🇮🇳 Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi went to South Africa in 1893 as a lawyer and saw Indians treated unfairly under the law. He led peaceful campaigns there for their rights. He later led non-violent protest in India too (see Pacifism, Satyagraha and Gandhi).
Hindu Beliefs about Rights, Equality and Social Justice » Hinduism and Human Rights
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 4.1 (Hinduism)
- Why Hindu teachings about the atman, ahimsa and dharma support human rights
- How Hindus apply these ideas to liberty, equality before the law, and freedom of religion, opinion and speech
- How Gandhi and Kailash Satyarthi worked for the rights of others
- Why some Hindus say rights can sometimes be limited
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Unlock This CourseWhere Hindu teaching meets human rights
In the lesson Human Rights and When They Can Be Limited you met the idea that every person has basic rights, such as liberty, equal treatment by the law and freedom of speech. Now we look at what Hinduism adds. Hinduism has no single list of "human rights", but three teachings point the same way.
🌟 The atman
Hindus believe the atman, the divine spark, is in every person. It is the same in rich and poor, young and old. So every person has equal worth, and that is the root of equal rights.
🕊️ Ahimsa
Ahimsa means not harming. Locking someone up unfairly, silencing them or treating them cruelly all cause harm, so ahimsa speaks against them.
⚖️ Dharma
Dharma is duty. Hindus often say that rights come with responsibilities: my duty to treat you fairly is your right to be treated fairly.
Applying the teachings to five rights
- Liberty. Moksha is seen as freedom from the cycle of rebirth, so freedom matters deeply to Hindus. Many say people must be free to follow their dharma and make choices, and that holding someone without cause breaks ahimsa.
- Equality before the law. If the same atman is in everyone, the law should not treat people differently because of wealth or status. Hindus who support this point to the atman as the reason.
- Freedom of religion. Hinduism has a long history of many paths to the divine (see Brahman: Nirguna and Saguna). Many Hindus therefore say nobody should be forced to follow, or stop following, a religion.
- Freedom of opinion and freedom of speech. The Upanishads are largely questions asked by students and answered by teachers. Many Hindus see questioning and debate as a healthy part of finding truth.
Examples of Hindus supporting human rights
👶 Kailash Satyarthi
Satyarthi is an Indian campaigner against child labour. In 1980 he founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement), and in 2014 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the struggle for children's right to education.
Satyarthi has roots in Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement: he once worked for a publisher linked to it, and he gave up his high-caste surname Sharma for "Satyarthi". His campaign is open to people of every background, and it is his own work for children, not official Hindu teaching.
Common mistakes
Saying "Hinduism has a list of human rights" (it has teachings that support them). Forgetting dharma: Hindu answers often link rights to duties. Describing Satyarthi's work as official Hindu teaching.
Can rights ever be limited?
Many Hindus say yes, because of dharma and ahimsa. Freedom of speech does not cover words that cause harm or stir up hatred, because ahimsa applies to words as well as actions. Liberty can be limited when someone threatens others, because protecting the weak is part of dharma.
Other Hindus worry that limits are easily abused, and say a person's atman deserves freedom unless harm is clear. Non-religious people, such as humanists, also accept limits to protect others, but base them on the harm done rather than on dharma.
Remember too that dharma has sometimes been used to justify unequal treatment. Lessons on Varna, Caste and Gandhi's Salt March and Women and Disability in Hinduism look at this.
Exam-style question
(a) Identify three human rights. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two teachings that support human rights in this religion. [4 marks]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why some people in this religion support human rights. [6 marks]
(d) "Freedom of speech should never be limited." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
Model answer
(a) 1. Liberty (1) 2. Equality before the law (1) 3. Freedom of religion (1)
(b) In Hinduism, Hindus believe there is an atman in every person (1), so everyone has equal worth and deserves equal rights (1). Ahimsa teaches that harming others is wrong (1), so Hindus should not silence or imprison people unfairly (1).
(c) Hindus believe the atman, a divine spark, is in every person. This means all people share the same value, so Hindus argue that nobody should be denied liberty or fair treatment by the law. Ahimsa, not harming, also matters: unfair imprisonment or cruelty causes harm, so Hindus who follow ahimsa support rights that protect people. Dharma teaches duties to others, so the duty to treat people fairly becomes a right for them. Finally, Gandhi campaigned for the rights of Indians in South Africa and Kailash Satyarthi for children, showing Hindus putting these teachings into action. (6)
(d) Plan. For: speech is part of finding truth, as in the Upanishads' questions; limits can be abused; the atman deserves freedom. Against: ahimsa covers words, so hate speech and threats harm others; dharma means freedom comes with responsibility; humanists also accept limits to prevent harm. Possible conclusion: speech should be limited only when it clearly harms others, because ahimsa and the freedom to question both matter, so "never" goes too far.
Exam tip
In (b) and (c), name the religion and use its own terms, such as atman, ahimsa and dharma. Do not just say "everyone is equal".