“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of the frontier.” -United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights Introduction: Freedom of speech and expression is a natural right, which a human being acquires on birth. It is regarded as the first condition of liberty. In the hierarchy of the liberty, the freedom of speech and expression occupies an important position. Therefore, freedom of speech and expression is the mother of all the other liberties. The very first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum. Freedom of speech and expression is one of the most important fundamental rights of the Constitution of India. India is a democratic country; and it is said that in a democracy the right to free expression includes the right of the community to be heard and be info...

Recently, CJI SA Bobde at an International Judicial Conference emphasized the importance of Fundamental duties by saying that if each citizen fulfills his fundamental duties, all the rights can be taken care of . On more than one occasion PM Modi has drawn attention to this fundamental duties chapter inscribed in Article 51(a) of the Indian constitution. No matter how well-intentioned these people are when they remind us of our duties, implicit here's a pernicious idea. The idea that puts duties on a par with rights, suggesting that you shouldn't deserve your rights if you don't care for duties. Rights vs Duties: The problem with the state conflating rights and duties is that it might render the rights of the citizens as a quid pro quo for duties to be followed. It is not that we are completely indifferent to the concept of duties. For the smooth and peaceful functioning of our social life, we owe, often unknowingly, a wide range of legal duties to the state. The ...

History of mankind has been marked with several moments of the paradigm shift that has changed the course of our existence and intellectual conjecture of Homo Sapiens. The French Revolution was one such among several transitory pages of the political history of human beings. The French upheaval was successful to the extent that even in the modern contemporary world its reverberations can be heard. Not a single political system in the third world  era is left untouched by the echoes of  Révolution française and, the Indian political superstructure, based on a sound constitutional philosophy doesn't remain an exception. In this article, I'll be discussing with the major ideas of the French Revolution and their influence in the making of the Indian Constitutional regime. Fundamental Ideas of the French Revolution "If they can't afford bread, let them eat cakes"                               ...