Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Citizenship” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Citizenship

Man does not live in isolation. He is a social creature and lives together with other men. Civic life is thus a co-operative enterprise. It is based on human interdependence. Men think of themselves as standing in various relations to one another; performing various services to one another, and realizing themselves in association with one another.

The world today is largely interdependent in all spheres of life. Education, health and sanitation are administered on a social basis. The community as a whole determines the sort of education our children should receive. Health and sanitation of a locality also is administered on a co-operative basis. It is obligatory for each citizen to keep himself fit and to keep his surroundings neat and clean so that he may not be a source of danger to others. Even in economic, social and religious matters, we have to cooperate with other citizens in whose midst we live. Nobody today can produce all that he needs; he has to specialize himself in one thing or the other and has to depend upon the community for rest of his needs.

Civic life places before itself the ideal of service of all on the principle of general welfare. It aims at the common good as distinct from the exclusively sectional good. Civic life and organization thus depend not only upon enlightenment but also on a high level of character—a character essentially social in its make-up. A spontaneous regard for the happiness and welfare of others is necessary.

Civic life consists of that harmonious living in which the expression of personality and social life are fused together. A citizen must be impartial, liberal-minded and ready to make sacrifice for the common good. In short, he must be a “club able man”.

But unfortunately, human beings have not yet learnt the art of living in peace and goodwill. From one world war we are being hurled into another. Science has proved to be double-edged weapon as destructive in war as it is useful in the development of art of peace.

It is, therefore, worthwhile to consider whether human relations in this world can ever be improved. It may be possible to find a cure in a changed mode of thinking, and a new direction to human conduct in a deeper sense of civic duty. The present turmoil is to be tributed to the fears and passions, and appetites of men. The malady is not entirely economic but to a large extent moral and political too. Great care is needed in deciding upon a line of action. One path may lead to peace and security, the other to war and destruction.

Man is a social animal and it is only through a life passed in a commonwealth or society, that he can use his gifts to his best advantage, and develop them to perfection. There is such a thing as `morality’. It consists of ‘the disinterested performance of self-imposed duties’. Such ‘morality’ forms the core of a true civic life.

A citizen should know that liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract. Each citizen parts with a little of his freedom so that all may enjoy a greater liberty. He is free so far as his private and individual life is concerned, but in all those matters which he has in common with others, he has .to respect their feelings and convenience. Civic life is essentially a matter of social give and take. It is social consciousness which lies at the base of social efficiency. “Live for others. It is only then that one lives for oneself”. If a citizen gives his best to the community, what more can the community demand ?