DEFINITION

Fundamental duties are a set of moral and ethical obligations that citizens are expected to uphold towards a
nation. The citizen’s exercise of their rights and freedoms is inseparable from the performance of their duties
and obligations. The Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution are inspired by the Constitution of erstwhile
USSR.

SWARAN SINGH COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

Despite their co-dependence, the original constitution contained only the fundamental rights and not the
fundamental duties. In 1976, the Congress Party set up the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee to make
recommendations about fundamental duties, the need and necessity of which was felt during the operation of
the internal emergency (1975–1977). The committee recommended the inclusion of a separate chapter on
fundamental duties in the Constitution. The Congress Government at Centre accepted these
recommendations and enacted the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976. This amendment added a
new part, namely, Part IVA to the Constitution. This new part consists of only one Article, that is, Article 51A
which for the first time specified a code of ten fundamental duties of the citizens. Though the Swaran Singh
Committee suggested the incorporation of eight Fundamental Duties in the Constitution, the 42nd
Constitutional Amendment Act (1976) included ten Fundamental Duties.

LIST OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National
Anthem
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national struggle for freedom
(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India
(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so
(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending
religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of
women
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have
compassion for living creatures
(h) to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform
(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly
rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement
(k) to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the age of six and fourteen years. This
duty was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002

FEATURES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

1. Some of them are moral duties while others are civic duties. For instance, cherishing noble ideals of
freedom struggle is a moral precept and respecting the Constitution, National Flag and National Anthem is a
civic duty.
2. They refer to such values which have been a part of the Indian tradition, mythology, religions and practices.
In other words, they essentially contain just a codification of tasks integral to the Indian way of life.
3. Unlike some of the Fundamental Rights which extend to all persons whether citizens or foreigners1 , the
Fundamental Duties are confined to citizens only and do not extend to foreigners.
4. Like the Directive Principles, the fundamental duties are also non-justiciable. The Constitution does not
provide for their direct enforcement by the courts. Moreover, there is no legal sanction against their violation.
However, the Parliament is free to enforce them by suitable legislation.

SIGNIFICANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

1. They serve as a reminder to the citizens that while enjoying their rights, they should also be conscious of
duties they owe to their country, their society and to their fellow citizens.
2. They serve as a warning against the antinational and antisocial activities like burning the national flag,
destroying public property and so on.
3. They serve as a source of inspiration for the citizens and promote a sense of discipline and commitment
among them. They create a feeling that the citizens are not mere spectators but active participants in the
realisation of national goals.
4. They help the courts in examining and determining the constitutional validity of a law. In 1992, the Supreme
Court ruled that in determining the constitutionality of any law, if a court finds that the law in question seeks to
give effect to a fundamental duty, it may consider such law to be ‘reasonable’ in relation to Article 14 (equality
before law) or Article 19 (six freedoms) and thus save such law from unconstitutionality.

CRITICISM OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

1. The list of duties is not exhaustive as it does not cover other important duties like casting vote, paying taxes,
family planning and so on. In fact, duty to pay taxes was recommended by the Swaran Singh Committee.
2. Some of the duties are vague, ambiguous and difficult to be understood by the common man. For example,
different interpretations can be given to the phrases like ‘noble ideals’, ‘composite culture’, ‘scientific temper’
and so on.
3. They have been described by the critics as a code of moral precepts due to their non-justiciable character.
Interestingly, the Swaran Singh Committee had suggested a penalty or punishment for the non-performance of
Fundamental Duties.
4. Their inclusion in the Constitution was described by the critics as superfluous. This is because the duties
included in the Constitution as fundamental would be performed by the people even though they were not
incorporated in the Constitution.
5. The critics said that the inclusion of fundamental duties as an appendage to Part IV of the Constitution has
reduced their value and significance. They should have been added after Part III so as to keep them on par
with Fundamental Rights

VERMA COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS

The Verma Committee on Fundamental Duties of the Citizens (1999) identified the existence of legal
provisions for the implementation of some of the Fundamental Duties. They are mentioned below:
1. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act (1971) prevents disrespect to the Constitution of India, the
National Flag and the National Anthem.
2. The various criminal laws in force provide for punishments for encouraging enmity between different
sections of people on grounds of language, race, place of birth, religion and so on.
3. The Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955) provides for punishments for offences related to caste and religion.
4. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) declares the imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration as
punishable offences.
5. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 provides for the declaration of a communal organisation as
an unlawful association.
6. The Representation of People Act (1951) provides for the disqualification of members of the Parliament or a
state legislature for indulging in corrupt practice, that is, soliciting votes on the ground of religion or promoting
enmity between different sections of people on grounds of caste, race, language, religion and so on.
7. The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 prohibits trade in rare and endangered species.
8. The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 checks indiscriminate deforestation and diversion of forest land for
non forest purposes.

CONCLUSION
The Opposition in the Parliament strongly opposed the inclusion of fundamental duties in the Constitution by
the Congress government. However, the new Janata Government headed by Morarji Desai in the
post-emergency period did not annul the Fundamental Duties. This shows that there was an eventual
consensus on the necessity and desirability of including the Fundamental Duties in the Constitution. This is
more clear with the addition of one more Fundamental Duty in 2002 by the 86th Amendment Act.