedom of Press, Freedom to Profess Religion, equal rights and obligations of all citizens, without any bar on account of sex and above all religious neutrality of the state. 

Further, in a letter to M.S. Masani on June 4, 1934, almost three years after he moved the resolution on Fundamental Rights, he wrote, “What is necessary is that labourers or workers should know their rights and should also know how to assert them”. While saying so, he also remarked, “And since there never has been any right with-a corresponding duty, in my opinion a manifesto is incomplete without emphasising the necessity of performance of duty and showing what that duty is. 

The manner in which Modi has been asking citizens to carry out their duties without any obligation of the State to ensure basic rights to the citizens, which have been eroded in recent years, is no doubt a subject of concern. With widening inequality and disparity in wages as well as the fact that the lowest 20 percent of the population are in a pitiable condition, there is a need for the State to think about ensuring a decent livelihood to all citizens. 

Authentic democracy requires transcending this situation and that can be achieved with the institution of a set of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental economic rights on a par with civil and political rights we already have. Though we are rightly proud of our Constitution, it needs to be stated that it does not contain a chapter on fundamental economic rights. Such rights would have made democracy more meaningful and placed India ahead of most countries. However, it needs to be stated that mere institution of such rights is no guarantee that these would be realised. 

Tragically, Modi or his government is little concerned about rights, which are not being enjoyed by a large section which includes unorganised workers, farm labourers, child workers, bonded labourers etc. Though education is a fundamental right, very few have access to quality education up to the higher secondary levels. Health is greatly neglected and every Block does not have even a wellness centre with adequate doctors and other medical staff. 

It has been seen that there is always a discrepancy between promises made by politicians and its implementation. The execution today is riding roughshod over the existing fundamental rights of citizens, and the judiciary is too intimidated to defend these rights consistently. For example, the popular MGNREGS, which conferred a right of sorts on rural households of enjoying 100 days of work, stands violated due to lack of adequate funds. It is indeed surprising that in a country where unemployment and underemployment is a critical problem, the government cannot find the necessary funds to ensure there is work for continuous 100 days a year. Political analysts have found all types of rights are always there for the privileged sections. 

It is only when the average Indian experiences a democratisation of privilege and law, where he no longer sees a distinction between his rights, opportunities and that of those in power, that the seismic shift as envisioned by the Prime Minister will become a reality.  It is difficult to presume that this will happen shortly as it would be extremely difficult to strip the powerful from the extra power and VIP culture enjoyed by them. Wealth, political clout and power should not be allowed to buy immunity, and such people ought to face public scrutiny. 

The sermon about duties may sound somewhat authoritarian, given the fact that a democratic State has the dual responsibility to ensure that duties are performed by its citizens while also seeing to it that they are not deprived of their rights. But unfortunately, the dispossessed and the marginalised are deprived of their rights. How can this happen in a State which talks of democracy, pluralism and inclusiveness? In talking about duties, Modi has generated a debate where political analysts have raised the question of deprivation of rights. 

While there is much talk of the economy moving fast in terms of GDP growth, there is no analysis of how much money is allocated for the welfare of the lowest 20 percent, who are not only poor and marginalised but are also victims to environmental hazards like floods, cyclones and sea-level rise, almost every year. The reason for this is obvious as those who formulate government strategy – whether politicians, bureaucrats or technocrats – have little knowledge and concern about how the poorer sections have to struggle for earning their livelihood. Added to this is the oppression of lower castes and even today, we hear of bonded labour, and the dispensation is virtually not quite conscious of such things being existent even today in the country. 

It goes without saying that basic rights must be ensured to all sections of the population to ensure that happiness and justice prevail in society. When we hear politicians talking frequently of the country’s endeavour of ushering in Viksit Bharat, is it not our duty and responsibility to provide a dignified existence to all our fellow citizens? The parliamentarians as well as academics should consider framing a policy guideline for both the Centre and the states. Meanwhile, budgetary allocations towards ensuring people’s rights are urgently called for.   

Finally, we may refer to Gandhi who had cautioned in the late 30s of the previous century -- “…there are no such two classes here that one of them should exercise only rights and the other discharge only duties”. He remarked: “If a ruler shirks his duties while the people do theirs then the people become the ruler.” A ruler by doing his duty and considering himself as the trustee of his people would survive, he observed, but cautioned “if he becomes authoritarian, he cannot survive in this age.”---INFA 

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)