21 fundamental rights are mentioned in the constitution of india.
how many fundamental rights are mentioned in the constitution of india?
21
the experiences of the second world war, the unsatisfactory montagu–chelmsford reforms of 1919, and the rise to prominence of m. k. gandhi in the indian independence movement marked a change in the attitude of its leaders towards articulating demands for civil rights. the focus shifted from demanding equality of status between indians and the british to assuring liberty for all indians. the commonwealth of india bill, drafted by annie beasant in 1925, specifically included demands for seven fundamental rights – individual liberty, freedom of conscience, free expression of opinion, freedom of assembly, non-discrimination on the ground of sex, free elementary education and free use of public spaces. in 1927, the inc resolved to set up a committee to draft a "swaraj constitution" for india based on a declaration of rights that would provide safeguards against oppression. the 11-member committee, led by motilal nehru, was constituted in 1928. its report made a number of recommendations, including proposing guaranteed fundamental rights to all indians. these rights resembled those of the american constitution and those adopted by post-war european countries, and several of them were adopted from the 1925 bill. several of these provisions were later replicated in various parts of the indian constitution, including the fundamental rights and directive principles.
fundamental rights, directive principles and fundamental duties of india
during the final stages of the british raj, the 1946 cabinet mission to india proposed a constituent assembly to draft a constitution for india as part of the process of transfer of power. the constituent assembly of india, composed of indirectly elected representatives from the british provinces and princely states, commenced its proceedings in december 1946, and completed drafting the constitution of india by november 1949. according to the cabinet mission plan, the assembly was to have an advisory committee to advise it on the nature and extent of fundamental rights, protection of minorities and administration of tribal areas. accordingly, the advisory committee was constituted in january 1947 with 64 members, and from among these a twelve-member sub-committee on fundamental rights was appointed under the chairmanship of j. b. kripalani in february 1947. the sub-committee drafted the fundamental rights and submitted its report to the committee by april 1947, and later that month the committee placed it before the assembly, which debated and discussed the rights over the course of the following year, adopting the drafts of most of them by, december 1948. the drafting of the fundamental rights was influenced by the adoption of the universal declaration of human rights by the u.n. general assembly and the activities of the united nations human rights commission, as well as decisions of the u.s. supreme court in interpreting the bill of rights in the american constitution. the directive principles, which were also drafted by the sub-committee on fundamental rights, expounded the socialist precepts of the indian independence movement, and were inspired by similar principles contained in the irish constitution. the fundamental duties were later added to the constitution by the 42nd amendment in 1976.
fundamental rights, directive principles and fundamental duties of india