A citizen is a person who lives in a particular country for a long time. He may be born in the country or not but, by virtue of his long stay in the country he earns the right to the citizenship of the country and starts being so called.

The basic difference in the acquired citizenship after stay and that of being a citizen by birth is that, when a person acquires it, it is to be by an application for the same. When a person is born in a place, he is automatically a citizen of it, and does not have to apply for it.

Now, as we all know that man, no matter where he stays, in the family, in the society, in the office or in the country, he has some obligations towards them. These obligations of an individual are called duties.

Thus, in all his activities, man has some duties, and so as a citizen also man has some obligations to the country of his citizenship. In this Essay we will discuss the duties of a man as a citizen of a country.

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When a person belongs to a particular country whether the country of his birth or the country that he has adopted due to a long stay, it is to be remembered that, the country has nurtured him.

He has grown there, avails of all facilities and advantages that accrue to the people of the country and has been granted all kinds of rights of the citizens of that country.

This is given to an individual because it is all necessary for the healthy growth of the individual. If he was not to be given that, he may not have been able to grow to his full bloom. This much is fine, but, this is only one side of the coin of citizenship.

When on the one hand an individual is given so much, the other side of the coin would obviously be to clarify and express his duties. For, let us never forget that, all rights have their corresponding duties.

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Every right that a human being enjoys in any sphere of life, there are his corresponding duties that go hand in hand with these rights. Thus, on the one hand are the rights of the citizen and the other side are his duties.

A good citizen has to fulfill several duties in order to honestly enjoy all his rights. The first duty of a good citizen is to understand his rights and enjoy them but, with wisdom and an analytical mind. He must be loyal to the country that gives him all that it has, to enjoy and grow.

He must consider the country of his living, as his own mother, for, just like the mother helps a child to grow, so does the country provide for him all that he needs to grow in every way, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Then when a country gives so much, is it not its right to demand loyalty from the individual? How can the country ever expect or accept disloyalty from a man it helps live and grow.

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How can disloyalty to a mother be accepted? Such breach of faith and loyalty, to my mind should be considered as a grave offence. Besides, can we ever disown a mother? Thus a good citizen is one who is always found to be proud of belonging to his country – whether of birth or after living.

The second quality of a good citizen is that he should always follow all the laws of the land meticulously with the greatest of caution. He should never be found breaking or flouting any law.

He must love and respect all his fellow citizens who are to him like his brothers and sisters. The society in which the good citizen lives, must feel his presence as a good person, a reliable person and as a loving and helpful person. He himself must be a good brother/sister to the others living in that country.

Besides being good, a duty of a good citizen also extends to his helping in the development of the country of his residence, because of the simple reason that, it is his, it belongs to him. Respect for all that belongs to that country is also one great quality expected from a good citizen.

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Thus, a good citizen is one who adjusts with his environment, lives up to the expectations of his fellowmen, according to all norms and rules of the country. He does not act in any way that brings any sort of dishonor to the country. With all these essential qualities, any individual belonging to any country can be called a good citizen. A citizen fulfilling these norms will be termed as a good citizen in any country.