Rights and responsibilities
Topic: Political Theory: Freedom and Rights · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Rights"
Meaning
Rights are not only claims on others. They also bring responsibilities. NCERT's Class 11 chapter on Rights names four:
- Protect the common good (shared resources like clean air, water and forests).
- Respect other people's equal rights.
- Balance rights when they clash.
- Stay alert to curbs on rights, because no right is absolute.
As NCERT puts it, "one man's rights end where the other man's nose begins."
Example
Free speech does not let anyone stir up a mob against others. Clashing rights must also be balanced. Posting a photo of someone bathing is not a use of free expression. It violates their right to privacy, recognised in Puttaswamy (2017), and is an offence under IT Act s. 66E and BNS s. 77.
Don't confuse with
- Fundamental Duties (Art. 51A): these are a written list of 11 duties in the Constitution, added by the 42nd Amendment (1976). NCERT's responsibilities are a broader idea in political theory. They come from the nature of rights themselves, not from a constitutional list.