Editorial: For Us, the People

The Constitution of India is arguably one of the most comprehensive documents ever codified to secure equality for all citizens. It is a visionary document, and one that is exceptionally brave as well, in that it sets out to organise a Republic out of as many disparate people, ideologies and belief systems as find their home in India. While one might celebrate this diversity in normal times and on brochures, there is no denying that this heterogeneity presents a major challenge when crafting together the idea of nation. It confounds us to this day, and must have surely perplexed even the phenomenal minds which worked on drafting the Constitution. Remember, they were at work at a time when the horrors of the Partition were still fresh in everyone’s minds and communal, ethnic and caste division still very entrenched. And yet, the nation received a Constitution as brilliant as the one we enjoy. As a nation, every Republic Day provides an opportunity to marvel at the compassion which informed the minds which drafted the Constitution. As Indians, we respect the Constitution, something that is only natural because we source our dignity and pride from it. Republic Day is a celebration of the People and the very idea of India. Its preamble introduces the Constitution as a document that “We the People of India” gifted ourselves on this day in 1950 and announced to world our solemn resolve as Indians to live and govern by principles which ensure “dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of the Nation”. Admittedly, although the Constitution is aimed at making all Indians equal, disturbing disparities still mar the land, but this is not a failing of the Constitution and needs to be blamed on the limited ability of those responsible to uphold it. Those approaching the Constitution with limited ability and holding it back, are not the leaders alone, as many would have us believe, but the lay citizens as well for whom the document was drafted. As a people, we have failed in internalizing and understanding the document that makes us free, equal and empowered. As a nation, we need a greater appreciation of the sheer scale of influence that the Constitution has pulled off.
Mahatma Gandhi had visualized the Constitution of India as universal values applied to the specific and special conditions of India. Although he did not live to see the final document, as early as in 1931 he had written, “I shall strive for a Constitution which will release India from all thralldom and patronage. I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country in whose making they have an effective voice: an India in which there is no high class or low class of people, an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability. We shall be at peace with the rest of the world, neither exploiting nor exploited. All interests not in conflict with the interests of the dumb millions will be scrupulously respected whether foreign or indigenous. Personally, I hate the distinction between foreign and indigenous. This is the India of my dreams for which I shall struggle.” It has been 62 years since the Constitution was unveiled, and even though our leaders, caretakers and we as citizens have often failed it along the way, the Constitution of India remains one of the most robust, farsighted and effective documents ever put together. Few human endeavours have stood up the test of time as impressively. At the end of the day, the Constitution of India is more than a codification of rules and laws, it is a social document scripted to further the aim of social revolution by establishing conditions necessary for its achievement. Needless to add, the society it is compiled for has to respect and abide by it. Things could have been much better for India, but then, the Constitution was not offered as a magic mantra to end all ills, it was drafted to strengthen the hands of those who could bring about real change. It is important to always bear in mind that for every right we enjoy as Indians, steadfastness to this resolve is the responsibility we owe the Constitution.