The Constitution of India is the one if the most respected text in India. Or at least that is what it is taught in schools. Yet, there are people who are either unaware of their fundamental rights or others who take advantage of this. This lack of awareness has led to many problems in the country.
The Basic Rights
Fundamental rights are provided under Part III of the Constitution of India. These grant the following rights to the citizens
• Right to Equality
• Right to Freedom
• Right Against Exploitation
• Cultural and Educational rights
• Right to Freedom of Religion
• Right to Constitutional Remedies.
This list of rights is not an exhaustive list. Most of these rights are not exercised as the maker of the constitution, Dr. Ambedkar would’ve wanted.
The Bollywood Effect on Awareness
Recent movies released by Bollywood have focused on the underprivileged section of the society. The struggles of this section have been highlighted in these movies.
The empowerment of people from such underprivileged section has become the trend in the industry. And everyone seems eager to be a part of it.
Hritik Roshan’s ‘Super 30’ threw light on the condition of education in the lower class of society and the importance of it. The limited knowledge and awareness of the lower class have been a major drawback for them.
‘Article 15’ is yet another incredible movie that shows the condition of people belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. It focuses on how a lack of knowledge of rights and lack of awareness makes them prey to high class. Their innocence is taken advantage of by people belonging to the upper caste of society. They suffer injustices due to their state.
The Social Evils
The protection of people who are unaware of their rights has become of the utmost priority in the current society. This is what the entertainment industry tries to showcase.
Education and awareness promise empowerment to this section of society. Hence, it is spreading rapidly among people. It gives people the knowledge of their rights and shows them the equality that they deserve.
The upper caste has continued to rise and the worsening condition of the lower class hasn’t faltered it. To counter this, The entertainment industry’s active action is aided by the Government of India spreading awareness. Youths are also giving their input by organizing rallies and speeches.
Another type of Injustice Spreading
The spreading of awareness is done in India through rallies and public speeches are conducted in semi-urban and rural areas.
This is done so that the citizens are aware of their rights and duties. One can watch interviews conducted on news channels regarding lack of awareness, especially on the local news stations.
But the dark side of awareness is the misuse of knowledge. A lot of people manipulate information to mislead people of their rights. This is no better than taking advantage of innocents unaware of their rights, if not worse.
https://twitter.com/jiks/status/1178617450985861121?s=09
The link shows a clip of an interview conducted by a Marathi local news channel. Here the reporters are forcefully taking away the religious accessories worn by the individuals.
They are doing so in the name of Dr. Ambedkar, which is morally and ethically wrong. Through the video, they have spread false information among citizens unaware of their rights.
Wrongful interpretation by one leads to the manipulation of others which is harmful. Such actions cause unrest among the citizens and may even lead to riots.
The reporters have manipulated and misled the public, and also taken away the freedom to dress. It is visible that their method of convincing is forceful. Such situations usually arise when an innocent gets manipulated into doing something morally wrong.
Conclusion
Even after almost 70 years of the Indian Constitution being introduced, Indians are still not aware of the fundamental rights they have. This is especially dominant among the lower class of society. Their lack of awareness often leads them to get manipulated and taken advantage of. The upper caste still holds the reign to power, fuelled by the lack of awareness of the lower caste.
The way to awareness is long and tedious, the progress has been slow. But the question still remains:
How long will it take for the India, Ambedkar envisioned of to come into existence? Or will it always remain a dream?