Fundamental Duties

Background and evolution

The original Constitution had no list of duties. The framers believed that duties were implied in rights and in the idea of citizenship. During the Emergency, the government set up the Swaran Singh Committee, which recommended a chapter on duties. The 42nd Amendment of 1976 added Part IVA with ten duties, influenced by the constitution of the former Soviet Union, which listed civic duties alongside rights.

The 86th Amendment of 2002 added an eleventh duty for parents and guardians to provide opportunities for education to their children aged six to fourteen, linking it to the new right to education under Article 21A. The Justice J. S. Verma Committee (1999) later examined how duties could be made effective and pointed to existing laws that already gave effect to several of them.

Key features and provisions

• The list: to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals, institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem; to cherish the ideals of the freedom struggle; to uphold sovereignty, unity and integrity; to defend the country; to promote harmony and renounce practices derogatory to women; to preserve the rich heritage of composite culture; to protect the natural environment and have compassion for living creatures; to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry; to safeguard public property and abjure violence; to strive for excellence; and to provide education to children aged six to fourteen.
• Nature: non-justiciable; there is no direct penalty for not following them.
• Scope: they apply only to citizens, unlike some Fundamental Rights that apply to all persons.
• Use by courts: courts use them to interpret laws and to judge the reasonableness of restrictions on rights.
• Legal support: some duties are reflected in laws such as the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971 and environment laws.