Meet the Governing Document of India

Editorial:
The Constitution of India is one of the most comprehensive documents every codified to ensure equality for all citizens. It is however no secret that equality still evades the citizens and that disparities still mar the land. While this is true, it is not a failing of the Constitution; the blame rests in the limited ability of those responsible to uphold the Constitution. Those accused herein of approaching the Constitution with ‘limited ability’ are not only the leaders (read politicians) as many would have naturally inferred, but also the lay citizens for whom the document was drafted and the intellectuals who are expected in any society to refine the people’s understanding of rights, issues and situations. As a people, we have failed in internalizing and understanding the document that makes us free, equal and empowered. Take Sikkim’s example, it was the promise that the Constitution of India holds that convinced the Sikkimese to end a monarchy and merge with India. There was no Article 371F when the Referendum was held, nor any demand or understanding of such a condition among the people when the Merger happened, so why is it that public space here, in the nearly four decades that the Article has been a part of the Constitution, never received an informed discussion or deliberation on this clause which makes Sikkim a part of India? There has been a lot of jingoism and many half-truths have been thrown around, but Article 371F has not received the honest discussion it deserves. This Article is important not only because it makes Sikkim unique to the nation, but also because it undersigns its assimilation as a part of the Republic of India, makes it a part of it. What is safeguarded by Article 371F will always be safe, the Constitution is strong enough to guarantee that, but the real aspirations which moved the people so strongly in 1975 will be achieved only when the true potential of the Constitution trickles down to every corner of the State. For that, a more confident understanding of what this document is all about has to be promoted. One needs to appreciate that the bedrock of modern India is very compassionate in that it provides for a special arrangement for Sikkim even though there was no strong enough demand for it at that time. Should his appreciation be accepted, the people need to then trust the Constitution of India as the document which can resolve even the most vexed situations. But for that, Sikkim’s engagement with Article 371F will have to move beyond the lazy chauvinism which blinkers a more complete understanding. Article 371F cannot be understood in isolation of what the rest of the Constitution holds. The Article sets the conditions for Sikkim as a part of the Republic of India, and the Constitution makes India the Republic that Sikkim has decided to be a part of. This Republic Day, maybe acquiring a deeper appreciation of this document is a promise the people can make themselves and keep.