Privacy

The right to privacy is one of the most cherished rights that an individual holds. It ensures him freedom from interference of all sorts and helps him lead a healthy, productive life. Privacy means that the individual shall have a right to do his work or lead his life the way he wants in his own personal space. It protects him from all sorts of State or private interference while at the same time allowing him to enjoy his freedoms. The right to privacy is part of the right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. Article 21 protects the individual space of a person and protects him from unnecessary interference in his life and activities.
The right to privacy in cyber space is not that well protected. An individual loses his privacy when he enters into digital transactions or creates social media accounts. Often the mobile phone applications 'apps' track and store his movements and those are shared with the corporate giants. Entertainment channels like Youtube, Netflix or the rest save his history, on one hand providing him a more 'personalised' experience while at the other sharing with the parent company.
Having strict digital security laws can help protect an individual from a variety of crimes ranging from cyber bullying, cyber stalking to economic frauds and protecting children from pedophiles or kidnapping in real world. Being vigilant with one's passwords and not using public devices or avoiding public wifi is helpful in protecting an individual to an extent.
However, along with the issues of individual privacy come the issues of public security. While protecting the individual privacy the State has the duty to protect the individuals from attempts at breach of security. The issues of monitoring elements that can destroy the very fabric of society by causing disruption in peace and security are also important. However, public security cannot be used as a cover to harass minorities or religious or political opponents, rather it should be monitored diligently without causing damage to the freedoms of innocent individuals.
Thus, the right to privacy is an important right that should be protected against all odds while at the same time not compromising on the public security. The question of how much privacy can individuals give up in order to maintain a strong, peaceful society is always open.

Campus security

Going for higher education means spending long time on campus. One of the issues of staying on campus till late in the evening or living on campus is security. With a large number of sexual assaults being reported on campus, it seems that the educational institutions need to make and implement harsher security laws.
It is required that strict security laws are implemented on campus and the laws regarding sexual misconduct are made discussed in the beginning of the session as well as visible notifications are placed around the campus.
A reporting body should be made where students can report any untoward incident. This body should have the power to conduct enquiry and strict actions should be taken against the guilty party. The body should work together with the local law enforcement agency and quarterly reports of any reported incidents should be sent to the enforcement agency.
No incident of sexual harassment be taken lightly. The institution should take strict action against the guilty party.
Any incident of sexual harassment involving teachers and students should be reported and the teacher should be punished for abusing his authority.
There is a need to make the campuses safe for the students. Instead of blaming the victim or ignoring the report in order to protect its reputation, the educational institution should ensure that no such incident takes place in the institute.

Freedom of movement

The freedom of movement is a basic right of a human being. Freedom of movement is an important aspect of the right of personal liberty of an individual. Article 19(1)(d) of the Constitution of India protects the freedom of movement of all citizens within the territory of India. Article 19(1)(e) provides all citizens with the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of the country. However, like all freedoms, the freedoms of movement and settle enshrined under Article 19(1) are also subjected to reasonable restrictions. Article 19(5) provides that the State shall have the power to impose reasonable restrictions upon the freedoms of movement and residence in the interest of the general public or of those of the Scheduled Tribes. Similarly, the freedom of movement is restricted in the army areas in the interest of the security of the country. The provisions of Article 19(1)(d)/(e) do not affect the application of any law in existence or the power of the State to enact any law in order to restrict these freedoms in the interests of the aforesaid groups.

Statutory rape

Statutory rape is defined as a rape with a person who is under the age of consent. In other words, the consent of a party is not considered on the ground that she is below the age specified in the law. In such cases, the defendant cannot take the plea that the relation was consensual in nature because such a consent is invalidated by the minority of the party concerned.
The consent given by a person who has not attained the legal age is same as that of a person of unsound mind or where the consent has been obtained by force or coercion. It is similar to the cases where one party holds a position of authority over the other.
In cases of statutory rape, the defendant would be prosecuted irrespective of successfully proving that the other party was a willing participant. In instances where an act is an offence under the law, the ignorance of law cannot be used as an excuse and the party would be held guilty nevertheless.

The do no harm law

A secular society is based upon the principle that the State shall not promote or demote any one religion in relation to the other. Secular societies also allow their citizens to practice any religion of their choice. The right to freedom to practice religion falls from the freedom of speech and expression, which is the paramount freedom. However, though the State cannot promote promote one religion or prohibit another, the question is can its citizens do the same. The freedom of religion is based upon the idea that each individual can peacefully practice the religion of his choice or not follow any religion at all. However, the freedom to practice religion has been extended to discriminate against the adherent of other beliefs. Prohibiting the use of contraceptives by employees as it is against the employer's religion or discriminating against LGBT individuals because of the same, are some of the common examples how citizens are using their freedom of religion to discriminate against anyone who does not fall in the same group as them. The 'do no harm' law is an attempt to bring the freedom of religion to the level where it was originally intended to be, the right to practice religion freely without harming the rights of others. In a free society, one person's rights are another person's duty but those rights also cease to exist the moment they start damaging another person's rights. Therefore, the law to prevent religious discrimination would be a much awaited step towards attaining the freedoms that everyone in a free nation should possess.

Free speech in educational institutions

Free speech is the basic human right on which every other freedom is dependent. Without the freedom to express oneself, an individual cannot claim any other right. Educational institutions catering to students belonging to a diverse background have a duty to protect the freedom of speech on campus. In order to be inclusive, institutions need to be able to address the problems and issues pertaining to a particular group. Whether it is gender identity or ethnicity or race or disability, students belonging to every category have aright to express their needs and speak up against their violations. Any form of interference by the outside elements in the exercise of this freedom should not be tolerated by institutions in a free country which claims to be a protector and guardian of human rights. Once the freedom to express themselves and demand their rights is taken away from a group of individuals, it does not take long to take away their remaining rights. Freedom to speak up is the sole guarantee that their other rights are safe and protected. Therefore, institutions should take every possible step to protect the right to free speech and establish permanent committees to look into any incidents of violations. By protecting the fundamental freedoms of students, the institute can truly claim to be inclusive and open to all irrespective of their differences.

Religion based citizenship

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, that aims at granting citizenship to undocumented non-muslims is discriminatory as it targets a specific group of individuals based upon their religion and no merit at all. Discrimination on the ground of religion is a violation of the right of equality enshrined in Part III of the Constitution. Where about four million individuals were stripped of their citizenship last year, granting citizenship based solely upon religion to another group is completely arbitrary, unjust and discriminatory.
If an individual enters a country as a refugee, it is the duty of that country to protect that individual and not turn him back to oppression. If that person has faced oppression, it does not matter what religion he follows. If an undocumented person crosses border, he should be treated accordingly. However, granting citizenship to an undocumented immigrant just because of his religion or denying it for the same reason is devoid of all merit.
Using citizenship and religion as a means of getting votes in the elections is also not permitted as appealing on the ground of religion is an electoral offence. Any individual seeking asylum should be dealt with justly irrespective of his religion. An attempt to create a false distinction based upon religious practices is unjust, arbitrary and discriminatory and is against the very principles of equality that the Constitution rests upon.