NCERT Solutions Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 12 Right to freedom — THINK ABOUT IT

Yes. Raising a question about a rule, in a discussion with classmates at break time, is exactly the kind of thing the right to freedom protects. The Constitution’s Article 19 guarantees freedom of speech, movement, and peaceful assembly, and the chapter explains that this right “allows people to express themselves, move freely, and choose how they want to live and work.”

But read the very next sentence in the chapter, because it is the other half of the answer: “these freedoms are not unlimited; they come with reasonable restrictions so that they are not misused or harmful to others or the nation.”

Notice too that the chapter deliberately gives both sides real arguments, and does not settle the question:

• Comfort and safety matter while playing sports — running in full uniform and hard shoes in very hot weather can be genuinely unsafe.
• Wearing the school uniform shows discipline and equality among all students — nobody’s clothes reveal what their family can afford.

Both are reasonable positions. The chapter asks you to weigh them, not to be told which one wins.

Yes — not because speaking was wrong, but because a concern travels further when it reaches the people who can actually change the rule. A break-time conversation among classmates changes nobody’s mind who has the authority to decide.

Better routes, in rising order:

1. Gather the reason, not just the feeling. “It is hot and we will be running for two hours” is an argument; “I don’t like the uniform” is a preference. The first can be answered; the second cannot.
2. Take it to the class teacher, the sports teacher or the student council — the people who plan Sports Day.
3. Ask for something specific and workable, for example a school sports kit worn only on Sports Day, so that discipline and equality are kept and the students are comfortable. A proposal that answers the other side’s objection is far harder to refuse.
4. Accept the decision if it goes against you, and ask again next year with better evidence.

By hearing them, explaining the reason behind the rule, and providing a real channel for a rule to be reconsidered — while applying the rules that exist equally to everyone.

• Listen first. A student who is told to be quiet learns that speaking is pointless, which is the opposite of what a democracy needs. The chapter’s closing list says democracy is strengthened through enabling and facilitating participation of all.
• Give the reason. A rule that is explained is usually accepted; a rule that is only enforced is only obeyed. Here the reason is a real one — the uniform shows discipline and equality among all students.
• Provide a channel — a class discussion, a student council, a suggestion box, a meeting with the sports teacher — so that opinions do not have to become protests to be noticed.
• Be willing to change where the case is good. This is exactly what happens in the chapter’s opening story: the children spoke to the fair organisers, and slowly changes were made — Meena joined the debate, Ravi entered the library stall, and ramps were built for Gaganjit.
• Apply the rule equally. If some students are told to wear full uniform and others are not, the problem is no longer about comfort — it is about the right to equality.