NCERT Solutions for Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 12 Citizenship: Rights and Duties
Updated on 2026-09-05
About this chapter
A citizen is someone who legally belongs to a country and is a member of its political community — that is, they can participate in the decision-making of the country. In India the Citizenship Act of 1955 and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 set the rules for gaining or losing citizenship. Citizenship is both a legal identity and a social responsibility; living in a place makes you a resident, but citizenship is a formal, legal membership. Rights are justified claims — what we need to live with dignity, safety and respect. Not everything we want is a right: actions that cause harm to ourselves or others cannot be considered rights. The Constitution lists six broad categories of Fundamental Rights (Articles 14–32): the right to equality (14–18), freedom (19–22), against exploitation
- Chapter opener
- Right to equality (Fig. 5.3)
- Right to freedom
- Right to life
- Right against exploitation
- Right to constitutional remedies
- Understanding duties
- –160Rights and Duties: Two Sides of the Same Coin
- Visible and invisible discrimination
- Understanding inclusion (Fig. 5.14)
Exercises
- Chapter opener — The Big Questions Page 143
- Right to equality (Fig. 5.3) — LET’S EXPLORE Page 148
- Right to freedom — THINK ABOUT IT Page 149
- Right to life — DON’T MISS OUT Page 150
- Right against exploitation — THINK ABOUT IT Page 152
- Right to constitutional remedies — LET’S EXPLORE Page 153
- Understanding duties — DON’T MISS OUT Page 158
- Understanding duties — THINK ABOUT IT Page 159
- –160Rights and Duties: Two Sides of the Same Coin — LET’S EXPLORE Page 159
- Visible and invisible discrimination — LET’S EXPLORE Page 162
- Understanding inclusion (Fig. 5.14) — In-text Questions Page 163
- Understanding inclusion — THINK ABOUT IT Page 163
- –166End of chapter — Questions and activities Page 165