The Sardar Swaran Singh Committee had originally recommended how many Fundamental Duties?

The Sardar Swaran Singh Committee, set up in 1976, recommended the inclusion of eight Fundamental Duties in the Constitution.

What the government did:

• The government accepted the idea but went further.
• The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 inserted ten Fundamental Duties in Article 51A, two more than the committee had suggested.

Later addition:

• The 86th Amendment Act, 2002 added an eleventh duty in Article 51A(k).
• It requires a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to a child aged 6 to 14.
• So there are now eleven Fundamental Duties.

Recommendations that were not accepted:

• The committee wanted Parliament to be able to impose penalties or punishment for non-compliance with the duties.
• It wanted laws imposing such penalties to be protected from challenge in courts on the ground of violating Fundamental Rights.
• It also suggested a duty to pay taxes.
• None of these were included in the Constitution.

Why the committee recommended duties:

• It felt that during the years after independence, people had focused only on their rights and not on their responsibilities.
• It believed that a list of duties would encourage discipline and commitment to the nation.

Criticism:

• Critics said the list was incomplete, because it did not include duties such as voting and paying taxes.
• They also said some duties were vague, such as "composite culture" and "noble ideals".
• Since the duties are non-justiciable, some saw them as mere moral advice.

Value of the duties:

They serve as a reminder to citizens and help courts in interpreting laws.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Ten is the number added in 1976.
• ✗Eleven is the present number.
• ✗Six does not match any stage.