CHAPTER I

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

INTRODUCTION

Human rights, are the rights that belong to an individual or group of individuals simply
for being human, or as a consequence of inherent human vulnerability, or because they
are requisite to the possibility of a just society. Whatever their theoretical justification,
human rights refer to a wide continuum of values or capabilities thought to enhance
human agency or protect human interests and declared to be universal in character, in
some sense equally claimed for all human beings, present and future. It is a common
observation that human beings everywhere require the realization of diverse values or
capabilities to ensure their individual and collective well-being. It also is a common
observation that this requirement—whether conceived or expressed as a moral or a legal
demand—is often painfully frustrated by social as well as natural forces, resulting in
exploitation, oppression, persecution, and other forms of deprivation. Deeply rooted in
these twin observations are the beginnings of what today are called “human rights” and
the national and international legal processes associated with them.

In this chapter I mainly discussing about the evolution of human rights in each and every
period of time in the world. In the first topic I like to discuss about the historical evidence
of human rights in the world wide view. Under this topic we can see the human rights in
the ancient period, from the different civilizations whole over the world. Egypt, Romans,
Anglo Indian etc. then it goes to the classical period and then to the medieval period and
sown. Next sub heading is that human rights after 1945. In 1945 we know that coming up
of United Nations Organisation. After this sub title we see the evolution of human rights
in Indian context. Here we see through the Hindu and Islamic ancient law about human
rights. Then we discussed about the human rights development in the time of British rule,
and after the independence and so own.

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 5

1.1. EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE WORLD.

The emergence of rights in political thought is generally regarded as relatively recent,

though any historical study of rights reveals how indeterminate the philosophical charting
of the evolution of rights has been (Renteln, 1988). Human rights are considered the
offspring of natural rights, which themselves evolved from the concept of natural law.
Natural law, which has played a dominant role in Western political theory for centuries,
is that standard of higher-order morality against which all other laws are adjudged. To
contest the injustice of human-made law, one was to appeal to the greater authority of
God or natural law.

1.1.1. Human Rights in Ancient Period.

Human Rights are not a modern phenomenon. It is the result of a long process of
evolution. E.S. Venkataramaiah is of the opinion that the Concept of human rights is very
much the product of history and human civilization, and as such is subject to evolution
and change. The concept of human Rights is found in all cultures but in diverse forms.1
At all times and in all ages, right from the beginning there was oppression of human
beings by human beings leading to struggles, revolutions for restoration and protection of
Human Rights. In history and ancient scriptures there are references to the basic human
rights.

In ancient Egypt one of the pharaohs gave instructions to his vazirs to the effect that
"when a prisoner arrives, make sure that all is done according to the law, that custom is
observed and the right of each man respected". The code of Hammurabi stipulated that
the mission of the king is to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak....and to
promote the good of the people”.2

1
E.S. Venkataramaiah. Confronting Capital Punishment in Asia. Bombay: Paul’s Publication,
2008. 32.
2
Veena Pani Pandey, International Perspectives on Human Rights. Westport: London, Praeger
Publications, 2005. 10.
 6

The Romans gave utmost importance to law, but all were not considered equal before
law. In their view the women and slaves were inferior in status and also did not have had
equal rights with men or with their master. The king shall provide the orphan, the aged,
the infirm, the afflicted and helpless with maintenance; he shall also provide subsistence
to the helpless, expectant mothers and also the children they give birth to”.3

Besides the Graeco-Roman view on human rights, the Judaeo-Christian perspective made
a greater contribution to it. As God is the creator of all, everyone has to be treated
equally. The basic thinking emerged from the understanding that "man is made in the
image and likeness of God"4 that everyone is created in the same dignity and status. The
book of Proverbs, Isaiah and Jeremiah speak of the rights of 'the afflicted, the destitute,
the poor, the innocent and the needy.5

The liberal tradition of human rights was developed primarily in the West. In Medieval
Europe rights were the prerogatives of only special groups of people like the feudal lords,
barons, slave owners etc. The common people had no rights whatsoever and were
dependent on the whims and fancies of their masters. People with power rarely
acknowledged the rights of those without power. Throughout history people who suffered
from oppression and discrimination had to struggle hard to achieve their rights 6. However
such struggles paved the way for the evolution of Human Rights evolution of human
rights and also helped in enlarging the scope of rights.

The Anglo-Saxon contribution to human rights is noticeable. Recognition to individual

freedom emerged from the contracts between rulers and feudal lords. For instance, the
contract made by King Alphonso IX in 1088 with the feudal assembly of the kingdom of
Leon included series of rights: the right of the accused to a regular trial and the right to

3
O. P. Dhiman, Understanding Human Rights in India. Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2002. 38.
4
Genesis 1.26. NRSV
5
M. Stephen. Human Rights Concepts and Perspectives. Westport: London, Praeger Publications,
2012. 12.
6
Training workshop, Manual for Teachers of Human Rights Education. 1.
 7

the inviobility of life, honor, home and property. The most famous of such contracts was
that exacted by the feudal barons from King John, commonly known as the Magna Carta
or Great Charter of 1215. This feudal document conceded personal and political liberty to
the barons in return for their obedience to the king.7

Even though it did not affirm the rights and liberties of all, yet it gave expression to the
idea of individual freedom and became the symbol of the same for centuries to come.
Clause 39 of the Charter stated: 'No free man shall be taken or imprisoned ..., or exiled or
in any way destroyed ... except by the lawful judgment of his peers or (and) the law of the
land". During the Renaissance due to the efforts of the Humanists and in the 17th century,
the popular view that human beings are endowed with certain eternal and inalienable
rights gained currency. The liberal philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke,
and Rousseau etc. inaugurated a new chapter in the history of human rights by extending
the concept of human rights to all classes of people. They spoke about the natural rights
of man smell as right to life, liberty and property, freedom of conscience, freedom of
expression etc. The English Bill of Rights, 1689 enforced the rule of law, through a freely
and frequently elected parliament.8 It listed 'the true ancient and indubitable rights and
liberties of the people like the right to election, right to speech, right to trial by a jury and
freedom from unusual cruel punishment.

`Right of Man' became the slogan of the revolutionaries worldwide in the 18" and 19"'
centuries. Thomas Jefferson, author of the American Declaration men are Independence
on July 4", 1776 proclaimed that “All are created equal, that they are endowed by their
creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness". Rousseau, the French philosopher noted in 'Social Contract' "Man is born
free and everywhere he is in chains".9 The Marquis de Lafayette in the Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen insisted that "Men are born and remain free and equal in
7
Stephen. Human Rights Concepts and Perspectives.13.
8
Adaikkalam Subbian. Human Rights, Philosophy, Promotion, and Protective’s. Bombay: Paul’s
Publication, 2002. 45.
9
William Ebenstein, Great Political Thinkers. 441.
 8

rights...and defined liberty so as to include the right to free speech, thought and
expression, freedom of association, religions freedom and freedom from arbitrary arrest
and confinement".

The idea of rights continued to inspire the people in the 19th century known as the 'Age
of Nationalism and Liberalism'. The abolition of slavery, factory legislations, popular
education, trade unionism, the universal suffrage movement and other examples of the
19th century reformist zeal afford ample evidence to the influence of the concept of
human rights. It was only after World War I (1914 -1918) that institutional form was
given to human rights. The major trends in the 20th century like the establishment of the
League of Nations established at the end of the I World War attempted to protect human
rights between 1919 and 1939, encompassing primarily minority rights, labour rights and
rights of individuals in mandated territories10. The outbreak of World War II in 1939
changed the world's perspective. The Nazi experience and the Holocaust revealed the
horror that could result in a system where the individual counted for nothing and brought
home the realization that human beings are entitled to simple respect at least 11. It was
only after the establishment of the United Nations Organization in 1945 that human rights
became one of the central pre-occupations of international relations.

1.1.2. Human Rights After 1945

The founding members of the United Nations Organization pledged to take joint and
separate action for the achievement of "Universal respect for and observance of human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or
religion". Support for a strong human rights commitment came mainly from smaller
countries in Latin America, the West and the Third world, where the de-colonization
movement created many new member states of the UN. The Preamble to the UN Charter
declares that one of the chief aims of the organization is "to reaffirm faith in fundamental
human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men

10
Adaikkalam Subbian, Human Rights, Philosophy, Promotion, and Protectives.48-49.
11
ABA Journal, "Lawyers' Role in Human Rights". 1.
 9

and women and of nationals large and small". Article 1states that one of the principal
purposes of the United Nations is 'to achieve international co-operation..., in promoting
and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all12... Article 68
required Economic and Social Council to set up commissions for the promotion of human
rights and on this basis the Council set up the Human Rights Commission that drafted the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The General Assembly adopted the declaration on 10th December 1948 with forty-eight
states voting for none against and eight abstaining which are six communist states, Saudi,
Arabia and South Africa13. The UDHR has been called the Bill of Rights for the world.
The Declaration consists of a preamble and 30 articles under which "the human rights
and fundamental freedoms, to which all men and women everywhere in the world are
entitled, without any discrimination" are enumerated.

The declaration has a certain western bias in its emphasis on rights rather than duties, on
individual rather than collective rights, on civil and political rather than economic, social
and cultural rights. The declaration was a historic document. Before the II World War
there was almost no international law of human rights. There are now approximately 200
international legal human rights instruments of which sixty five acknowledge the
universal declaration as a source of authority. Subsequently the General Assembly
declared 1968 as the International year of Human Rights. The Declaration paved the way
for the conclusion of specific human rights treaties on genocide, civil and political rights,
economic, social and cultural rights, slavery and forced labour, racial discrimination,
rights of refugees, rights of women, torture, and rights of children14.

The UDHR had no provision for it implementation. The UN was committed to both state
sovereignty and human rights. It could not decide what was to be done if sovereign states

12
Adil-ul-Yasin, Archana Upadhyay. Human Rights, p.43
13
Michael Freeman, Human Rights. 35.
14
Michael Freeman, Human Rights. 36
 10

violated human rights because virtually all governments said that the declaration was not
legally binding. Hence from 1948 until the late 1960s the ability of the UN or the
international community to take effective action to protect human rights was extremely
limited. During that period the two main cold war adversaries, the USA and the USSR,
directly or indirectly participated in the gross violation of human rights. New initiatives
to implement human rights were taken in the 1970s in the foreign policy of certain states.
In the USA President Jimmy Carter introduced human rights into his foreign policy in
1977. Human rights NGO's also were making an increasing impact. Amnesty
International for example was awarded the Noble Peace Prize. In 1977 the human rights
group 'Charter 77' was set up in Czechoslovakia15. The human rights NGO's eventually
played a vital role in the dismantling of the communist system in Eastern Europe.

In the 1980s and early 1990s the theme of 'cultural relativism' became more prominent in
UN debates about human rights. In 1984 the Islamic Republic of Iran proposed that
certain concepts in the Universal Declaration should be revised as they were contrary to
Islam. Following this in the UN World Conference on Human Rights that was held in
Vienna in 1993, there was much talk of a conflict between 'Asian values' and human
rights. However the final declaration ultimately reaffirmed the universality of human
rights but conceded that the significance of national and regional particularities and
various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must also be taken into
consideration in the implementation of human rights. The conference also emphasized the
special vulnerability of certain groups such as women, children, minorities, indigenous,
populations, handicapped persons, migrant workers and refugees and opened the way for
the appointment of a High Commissioner for Human Rights.16

The UDHR call to every individual and every institution of society to promote respect for
human rights was given an institutional framework with the proclamation of the UN
Decade for Human Rights Education 1995-2004. The proclamation resulted in the
15
Michael Freeman, Human Rights. 46-47.
16
Michael Freeman, Human Rights. 49-51
 11

drafting of the International Plan of Action for the Decade. Mary Robinson, the then UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights said "the plan focused on stimulating and
supporting national and local activities and initiatives and is built upon the idea of
partnership between governments, international organizations, non-government
organizations, professional associations, individual and large segments of civil society. It
also reaffirmed that education in and for human rights are a right in itself that is the right
of all to learn about the rights and dignity of all and about means to ensure their respect. 17

1.2. EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA

Since the days of the lndus Valley Civilization, Indian culture has been the product of a
synthesis of diverse cultures and religions that came into contact with the enormous
Indian sub continent over a very long stretch of time. As Jawaharlal Nehru notes, there is
"an unbroken continuity between the most modern and the most ancient phases of Hindu
thought extending over three thousand years."18 The rights of man have been the concern
of all civilizations from time immemorial. "The concept of the rights of man and other
fundamental rights was not unknown to the people of earlier periods."'19 The Babylonian
Laws and the Assyrian laws in the Middle East, the "Dharma" of the Vedic period in
India and the jurisprudence of Lao-Tze and Confucius in China, have championed human
rights throughout the history of human civilization.

The Indian concept perceives the individual, the society and the universe as an organic
whole. Everyone is a child of God and all fellow beings are related to one another and
belong to a universal family. In this context, Mahatma Gandhi remarks, "I do not want to
think in terms of the whole world. My patriotism includes the good of mankind in
general. Therefore my service to India includes the services of humanity."20

17
Digumarti Bhaskara Rao. UN Decade for Human Rights Education. 66.
18
Jawaharlar Nehru. The Discovery of lndia. 88.
19
Attar Chand, Politics of Human Rights and Civil Liberties. Delhi: UDH Publishers, 1985. p45.
20
Jawaharlal Nehru. The Discovery of lndia. 420
 12

1.2.1. Origin and Development of Human Rights in India

The Buddhist doctrine of non-violence in deed and thought says Nagendra Singh: "is a
humanitarian doctrine par excellence, dating back to the third century B.C.”21 Jainism too
contained similar doctrines. According to the Gita, "he who has no ill will to any being,
who is friendly and compassionate, who is free from egoism and self sense and who is
even-minded in pain and pleasure and patient" is dear to God. It also says that divinity in
humans is represented by the virtues of non-violence, truth, freedom from anger,
renunciation, and aversion to fault-finding, compassion to living being, freedom from
covetousness, gentleness, modesty and steadiness-the qualities that a good human being
ought to have.22 The historical account of ancient Bharat proves beyond doubt that human
rights were as muck manifest in the ancient Hindu and Islamic civilizations as in the
European Christian civilizations. Ashoka, the prophet Mohammed and Akbar cannot be
excluded from the geneology of human rights.23

1.2.1.1. Ancient Hindu Law of Human Rights.

Scholars who have spent long time in lucubration on the Hindu "Dharmasastras" and the
"Arthasastras" and other legal treatises of the past have discovered an amazing system,
which, interalia, regulates the duties of Kings, judges, subjects and judicial as well as
legal procedures. The central concept is Dharma, the functional focus of which is social
order. The message is "Dharma" as the supreme value, which binds kings and citizens,
men and women. Human rights gain meaning only when there is an independent judiciary
to enforce rights. Here, the Dharmasastras are clear and categoric.24

The independence of the judiciary was one of the outstanding features of the Hindu
judicial system. Even during the days of Hindu monarchy, the administration of justice

21
Nagendra Singh, Enfor-ement of Human Rights. Calcutta: Eastern Law House Pvt. Ltd, 1986. p
7.
22
S. Radhakrishnan (trans.) The Bhagavadgita. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1958. p 276.
23
Yogesh K. Tyagi, "Third World Response to Human Rights," Indian Journal of International
Law, Vol .21, No.1 (January -March 1981): 120-121.
24
V.R. Krisha lyer, The Dialectics and Dynamics of Human Rights in India: Yesterday Today and
Tomorrow, Tagore Law Lectures (New Delhi: Eastern Law House, 1999) 115.
 13

always remained separate from the executive. It was, as a rule, independent both in form
and spirit. It was the Hindu judicial system that first realized and recognized the
importance of the separation of the judiciary from the executive and gave this
fundamental principle a practical shape and form. The case of Ananthapindika v. Jeta
reported in the vinaya-pitaka,25 is a shining illustration of this principle. According to it, a
Prince and a private citizen submitted their cases before the law court arid the court
decided against the Prince. The Prince accepted the decision as a matter of course and as
binding on him. The evolution f the principle of separation of the judiciary from the
executive was largely the result of the Hindu conception of law as binding on the
sovereign. Law in Hindu jurisprudence was above the sovereign. It was the "Dharma."
The laws were then not regarded as much as a product of supreme Parliaments and
Legislatures as at present. Certain laws were regarded as above all human authority.
Such, for instance, were the natural laws, which no Parliament, however supreme, could
abolish.

"The State was not sacerdotal, nor even paternalistic; even the King was subject to the
law, as any other citizen and the 'Divine Right' of Kings known to western political
science was unknown to India. On the whole, the aim of the ancient Indian State may be
said to have been less to introduce an improved social order, than to act in conformity
with the established moral order."26 Duty is not a tyrant, but a symbol of dignity to be
discharged with affirmative joy. The realization of this vast perspective is assured in the
Dharmasastras by the wonderful scheme or co-ordination of conduct adapted to different
conditions, status and situations of life. The scope of dharma takes in its vast sweep
human rights as well.

There are many references in the Vedas, which throw light on the existence of human
rights in ancient India. The Vedas proclaim liberty of body (Tan), dwelling house

25
V.R. Krisha lyer, The Dialectics and Dynamics of Human Rights in India. 115.
26
Mathews, Shajimon K. Human Rights in India: with special reference to the role of the Kerala
State Human Rights Commission. Mahatma Gandhi University. 2013. p54.
 14

(Skridhi), and life (Jibase). In 1367 B.C. Bahmani and Vijayanayar Kings are stated to
have entered into an agreement for the humane treatment of prisoners of war and the
sparing of lives of the enemy's unarmed subjects.27 Human rights have always occupied a
place of paramount importance in India's rich legacy because India believed in the
principle, "Vashudhaivakutumbakam,28 i.e. welfare of all.

Legal literature of the Hindu period owes much to the distinguished law givers of the
times as well as to the two Epics and the Arthasastra (Kautilya) and Sukranitisara. We are
not concerned with the legal history of the India of those days, which was quite advanced
but with the constellation of rights and duties, which constitute human rights. Kautilya's
Arthasastra asserts that “in the happiness of the subjects lies the happiness of the King,
and what is beneficial t3 the subjects is his own benefit.”29 Kautilya also disapproved of
the theory of royal absolutism and subordinated the King also to the law. Similarly,
Shantiparva prescribes that a king may be punished if he does not follow the path of the
Dharma.

In the Post-Vedic period, the rise of Buddhism and Jainism were certainly a reaction
against the deterioration of the moral order as against the rights of the privileged class.
Life was more human and liberal in the Post-Vedic era. After Buddha, Emperor Ashoka
protected and secured the most precious of human rights, particularly the right to
equality, fraternity, liberty and Happiness. Ashoka successfully established a welfare
State and made provisions for securing basic freedoms.30

Ashoka, the champion of civil liberties, allowed even the forest folk in his domain to
enjoy security of life, peace of mind and enjoy their life on par with other people in the

27
Paramjit S. Jaswal and Nishtha Jaswal, Human Rights and the Law, 1 st ed. New Delhi: Ashish
Publishing House, 1995) 5.
28
Z.A. Nizami Arid Devil: A Paul, ed. Human Rights in the Third World Countries. New Delhi:
Kirs Publications, 1994. p 107.
29
Mathews, Shajimon K. Human Rights in India. p 54.
30
Mathews, Shajimon K. Human Rights in India. p 56.
 15

society. Torture and inhuman treatments of prisoners were prohibited under Ashoka's
benign dispensation.

1.2.1.2. Human Rights in the Islamic Era

The downfall of the Rajput administration gave rise to the advent of Muslim rule in India.
It was under Muizz-ud-Din that the first Muslim Empire was founded in India. The
Muslim invasion of India created a new situation wherein the Muslim rulers or Sultans
followed a policy of discrimination against the Hindus. So the significance of Muslim
rule in India was counter- productive to harmony, justice and equality. M.K. Nawaz is
objective enough to quality his conclusion with the observation that 'Islamic law' at least
in its traditional interpretation, considers certain human being as more equal than others."
There was one law for the Muslims (the faithful) and another for the Hindus (the Kafirs
or the infidels) and as a result the principle of equality was not given much importance.31

The Muslim conquerors like Mahmud Ghaznavi and others made frontal attacks on
ancient Hindu way of life and religion. With the Mughal rulers, especially with Akbar a
new era began in the Mughal history of India in the field of human rights as a result of his
policy of 'Universal Reconciliation and Tolerance.' The European travelers who visited
Ashoka's empire highly appreciated his zealous regard for rights and justice. His justice-
loving tradition was followed by his son Jehangir too. The trend initiated by Akbar came
to be reversed by Aurangzeb, though the Marathas and the Sikhs opposed and fought the
fanaticism of Aurangzeb.32

1.2.2. Human Rights in British India

The modern version of human rights jurisprudence may be said to have taken birth in
India at tile time of the British rule. When the British ruled India, resistance to foreign
rule manifested itself in the form of demand for fundamental freedoms and the civil and
political rights of the people; Indians were humiliated and discriminated against by the

31
Mathews, Shajimon K. Human Rights in India. P57.
32
Mathews, Shajimon K. Human Rights in India. P57.
 16

British. The freedom movement and the harsh repressive measures of the British rulers
encouraged the fight for civil liberties and fundamental freedoms.

Under the British rule, human rights and democracy was suspect and socialism was an
anathema. In the Indian cultural history, the British colonial period remains the Indian
equivalent of the 'Dark Ages'. Lord Macaulay rejected the ancient Indian legal political
system as 'dotages of brahminical superstition', and condemned ancient legal heritage and
33
its inner core as an 'immense apparatus of cruel absurdities'." Lord Wellesley
condemned the Indians as vulgar, ignorant, rude and stupid and Lord Cornwallis
described as an axiom that every native of Hindustan is corrupt. The English East India
Company debarred Indians from high offices an3 deprived them of their political, social
and economic rights. The impression created in the Indian minds was that their sacred
inalienable human rights and vital interests had been ignored, denied, and trampled upon
for the sake of England and the English rulers. Mahatma Gandhi organized the people of
India under his leadership and launched his non-violent struggle to achieve self
government and fundamental rights for themselves. Lokmanya Tilak advocated that
"freedom was the birth right of Indians for which they will have to fight.34 It was because
of the stiff opposition from the people of India that the Charter Act of 1813 was enacted
to promote the interest and happiness of the native inhabitants of India. Similarly, the
Government of India Act, 1833 was passed to allow the Indians to enjoy some political
rights. The proclamation of Queen Victoria on 1st November 1858 contained some
principles of state policy, which were similar to fundamental rights in nature.

The concrete demand for fundamental rights came logically in the wake of the nationalist
movement, which coincided with the birth of the Indian National Congress in 1885. The
Constitution of India Bill 1895 known as the "Home Rule Document" prepared by the
Indian National Congress paved the way for a constitution guaranteeing every one of the

33
S .N. Dhyani 143.
34
Sunil Deshta and Ms Kiran Deshta. "Philosophy of Right to Life, A Movement from Rigidity to
Flexibility." Civil and Military Law Journal, Vol. 31:123. (July-September. 1995): 101
 17

citizens the basic human rights like freedom of expression, inviolability of one's own
house, right to property and equality before law. The Government of India Act, 1915, in
pursuance of the demands for fundamental rights, guaranteed equality of opportunity in
public services. A series of resolutions adopted by the National Congress between 1917
and 1919 repeated the demand for civil rights and equality of status with the English.

1.2.3. Motilal Nehru Committee

In 1925 the Indian National Congress finalized the draft of Common Wealth of India Bill
adopting a 'Declaration of Rights.' The Madras Session of the Congress held in the year
1927 demanded incorporation of a 'Declaration of Fundamental Rights' in any future
constitutional framework. A committee under Motilal Nehru was appointed by the
National Congress to study the fundamental rights. It is interesting to note that the
Constitution of the Republic of India, enacted in 1950, incorporated ten of the nineteen
rights enumerated in the Motilal Nehru Committee Report, 1928. The rights emphasised
by the Motilal Nehru Committee were:35
a) Personal liberty, inviolability of dwelling place and property
b) Freedom of conscience, and of profession and practice of religion
c) Expression of opinion and the right to assemble peaceably without arms and to
form associations
d) Free elementary education
e) Equality for all before the law and rights
f) Right to the Writ of Habeas Corpus
g) Protection from punishment under ex-post facto laws
h) Non-discrimination against any person on grounds of religion, caste or creed in
the matter of public employment
i) Equality of right in the matter of access to and use of public roads wells etc.
j) Freedom of combination and association for the maintenance and
implementation of labour and economic factors

35
S.Subramanian, Human Rights. International Challenge. Vol.1. New Delhi: Manas Publication.
1997. p 57.
 18

k) Right to keep and bear arms

l) Equality of rights to man and woman

The Simon Commission, appointed by the British Government in 1927, however, totally
rejected the demands voiced by the Nehru Committee reports. In 1930 tie Congress
Working Committee gave the clarion call for the attainment of 'Purna Swaraj.' The
Karachi Session of the Congress in 1931 adopted a detailed program of fundamental
rights. The Government of India Act, 1935 was passed without any bill of rights much to
the disappointment of the Indian leaders. It was the 'Sapru Committee' of 1945 that
subsequently stressed the need for a written code of fundamental rights and the
Constituent Assembly raised a forceful demand for the inclusion of human rights in the
Constitution.

1.2.4. Constituent Assembly and Human Rights

The Indian Constitution was framed by the Constituent Assembly of India, which met for
the first time on December 9, 1946. The Constitution of India gave primary importance to
human rights. To quote Guha, "The demand for a declaration of fundamental rights arose
from four factors."36
1. Lack of civil liberty in India during the British rule
2. Deplorable social conditions, particularly affecting the untouchables and
women
3. Existence of different religious, linguistic, and ethnic groups encouraged and
exploited by the British
4. Exploitation of the tenants by the landlords
The Constituent Assembly incorporated in the Constitution of India the substance of the
right proclaimed and adopted by the General Assembly in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Further on 10th December 1948, when the Constitution of India was in the
making, the General Assembly proclaimed and adopted the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, which surely influenced the framing of India's Constitution. Viewed from

36
Sunil Deshta and Ms. Kiran Deshta. 102
 19

the Indian standpoint, human rights have been synthesized, as it were, not as an
integrated fabric by the Preambular promises and various Constitutional clauses of the
National Charter of 195037

1.2.5. Human Rights and the Indian Constitution

The Constitution of the Republic of India which came into force on 26th January 1950
with 395 Articles and 8 Schedules is one of the most elaborate fundamental laws ever
adopted. The Preamble to the Constitution declares India to be a Sovereign, Socialist,
Secular and Democratic Republic. The term 'democratic' denotes that the Government
gets its authority from the will of the people. It gives a feeling that they all are equal
"irrespective of the r race, religion, language, sex and culture." The Preamble to the
Constitution pledges justice, social, economic and political, liberty of thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship, equality of status and of opportunity and fraternity
assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation to ail its
citizens.

1.2.6. India and the Universal Declaration

The constitution of India is known as one of the most right-based constitutions in the
world. It was drafted around the same time when the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights by the United Nations came into force (1948). Indian constitution provides the
spirit of human rights in its preamble and the sections on Fundamental rights and
Directive Principle of State Policy.

Individual partly and wholly expects that he/she should be provided the good
environment for his/her overall development. Rights provide that environment. Rights
have been defined as those claims of an individual that are necessary for the development
of his/her own self and recognized by state or society. Some of the rights provided by the
state and enshrined in the constitution are known as fundamental rights. Fundamental
rights are those rights that are enforceable through the court of law.

37
A.B.M. Mafizul Islam Patwaris, Fundamental Rights and Personal Liberty in India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh, 1sted'. (New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications, 1991) 63.
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The Indian constitution is based on the theory that guided India’s struggle against British
colonialism, which was marked by the violation of civil, political, social, economic and
cultural rights of the people. Therefore, after independence the framers of the constitution
provided some fundamental rights to the citizens which are enshrined in the part III of the
constitution. These fundamental rights are defined as basic human freedom for a proper
and harmonious development of personality of every Indian citizen. These fundamental
rights apply to all Indian citizens, irrespective of caste, creed, color, sex, race or place of
birth. They are also enforceable by the courts, subject to certain restrictions. The rights
have their origins in many sources including England’s Bill of Rights, the United States
Bill of Rights and France’s declaration of the Rights of Man.

CONCLUSION

In this chapter I discuss about the origin and nature of human rights which pose
significant challenges to their operation as universal standards of behavior.
Fundamentally diverging foundations for human rights may be given, that ultimately
must rely upon either divine revelation, human reason extrapolating from nature, or
deliberate human invention and agreement. Even if a satisfactory basis for human rights
can be constructed, further fundamental challenges emerge to both the `human' and
`rights' dimensions of human rights. It is not self-evident what it is about humans that
generates the moral entitlement to certain benefits, neither is the status clear of those
humans who do not share these qualities. A particular problem is posed by the manner in
which these benefits are asserted to be `rights', since this concept can operate in practical
circumstances as a liberty, power, immunity, or claim-right. The locus of any
corresponding duty for a claim-right is no less problematic. Consequently human rights
must be examined more closely, because they are at once so important and yet so
vulnerable to probing questions about their origin, foundation, substance, and operation.
 21

The discretion about this chapter can be divided into two parts such as the evolution of
human rights in the context of the world view and also in the basis of the Indian context.
Now let us look on the each part. The first part is discussed about the evolution of human
rights in the basis of world view. Here we see the human rights in the ancient period such
as in the last part of B. C. and the early part of A. D. After this we see that how the
human rights view changes in the time of origin of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights in 1945. Discussing about human rights in the world view ended there.

Second part of this chapter we see the evolution of human right in India. In this part in
the introductory part I discuses about the progression of human rights in the different
early civilizations. After this we see the origin and development of human rights in the
foundation in the different religions which stay alive in the Indian land in the ancient
period such as Hinduism, Islam etc. Then comes the human rights in the time of the
British rule, how were it and the significance of that period and sown. Then comes the
Motilal Nehru Committee’s mentioned about human rights. Then comes the human rights
influence in the constitution assemble and in the Indian constitution. At last we see the
comparison between Indian Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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