The article, “Expanding the Idea of India” (July 15) has some shallow recommendations. Some of the “additional duties” are already well-established and appear to be a novelty as most people ignore them. The best a government can do about propagating these duties is to create awareness in educational institutions, workplaces and villages. It can even think of celebrating a “Fundamental Duties Day”, thus making citizens more aware and responsible about what is expected of them. I would also like to comment about the duty to “pay taxes”. The loopholes in tax collection must be closed first. Those who pay their taxes regularly should also be rewarded.
Monika Singh,Sonepat, Haryana
While Justice Kurian has highlighted the many things we should do to improve our society, one wonders whether an amendment to the Constitution would lead to any significant behavioural change on the ground, more so when Part IV-A of the Constitution that deals with Fundamental Duties has no punitive provisions and are non-justiciable in nature. Furthermore, as the writer points out, “our polity is not even aware” of existing Fundamental Duties. Therefore, the efforts of the state would be better channelled into investing in the political education of the body politic. The first, and perhaps the most important, step in this regard would be to include the teaching of Fundamental Duties with practical examples in the high school curriculum.
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The new set of fundamental duties will go a long way in enhancing the civic responsibility of our people. Unless there is a balancing of rights and duties, the nation cannot hope to have responsible citizens who care about the development of the country. Unless we pay our taxes on time, maintain cleanliness in our neighbourhood, and help fellow people, we cannot expect the government to usher in dramatic changes by way of enhancing the quality of life. The presence of a large shadow economy only exposes the inability of governments to collect taxes meant for development. The responsibility to choose the right person/government must coexist with the obligation to vote. A responsibility to help accident victims, prevent civil wrongs and protect whistle-blowers is needed at a time when the nation is fast losing its sensitivity to events/situations.
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