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g The constitution lays down no child below glorification. It was passed after Roop
the age of 14 years shall be employed to
work in any factory or mines or engaged in
any other hazardous employment.
g The constitution has also made provisions
against any sort of exploitation of human
being irrespective of gender and sex.
g By making constitutional rights governments
always try to ensure social justice to every
section of society.
g The Social and Just society makes the basis
of Gandhian socialism and avail the
resources to everyone and stop the discrimi-
nation.
Women have been victims of unfair treatment
since centuries. Manu, the writer of a famous
book on ancient Hindu Law. Manusmriti states
‘No stree swatantramarhati’. According to him,
women deserve no freedom as they have no
identity of their own. Women have been forced
to suffer many customs that were cruel. It led to
evils like infanticide, sati, purdah system, dowry,
etc. Women were not given rights and had no
opportunity to express their views and opinions.
This has continued since ancient times and
continues till date in some places.
As the constitution has guaranteed rights to
women, these rights have to be safeguarded.
Several laws have been passed over the last few
decades to achieve this objective.
1. To curb the evil practice of giving and taking
of dowry in society, the Dowry Prohibition
Act 1961, was passed. This Act makes
taking and giving dowry a crime. Anyone
found guilty will be fined or imprisons for a
period of ‘no less than five years’.
2. Sati is the evil practice of burning or burying
a l i v e o f w i d o w s o r w o m e n .
Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act 1987
prohibits the Commission of Sati and its
Social Science-8 201
Kanwar committed sati in Deorala in
Rajasthan, in 1987. The government is
planning to pass a law which would aim to
punish the entire village where an act of sati
took place.
3. To prevent indecent representation of
women through advertisements or in
publications, writing, paintings figure or in
any other manner the Indecent Represen-
tation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986,
was passed.
4. The declining sex ratio is another cause for
much concern in the country. To curb it, the
Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques [Regulation
and Prevention of Misuse (PNDT) Act 1996]
has been passed by Parliament. It bans sex
determination tests. This is because, as soon
as it was discovered through tests that the
foetus was female used to get is aborted.
On 29 March 2006, the first ever conviction
under the PNDT Act, which came into force in
1997, took place in Haryana. The sub-divisional
judicial magistrate of Palwal town in Faridabad
district sentenced one doctor and his clinic
technician to two years imprisonment and
imposed a fine of ` 5,000 after they were found
guilty of conducting sex determination tests on
three women, who acted as decoys in a trap laid
by the state health officials in October 2001.
THE PREAMBLE
The Preamble is an introductory document
which explains the goals of the government. It
states the aims and objectives of the constitution.
g WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA having
solemnly resolved to constitute India into a
SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR
T h e DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to
all its citizens:
g JUSTICE, social, economic and political;