Dear institute community and in particular the students,
India celebrates completing 75 years as a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, and Democratic republic today. Independence is about getting the reigns of the nation. The nation has to then decide where we must go and how. The Constitution is the design blueprint that contains the collective aspirations of the nation. No constitution can envisage all current and future situations. As a blueprint, it can provide the philosophical and practical basis to decide on issues that future generations face. Such is its power.
The work on the Indian constitution started early. A Constituent Assembly came into being in December 1946, consisting of about 400 members from different states/provinces, elected and nominated. The members came from an undivided India as partition was not yet a certainty. However, some sections like the Muslim League kept away from the process. (Merely 8 months into the start, partition happened and the Constituent Assembly was reduced to about 300 members.) The first meeting elected Shri Rajendra Prasad as the Chair of the Constituent Assembly, a fitting honour for a great person who later became the first President. Dr B R Ambedkar was subsequently elected the Chair of the drafting committee of the constitution, recognising his deep scholarship, experience, as well as his social vision. It will come as a surprise to today’s generation that Shri Ambedkar had constantly been arguing with and criticising Gandhiji and the Congress from early 1930s.
In his first address to the Constituent Assembly as its Chair, Shri Rajendra Prasad noted that several members who should have been there weren’t. According to him, that increased the members’ responsibility as ideas and concerns of the missing members had also to be brought by those present. Such was the Democratic spirit of those times! Constitution formation is a complicated endeavour. It had to balance all interests in a country steeped in multiple religious traditions and a multitude of castes. The only option available was for the constitution to look forward and not backward. For instance, the preamble of the constitution – described as its soul – states that “We the people of India give ourselves the constitution”. Other proposed ideas included God’s will and its variations but were rejected as India had decided to be a secular nation.
The preamble mentions four precious gifts to be given to India’s citizens: Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. These are important statements chosen to suit the India of the founders’ dreams. All-round justice is self-explanatory. Liberty is the core of the human spirit and a primary concern. Equality has to be read together with Liberty; vain freedom to do what one pleases, unconcerned by the impact on others gives no lasting Liberty. Similarly, Equality without Liberty can result in a comfortable life devoid perhaps of purpose and individual spirit. Fraternity is the deepest of them all. The citizens should feel they belong to a nation that is bigger than themselves, their caste, religion, language, etc. Dr Ambedkar has said “We are Indians, firstly and lastly.” That feeling has to be imprinted strongly in the psyche of every Indian and that was constitution’s role. The Article 1 of the constitution begins as “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Kutch to Imphal, that nation is incredibly diverse. This needs to be celebrated and not erased. We have to keep this constantly in mind, especially today.
When the constitution was completed, its main architect Shri Ambedkar stated: “The Constitution is not a mere lawyers’ document, it is a vehicle of life, and its spirit is always the spirit of the age.” The constitution must continuously embody the spirit of the people and the times. It is critically different from the authoritative books of religions. Indeed, our constitution has been amended more than 100 times by the parliament following the tough criteria for the same. However, is everything up for change? In a landmark verdict 1973 (called the Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala case), the Supreme Court limited the power of the Parliament to modify the constitution. Even the parliament cannot change its “basic structure”. That’s where matters stand now.
Maintaining the constitutional guarantees need constant vigil and effort from all its citizens. As Subhash Chandra Bose stated, “Freedom is not given, it is taken.” It has to be guarded constantly with everything each individual has. Gandhiji also has said “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and soul of its people.” Everyone of us is a guardian of our freedom and our constitutional guarantees. Emerson says in an inspiring poem that a nation’s strength does not lie in gold or the sword. “Brave men who work while others sleep, Who dare while others fly, They build a nation’s pillars deep”.
It is all so easy to forget our responsibilities when the going is good. However, if we neglect them, the going will surely get to be tough. The geopolitics has turned more complex and dark over the past decade everywhere. This is when we need to wake up from our slumber and ponder our roles as individual members of the society. How do we promote Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity around us, as individuals, as institutions, as cities, states, and as human beings? There are no easy answers but vigilance is demanded from everyone. Democracy is often understood in a narrow sense as the rule of the majority. Far from it. Democracy with Liberty but without Equality will be an empty one. The principles are already embedded in the system. “Hearts and souls” of us citizens mush ensure they are practiced in their fullest.
Coming to the IIIT community, we see very low participation of the students and others in the celebration of Republic Day, Independence Day, etc. At least 90% of the students choose to sleep in while the campus remembers the moment. Do sleep in if you really feel liberty to do that is given to you by the system. However, do keep in mind that we are the only keepers and guardians of the Liberty you enjoy. The liberty is given by the individuals who “work while others sleep” and “dare while others fly” and we must ever be cognizant of that. Participation in institute events is hardly the acid test. I, however, urge you to not be metaphorically asleep when vigilance and industry are needed to protect all that we hold dear. Positive habits towards that need to be built consciously and today is the best day to start!
I greet you all once again on this occasion and remind you of the onerous responsibility placed on each of us to uphold the constitutions and the principles on which it is based.
Jai Hind!
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