Duties of a Good Citizen

A person who is aware of his duties and rights in his society is a good citizen. He asserts his rights and performs his duties with equal zest. His rights in fact imply his duties. In all democratic societies an individual enjoys political as well as civil rights. Political rights consist of right of vote, right to freedom of expression and faith right to movement etc, civil rights are also important, they enable a person to live in a civilized manner. A good citizen defends his political and civil rights zealously. The state helps him in that through law and justice. Violation of these rights is often punishable. There is however a tendency to emphasize the right of citizenship bit too much. We must know that rights and duties are correlative. One’s right implies an other’s duty vice versa never lost sight of by a good citizen.

For instance citizen is free to organize his life as he likes. But in actual practice there are many checks on ones freedom. One can not build a house any where he likes. One can not throw the garbage at the middle of the road. One can not blow a trumpet at midnight. If some one has right to do so then his neighbours have right to sleep peacefully. It is therefore one’s duty to see that the sleep of neighbour is not disturbed by him.

In other words there is no such thing as ultimate freedom. Let us take an other instance. One is free to do any thing legally. One can express any opinion. One can criticize the government but his freedom is not unlimited either. There are checks provided by the Government. Some of these checks are necessary. Otherwise a person is likely to abuse his freedom of speech. So it is necessary that one can impose some discipline on himself in accordance with law of the land.

Very often people belonging to opposition parties forget this consideration or they ignore it. They have tendency to put their party interests above national interests. The opposition is always on the offensive in a democracy. Even the most just actions of the party in power critiazed. A good citizen knows how to keep a balance between his party and his country.

We must emphasize the role of a good citizen in the non political sphere. He is not a political being altogether. He is a social being too. As a member of society he has certain obligations, he must pay proper attention to the social problem and contribution his bit for their solution. Illiteracy, poverty, superstition, disease and host of other problems demand the attention of a good citizen. He has to think about these and their evils. He must give his best to his society. He must not let his energies and talents go waste. It will be a social loss. A good citizen thus knows the social implication of his actions go far beyond his personal life.

Unfortunately, our people do not have a good training in citizenship. As yet they have tendency to abuse their rights. Some times they do not know the rights they have. This is due to ignorance. As the facilities for education expand, this ignorance will disappear. After independence we see a common tendency among people to flout authority. This is perhaps a natural reaction against centuries of foreign rule. As years go by and people get used to freedom this abuse of freedom will also disappear.

A good citizen respects the law and lives a clean and honest life. I have already mentioned the exceptional circumstances in which even a good citizen may defy law. In normal conditions he obeys the law. If he is liable to be taxed he pays it. He does not evade taxes because it is a crime as well as sin. He knows that his good is linked with the good of others. He does not therefore indulge in dishonest practice. He does not hoard. He does not try to influence the Government officials for his private ends.

In this way I can give a long list of dos and do not for good citizen. But heart of the matter lies in the well known ancient proverbs.

“Do not do unto other what you would have others to do unto you” this is the basis of good citizenship.