RBSE Class 11 Political Science Notes Chapter 5 Rights

These comprehensive RBSE Class 11 Political Science Notes Chapter 5 Rights will give a brief overview of all the concepts.

RBSE Class 11 Political Science Chapter 5 Notes Rights

→ Meanings of Rights
Rights are those conditions of social life without which human personality cannot develop. The rights are recognised by the state. According to Bosanquet, “A right is a claim recognised by society and enforced by the state”.

• According to Wilde, “A right is a reasonable claim to freedom in the exercise of certain activities.”
• According to T.H. Green, “Rights are those powers which are necessary to the fulfilment of men’s vocation as moral being.”
• According to Laski, “Rights are those conditions of social life without which no man can seek to be himself at his best.”

→ Types/Kinds/Forms of Rights

• Natural Rights. Natural Rights are those rights which have been given to man by nature.
• Moral Rights. Moral Rights are those which are based on the ethical rules prevailing among the people.
• Legal Rights. A legal right is recognised and enforced by the power of the state.
• Fundamental Rights. Legal Rights mentioned in the constitution are called fundamental Rights.
• Civil Rights. Civil Rights are those, which enable an individual to lead a decent civic life,
• Political Rights. Political Rights are those privileges recognised and guaranteed by the law of the State, which enable the citizen to participate in political affairs and governance of the country.
• Economic Rights. Economic Rights are those, which are essential for the economic development of an individual.

→ Rights and Claims
Rights are those conditions and guarantees which j the state should provide to every citizen in order that he may attain his best self in the society. Right is a claim of the individual for doing things independently. The individual claims his right from the society. But each and every claim of the individual cannot be termed and accepted as a right. In order to become a right individual’s claims must fulfil certain condition. A right is a claim recognised by the society and enforced by the state. The claim of the individual takes the form of a right only when it is recognised by the society. Any claim which is neither acceptable to society nor enforceable by the state cannot be called as a right in a true sense. Without recognition, rights are empty claims. An individual is a part of the society. An individual cannot have any right apart from what the society concedes. Every right has a corresponding duty. But a claim may or may not have a corresponding duty. Thus in order to become rights, claims of the individual must be recognised by the society and enforced by the State.

→ Citizen and Society
State is an essential organisation as it gives the individuals such environment in which they can develop their personality. State gives the rights, liberty and facilities to its citizens for their progress and such an arrangement in which these rights and liberties can be guarded. Now the question arises of political obligation. Does a citizen have the right to disobey the state and if he has then under what circumstances he can use the right? It is the most complicated and controversial question.

According to Hegel, an idealist, “State is march of God on earth.” Idealists asserted that an individual should sacrifice himself in the name of state and before the state. They believed state is an end and individual is a mean. But famous liberalist Locke argues that the state is a trust and therefore, its purpose is to ensure and safeguard the life, liberty and property of the people. If it fails to perform those functions, it forfeits its claim to general disobedience.

→ Rights Imply Duties:
Rights and duties are closely related to each other and they always go together. A right belonging to one person imposes a corresponding duty on the others to respect his right. His right is, therefore, their duty. One’s right is one’s duty also. If an individual enjoys a right, it must be remembered that the same right belongs to all other individuals. Therefore, it is his duty not to interfere in the enjoyment of other’s rights. It is the duty of an individual to make proper use of his rights. Moreover, one’s right is one’s duty to use it for social good. Rights of an individual imply certain duties towards the state. Rights have no meaning without the state and hence it is the duty of every individual to respect the laws of the state. Thus, rights and duties are so closely related with each other that one cannot exist without the other.