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Constitution of India: Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen’s Natural Rights
The constitution began with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, equality before the law, were established as natural rights, that is, they belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away. It was the duty of the state to protect each citizen’s natural rights.
The main articles of the declaration run as under:
Article 1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.
Article 2. The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
Article 3. The source of all sovereignty resides in the nation.
Article 4. Liberty consists of the power to do anything that does not interfere with others.
Article 5. The law has the right to forbid only such actions that are injurious to society.
Article 6. Law is the expression of the general will.
Article 7. No man can be accused, arrested or detained except in the cases determined by the law.
Article 10. No one ought to be disturbed on account of his opinions.
Article 11. Every citizen may speak, write and print freely.
Article 12. A common tax must be assessed equally on all citizens in the proportion of their means.
Article 15. Society has the right to call for an account from every public agent of its administration.
Article 17. Since properly in a sacred and inviolable right, no one may be deprived of it without any legal reason.
