In India, we have a “Gift Mindset” toward rights.
We think that the “Government” gives us our rights, and that it can take them away if we aren’t “good children.” We are taught that “Duties come before Rights”—a slogan used by every authoritarian regime in history to silence dissent.
This is Civic Illiteracy.
To be a Sovereign Indian, you must realize that Rights are not “Gifts”; they are “Facts.” They are the inherent properties of your humanity. Duties are not “Sacrifices”; they are “Investments” in the maintenance of the system that protects your rights.
Freedom of Speech: The Absolute Non-Negotiable
The most important right in a free society is the Right to be Wrong.
In India, we have allowed the “Hurt Sentiments” industry to destroy our freedom of speech. We have accepted the idea that if a mob is angry enough, the individual must be silenced.
Freedom of Speech is the indicator of a free society.
- It is not the right to say “Jai Shri Ram” or “Inshallah.”
- It is the Right to Offend.
- It is the right to criticize the leader, the book, and the ancestor.
A sovereign individual doesn’t ask for “Safety from words.” You realize that the only way to find the Truth is to allow every idea—even the most unpopular ones—to be debated in the open. The cure for bad speech is More Speech, not a ban.
The Right to Privacy: Article 21
For decades, we were told that “Privacy is a luxury for the rich.” We were told that if you have “nothing to hide,” you have nothing to fear.
This is a Surveillance State Fallacy.
Privacy is the Boundary of the Self. Without privacy, you cannot have Dignity.
A sovereign individual protects their Article 21 Rights.
- You protect your Digital Data from the state and from Big Tech.
- You protect your Thought-Space from the community gaze.
- You realize that the “Republic” stops at your doorstep.
Once the state knows everything about you, they can control everything about you. Privacy is your Defense against Manipulation.
Fundamental Duties: Article 51A
We must also reclaim the concept of “Duty.”
A sovereign individual is not a “Freeloader.” You realize that the Republic is a Co-operative. If you don’t contribute to its maintenance, the system will collapse.
Path 3 elevates three specific duties from Article 51A:
- Scientific Temper: The duty to be rational. (This is a national security requirement).
- Protecting Public Property: Reclaiming the “Common” from the “Sarkar ka maal” mindset.
- Compassion for all Living Creatures: The biological duty of stewardship.
A sovereign individual performs these duties not for “The Leader,” but for Themselves. You keep the street clean because you want to live in a clean street. You remain rational because you want to make good decisions.
Judicial Activism: The Final Shield
What happens when the Parliament—the people we elected—goes rogue? What happens when they pass laws that violate the Preamble?
The Judiciary is the final shield of the individual.
A sovereign individual supports the Basic Structure Doctrine. You realize that the Constitution is not a “Plaything” for the majority of the day. There are certain things—Liberty, Equality, Secularism—that No Government can change, even with a 100% majority.
You treat the Court as your primary venue for justice, and you demand that it be Fast, Accessible, and Independent.
The Verdict
Rights and Duties are the Two Sides of Sovereignty.
If you only have rights without duties, you are a Consumer. If you only have duties without rights, you are a Slave. By balancing both, you become a Citizen.
Now that we have the “Individual” fixed, we must look at the “Union.”
Let us look at Federalism.
