CBSE Book Class 12 Human Rights and Citizenship

8.2 Human rights

Human Rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled because they are human beings. Examples of rights and freedoms which are often thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education . These rights empower people under particularly under difficult circumstances.

The awareness about human rights is important to live life as a citizen in a democratic set up. In particular a country like India in which poverty, social disadvantage and discrimination are present in many sections. Living life with dignity demands that human rights of everybody are maintained. The traditional societies have many disparities which come in the way of ensuring human rights to different groups and communities.

The Magna Carta or "Great Charter" was one of England's first documents containing commitments by a sovereign to his people to respect certain legal rights. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. In order to promote human rights many international conventions, treatise and provisions have been made. Many of them have been accepted by India. In pursuance of such provisions a National Human Rights Commission has been established. It is chaired by a retired Chief Justice of Supreme Court. It is empowered to take steps for ensuring protection of human rights and taking steps to curb its violations. In recent years we have noticed many instances in which the human rights agencies in India have taken note of the atrocities done on people in prison and police custody.

8.3 Citizenship

A citizen is a participatory member of a political community. Citizenship is gained by meeting the legal requirements of a national, state or local government. A nation grants certain rights and privileges to its citizens. In return, citizens are expected to obey their country's laws and defend it against its enemies. The value of citizenship varies from nation to nation. In some countries, citizenship can mean a citizen has the right to vote, the right to hold government offices, and the right to collect unemployment insurance payments, to name a few examples. Citizenship is not a passive concept. It involves active involvement in various social , political and cultural activities.

8.4 Promotion of Peace

Peace is a state in which various elements live in harmonious relationship and grow without interference in each other’s activities. At a societal level peace is necessary for growth and development. We find that countries which are engaged in war and conflict often suffer economically, socially and do not flourish and develop. Bringing in and sustaining peace in society demands many things in which the following are more important:

1). Peace Education- Just as man learns to fight and go to war, he can also learn to live peacefully. For this, it is necessary to educate the public and particularly the young men and women to live in peace so that they may learn to look upon themselves as citizens of the world.

2). Development of international relations- We need to promote conducive international relations so as to eliminate prejudice and stereotype, which are the root causes of hostility , war and violence. This can be achieved by creating opportunities for people of different parts of the world to come in contact with each other. One of the ways in which this could be achieved is to create international institutions in different regions of the world. For instance SAARC is creating opportunities for cooperation and interaction for the countries of south Asia.

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