‘Citizen’ primarily means who lives in a city. But the term is generally used in a wider sense to mean one belonging to a state. A citizen of a country is an individual recognized under the custom or law as being a legal member of a sovereign nation or allegiance to a government in exchange for its protection, whether at home or abroad. A citizen is one of the dominant pillars of the country.
Every society has some define rules of conducts for its members in order that there may be peace and harmony among them. Some of these rules are laid down in written laws, and whoever breaks any of them is punished by a court of law. But there are many unwritten rules which are no less binding on every member of the society. Peace and happiness of the society depend good deal upon the proper observance of these rules too. A good citizen takes as much care about these unwritten rules of conduct as about the unwritten laws. Unfortunately, many in our country are careless about the former. We often throw away orange and banana skins in the street on which somebody my slip and break his/her bone. We also spit and throw things from above on the streets below. This makes the streets dirty, and the things may fall on persons passing along. We waste filtered water by leaving the taps open. Village people often wash even the clothes of persons suffering from infectious diseases in ponds. We see people standing at the entrance of trains and buses even when there is room inside. We have also bitter experience of the use of loudspeakers without any thought of the sufferings of people nearby.
Responsible Citizens
A responsible citizen abides by all the law and order of the country. They are entitled to exercise all the fundamental rights and duties, such as casting a vote, paying government taxes and protecting the country from corruption. Being a good and responsible citizen of the country, one must engage in activities or assist in tackling issues such as keeping the environment clean, raising money for charities, conserving
electricity, water, and natural resources, or protecting public properties, etc.
Every state or country provides its citizens with some fundamental civil rights such as personal rights, religious rights, social rights, moral rights, economic rights, and political rights, etc. A right is a liberty that is protected by the state, such as the right to free speech and religion.
Rights are given to the citizens for their individual moral, material or personality development and growth in social life. Responsibility is a moral duty that one should perform, such as recycling, preserving culture and heritage, etc. Voting is both a right and a responsibility.
The Duty of Every Citizen of India
-To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
-To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
-To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India;
-To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
-To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
-To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
-To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures;
-To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
-To safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
-To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity, so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
-Who is a parent or guardian, to provide opportunities for education to his child, or as the case may be, ward between the age of six to fourteen years.
A good citizen not only avoids breaking the rules himself, but also sees that they are not broken by others. We expect society to give us peace and happiness. But society cannot do much unless we help it to help us. So whenever we see a person doing any wrong, it is our duty to try to correct him. We should also help the authorities in maintaining law and order and peace for the general happiness of all.
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