Right to Freedom – Article 19

JNANASELE

ಜ್ಞಾನಸೆಲೆ GK4KPSC ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ

Article 19 enumerates certain positive rights conferred by the Constitution in order to provide the ideal of liberty promised in the Preamble. However, absolute individual rights cannot be guaranteed by any modern State. Articles 19 to 22 deal with different aspects of this basic right. Taken together, these four Articles form a charter of personal liberties, which provides the backbone of the chapter on Fundamental Rights.

“Six freedoms” under the Constitution are guaranteed to all citizens conferring upon the State power to impose, by law, reasonable restrictions in the larger interests of the community. These are :

(1) Freedom of speech and expression;

(2) Freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms;

(3) Freedom to form associations or unions;

(4) Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India;

(5) Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and

(6) Freedom to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of these freedoms in any democratic society. Indeed, the very test of a democratic society is the extent to which these freedoms are enjoyed by the citizens in general. These freedoms, as a whole, constitute the liberty of the individual. And liberty is one of the most essential ingredients of human happiness and progress. The most important among the inalienable rights of man, according to the Declaration of American Independence, are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The Preamble of almost every Constitution declares the same in one form or the other as its objectives. The Preamble of the Constitution of the United States, for instance, declares that one of its objectives is “to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and to our posterity”. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution, too, proclaims that one of its objectives is to secure Liberty—“Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.”