| Smash 2025 Adv Test 10 Q.8 Analyse the role of Enlightenment ideas in shaping the course of the French and American Revolutions. |
| PYQQ. Explain how the foundations of the modern world were laid by the American and French revolution. (2019) |
The French Revolution of 1789 was a turning point in world history. What began as a revolt against monarchy and feudal privilege became a blueprint for modern democracy and rights-based governance.
- Political Relevance
- Republicanism asserted sovereignty of the people (Rousseau’s General Will). Eg- India’s Republic (1950) and France’s Fifth Republic (1958)
- Universal Citizenship: Idea of equal political rights regardless of birth resonates in modern constitutions, including India (Articles 14).
- Nationalism – Modern nationalism originated in France and spread via Napoleonic armies; later fueled liberation struggles in Italy, Poland, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
- Secularism (Laïcité): Church brought under state control. Influenced 1905 Law of Separation in France; Indian secularism (Articles 25–28).
- Universal Ideals: Liberty, equality, and fraternity remain touchstones for human rights and constitutional governance.
- Social Relevance
- Human Rights: The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) inspired the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
- Gender Rights Discourse: Olympe de Gouges’ Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791) anticipated feminist struggles that continue today.
- Economic Relevance
- Abolition of Feudalism – Ended privileges of nobility. Inspired land reforms in post-independence India.
- Property Rights & Contracts: Napoleonic Code ensured uniform civil law and influenced civil codes in Europe & Latin America
- Middle-Class Empowerment: Assertion of the bourgeoisie resonates in contemporary calls for inclusive economic growth. Eg- Occupy Wall Street (2011) protests
- Global Relevance
- Anti-Colonial Movements – Spread ideals of sovereignty. Eg- Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), first successful slave revolt.
- Democratic Movements – Inspired struggles across centuries. Eg- Arab Spring (2011) invoked liberty and popular sovereignty.
The French Revolution was the birthplace of modern political ideologies and continues to inspire movements for rights, democracy, and secularism.
Alternate Way
| French Revolution Idea | Contemporary Relevance |
| Liberty (individual freedoms, abolition of feudal privileges) | Basis of fundamental rights, civil liberties.(UDHR 1948, Indian Constitution Part III).Seen in digital rights debates (privacy vs surveillance, net neutrality, right to be forgotten); India’s Puttaswamy Judgment (2017) on right to privacy as a fundamental right. |
| Equality (legal equality, end of privileges for clergy/nobility) | Contemporary push for gender equality (#MeToo, women’s reservation in Indian Parliament 2023), LGBTQ+ rights (India’s 2018 Sec. 377 decriminalisation, same-sex marriage debates). |
| Fraternity (solidarity and collective responsibility) | Global solidarity during COVID-19 (COVAX, vaccine diplomacy); climate justice movements like Fridays for Future and India’s LiFE mission (2021) emphasizing collective responsibility. |
| Secularism (separation of church and state) | Protecting religious freedom in the context of growing radicalism, xenophobia. Ongoing debates on burqa/hijab bans in France, CAA/NRC in India, and global challenges of balancing religious freedom with state neutrality. |
| Popular Sovereignty (power rests with the people, not monarchs) | People asserting will through Brexit referendum (2016), farmers’ protests in India (2020-21), and increasing demands for direct democracy tools like citizens’ assemblies. |
| Republicanism (end of monarchy, sovereignty of citizens) | Legitimacy of governments worldwide rests on elected representatives and accountability rather than hereditary rule. (Barbados becoming a republic in 2021) |
| Nation-State Idea (unity of citizens under one nation) | Relevant to understand movements for self-determination and national identity politics today.Eg- Brexit, “America First”, India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat |
| Rights of Man and Citizen (universal rights) | Precursor to human rights discourse and charters like UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR.Evolving into rights of marginalised groups: disability rights (UNCRPD 2006, India’s 2016 Act), right to environment (Supreme Court of India, 2023, held it as part of Article 21). |
| Social Justice (abolition of feudal dues, redistribution debates) | Reflected in global inequality debates (Oxfam 2024 report on wealth concentration), EWS reservations in India (2019), and movements like Occupy Wall Street (2011) against economic inequality. |
| Revolutionary Spirit (resistance to oppression) | Seen in Arab Spring (2011), Black Lives Matter (2020), farmers’ protests in India, and global youth activism challenging entrenched power structures. |
