The citizens of India have every reason to cheer when the country celebrates its 67th Independence Day on August 15, 2012. They can hope to taste the fruits of the hard-won freedom after more than six decades of Independence with the state and central governments providing a legal framework to protect some of their basic rights enshrined in the Directive Principles.

   Though the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy mandated the State to endeavour to secure to all citizens of the country the right to work, a living wage, a decent standard of living and social security, it was only in the last ten years that the government started providing a frame work to enforce these rights. TheUnited Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre broke the shackles on these rights by enacting a series of laws.

    The process started with a legislation making information on the D Jose functioning of the government a....