In the context of India, which one of the following is the correct relationship between Rights and Duties ?
- (a) Rights are correlative with Duties. ✓ UPSC's answer
- (b) Rights are personal and hence independent of society and Duties.
- (c) Rights, not Duties, are important for the advancement of the personality of the citizen.
- (d) Duties, not Rights, are important for the stability of the State.
Why the answer is (a)
• Rights and duties are two sides of one coin: my right implies a duty on others to respect it, and my rights carry a duty to use them for the common good — they are correlative (Laski, Gandhi) — option (a).
• The Constitution embodies this by pairing Fundamental Rights (Part III) with Fundamental Duties (Article 51A); the Supreme Court has read them together (AIIMS Students' Union case, 2001).
• Hence option (a).
Why the other options are wrong
- (b) Rights are personal and hence independent of society and Duties.
- Rights exist in society and entail duties.
- (c) Rights, not Duties, are important for the advancement of the personality of the citizen.
- Duties are equally important for personality development.
- (d) Duties, not Rights, are important for the stability of the State.
- Rights are equally important for State stability.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.