This Article is written by Bhaumik Pratap Singh, a First-Year Law Student of Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur

Introduction-

Whenever the word "human rights" is used, the first impression is what exactly are human rights? The questions are whether human rights should be conceived as claims to divine, moral, or legal entitlements; whether their justification depends upon intuition, custom, social contract theory, principles of distributive justice, or requirements for happiness; whether they should be immutable or only partially revocable; and whether they encompass a wide range or are limited in number and content-all such matters and comparable subjects remain topics of continuing debate and are likely to continue being debated so long as alternative conceptions of public order and resource scarcity continue to exist. Today, human rights have become an ensemble of rights inherent to every individual. All such rights are conferred on every individual without any consideration of caste, creed, gender, or economic status. The importance of human rights is in the fact that they provide equal treatment to all people and remain essential for satisfactory living standards worldwide.

The question that comes to mind now is: What is Social Justice and what determines the dimensions? Social justice represents one of the basic elements of a society where the word "social" plays a very important role emphasizing equal treatment among all individuals, and devoid of discrimination either based on economic status, race, gender, ethnicity, or any similar motive. A society could well be termed as just if it protects the rights and liberties of the citizens simultaneously, and channelizes all its economic as well as social resources in such a manner that maximum benefits accrue to even the most dejected groups in the society.[1] It can thus be said that social justice inter alia is recognizing some greater good for a larger group of people without violating or violating legal rights and entitlements. Social justice, as such, is a basic and integral part of the Constitution posited to form a part of its essential structure, which cannot be reduced, modified, or abrogated, as held by the Doctrine of Basic Structure of the Kesavananda Bharati case.[2]. There are many different definitions of social justice, derivable from various factors such as political ideologies, religious practices, and differing social and political philosophies; however, the same can be put forth briefly that social justice is a more comprehensive attempt by law to do away with all sorts of social inequalities, thereby balancing and reconciling different claims or interests of various groups or sections in the social strata or of individual persons.
Both domestic and international human rights documents refer to the connection between social justice and human rights. There are many articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) arguing that human rights are the cornerstone of justice everywhere. Domestic and international human rights documents and discourses are characterized by conceptual and normative links between the aims of human rights and social justice.

Historical Development and Evolution-

There have been growing demands for social justice and protection of human rights in the last few decades. Many battles between man and animals for the survival of the fittest occur throughout human history and, over time, assume the garb of racism between black and white. It was an altogether segregated and, sometimes legally discriminating place for African Americans in Pre-Civil Rights America, which resulted in the shameful system of slavery we all have come to know and hate today.[3] Human rights protection has roots in ancient civilizations: for instance, Dharma of the Vedic era in India, Hittite laws, Assyrian laws, and Babylonian laws. Thousands of years ago, intellectual ideas of "natural law" and "natural rights" were acknowledged by Greek and Roman thinkers. The Greek tradition established a conception of Natural Law by which grounds for natural rights were granted and protected by the existence of God from the time Earth came into being. Later the Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789)-are notable precursors to modern human rights frameworks. The mid-20th century saw the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948 which is a landmark declaration in the recognition of human rights and also marks the birth of the human rights movement. The Charter of the United Nations, established in 1945, begins with its promises by reaffirming "faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human persons, in equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small."

The concept of social justice first interested philosophers in the persons of Plato, who in The Republic wrote that an ideal society would be based on four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. The term "social justice" has its origin in the official documents of the United Nations in the late 1960s. Introduced in the Declaration on Social Progress and Development, which was ratified in 1969 at the behest of the Soviet Union and with the support of developing nations, the term 'Justice' or 'DHARMA' forms the very foundation underlying every principle of the entire universe and has been accorded a paramount status within the framework of every legal system. Indeed, it represents the basic principle governing our lives, and any departure from this plain law contains within it the possibility of arriving at a crisis. Indian and Hindu notions of justice are found in the Smritis and Dharma Shastras; however, the idea or theory of social justice, as understood in modern terms, is unlikely to find a place within our ancient texts. It is for this reason that, after India's independence, the Indian Constitution preamble sought to establish social, economic, and political justice for all; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; equal opportunities and status; and developing a spirit of fraternity among people so that each can preserve the dignity of the individual and national unity. These aspects serve as the very basis of Ambedkar's theory of social justice.[4] The Ambedkarian vision of a just society cannot be restricted to his efforts toward the social emancipation of the Dalits through the annihilation of caste by drafting and configuring the Constitution and provisions for SCs/STs in terms of the policy of protective discrimination and special measures and safeguards for these groups, though extremely important. Ambedkar has presented an alternative social organization framework, predicated on an India that would renounce hegemony, exploitation, and oppression accruing from caste class ethnicity, or gender.[5]

Importance Of Social Justice And Human Rights-

Social Justice ensures that everyone gets adequate healthcare and everyone gets the essentials for a good life. Social justice protects people with disabilities and prevents people from discrimination in society also promoting the feeling of equality. Human rights play a very important role in achieving social justice as human rights can help to fight indignity, fight against discrimination. Human rights promote equality among people and are one of the main parts of the government’s welfare system. To quote Kant, “Treat other people as ends in themselves, not as means to your own or other people's ends. I need to remember that you are a volitional being just like me and that I should treat you as I would like to be treated when we interact. In the same way that you are not an instrument to serve my goals, neither am I.” [6]

Human Rights and Social Justice In Our Constitution-

India's constitution is such a broad document, safeguarding the human rights provided with social justice. Understanding social justice as a dynamic, continuous process, throws hope toward providing equal treatment to every person in society by infusing resources and opportunities that are going to remove the barriers and disadvantages dished out for the downtrodden, thus guarding their dignity. Fundamental Rights are linked to Part III of the Constitution, specifically, to ensure equality under Article 14, a right to freedom under Article 19, and a right to freedom against exploitation under Article 23. All these rights promote and protect the dignity and liberty of the individual. The unenforceable Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the Constitution act as guiding principles for the policies of the state to deliver social justice. An Indian constitution is the more all-encompassing legal framework to safeguard human rights and social justice. The social justice aspect of the constitutional process has often been interpreted as a continuous and dynamic process that "looks forward to providing the resources and opportunities for sectors of society to remove the disadvantages and barriers created to further protect the inherent dignity of identifiable groups.". Part III of the Constitution has provisions for the Fundamental Rights, which also includes the right to equality in Article 14, the right to freedom under Article 19 and the right against exploitation under Article 23. These rights provide the individual with dignity and autonomy. The provisions of Part the Directive Principles of State Policy- do not come under mandatory legal obligation but form guiding principles for the state, setting in motion policies that could create social justice.[7]

In the case of S.R. Bommai v Union of India (1994)[8] where court held that Social Justice and Judicial Review is the basic feature of the Constitution of India. In Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978)[9] and Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985)[10], the Supreme Court expanded the scope of Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. The Court ruled that the right to life is not merely about physical survival but encompasses the right to live with dignity. These cases are vital for human rights because they broadened the understanding of the right to life, ensuring that it includes social and economic factors. Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018) was a historic judgment that decriminalized consensual same-sex relationships between adults by reading down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The Supreme Court held that the right to privacy, dignity, and equality are fundamental rights that cannot be infringed upon based on sexual orientation. This case marked a significant milestone in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and social justice in India. The Supreme Court held in Consumer Education & Research Centre v Union of India (1995)[11] that the Preamble and Article 38 of the Constitution of India - the supreme law envisions social justice as its arch to ensure life is meaningful and livable with human dignity.

Conclusion-

In India, attempts to correct the complex expressions of historical injustices, especially those connected to untouchability, have brought in unplanned consequences. The post-independence Indian state assumed a comprehensive redistributive justice program which was going to roll back the prevalent inequalities and stratifications. In India, attempts to correct the complex expressions of historical injustices, especially those connected to untouchability, have brought in unplanned consequences. The post-independence Indian state assumed a comprehensive redistributive justice program which was going to roll back the prevalent inequalities and stratifications.8 Thus, despite great strides in most fields, most especially the economy, scientific development technological progress, and infrastructure development, there has been a widening inequality between rich and poor peoples. But it is only during this relatively short period that the practice of human rights has become the most powerful political force. Accordingly, this framework is called for in the implementation of social justice as one of the dimensions covering geographical, sociological, political, and cultural dimensions to understand, evaluate, and characterize relationships between individuals and groups whether just or unjust. In this regard, human rights have contributed much in addressing social injustice in society toward welfare and fairness of the individuals. One impact of such ongoing development is the gradual introduction of human rights practice along with membership-based comparative appraisals that concretize a political interpretation of social justice rather than along a broad notion of a socially contextualized, minimally acceptable standard of well-being.[12]

References-

https://journals.indexcopernicus.com/api/file/viewByFileId/127593

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370115744_An_Empirical_Study_of_Human_Rights_and_Social_Justice

https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT24A3069.pdf

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1794210

https://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol9-issue12/Ser-5/F09123137.pdf

https://www.jstor.org/stable/43705601

https://www.jstor.org/stable/762002
https://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol9-issue12/Ser-5/F09123137.pdf

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Social-Justice-F3YLXLZVJ

[1] Rawls John, Theory of Justice, (1971)

[2] Keshvananda Bharti vs. State of Kerala., AIR 1973 SC 1461

[3] An Empirical Study of Human Rights and Social Justice. Journal of Psychology and Political Science, 21, 26–32. https://doi.org/10.55529/jpps.21.26.32

[4] Thorat, S, (2002), “Oppression and Denial: Denial Discrimination in the 1990s” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol XXXVII, No.06 pp. 572-578

[5] Massey, James (2003). “Dr. B.R.Ambedkar: A Study in Just Society, New Delhi, Manohar Publications.

[6]An Empirical Study of Human Rights and Social Justice. Journal of Psychology and Political Science, 21, 26–32. https://doi.org/10.55529/jpps.21.26.32

[7] Social Justice: An Indian Scenario. (2021). Quest Journals Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 9(Issue 12 (2021)), 31–37. https://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol9-issue12/Ser-5/F09123137.pdf

[8] S.R. Bommai v Union of India(1994) [1994] 2 SCR 644

[9] Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597

[10] Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, AIR 1986 SC 180

[11] Consumer Education & Research Centre v Union of India [1995] 3 SCC 42

[12] Hibbert, N. (2017). Human Rights and Social Justice. Laws, 6(2), 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws6020007