Constitutional Principles
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
As the nation celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Constitution, number of questions come to mind regarding the country’s adherence to it and the role of the political leaders over the years. The Constitution framers wanted to provide an enabling vehicle to take a feudal and segmented society with a stunted economy into progressive paths so that India can emerge strong. It also needs to be mentioned here that the Constitution makers rejected notion of any particular faith or cultural tradition becoming the basis of India’s nationalism and treatment of its citizens.
Unfortunately,the present times are witnessing dichotomy within the ruling dispensation. Political analysts point out that BJP and the Modi government are following the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS in implementing programmes or undertaking actions which violate the spirit as enshrined. Religion has entered Indian politics, and the rightist forces are using it to explain the need for following a new nationalistic path. Critics of secularism have now gained prominence and embarked on a massive drive to define the majority by highlighting instances of minority appeasement and the anti-Indian behaviour of these elements.
It needs to be mentioned here that a section of fundamentalists wanted to delete the word ‘secular’ from the Preamble of the Constitution which, however, the Supreme Court recently turned down as it rightly thought that “secularism represents one of the facets of the right to equality, intricately woven into the basic fabric” of the Constitution.
On the economic front, in spite ofthe country becoming the fifth largest economy there is a widening disparity between the rich and the poor sections, the per capita income of urban and rural areas and between the levels of income of the organised and unorganised sections of society. Remember, the Directive Principles which instruct the State in Article 39(c) of the Constitution “that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment”.
There is no doubt that disparities in wealth and income have increased over the years and reports clearly point to the fact that this is widening more so in the last two decades. Unfortunately, the policies and programmes of the government are not fully geared towards the vulnerable and marginalised sections and ensuring for them a dignified existence. The question arises here: why has this happened? Have successive governments adhered to the principles laid out in the Constitution?
Coming to the question of unity, which President Murmu stated recently in her address to both houses of Parliament on Constitution Day, it cannot be denied that in recent years reassertion of the question of nationalism has led to disunity among the people. The propagation of Hindu nationalism and ignoring the minorities has further deepened fissures in unity, which is very much needed for society to flourish. Delving into the past and finding fault with the earlier rulers will not strengthen society; there is a need to advance the country on the basis of secularism and harmony.
Going into the subject a little deeper, it may be stated that Hindutva politics has transformed Hindu nationalism though such national feeling is devoid of intrinsic socio-economic well-being. The forces that have tried to show the importance of Hindu religion as the only significant one have, however, not been accepted by all as most Hindus feel that Muslims are trustworthy and have a commitment towards Indian nationalism. But the emphasis on religion to understand nationalism has taken away the attention of the ruling dispensation towards social and economic issues.
It is in this context, one may refer to the well-known historian, Ramachandra Guha who aptly pointed out (in 2020): “The RSS and the BJP seek to achieve dominance over the political process, over the institutions of the State, over civil society, even over what people eat, how they dress and whom they can or cannot marry. This desire to control every aspect of life in the country, whether political, social, institutional or ideological, perfectly fits the textbook definition of ’totalitarian’”. This attitude to stigmatise and demonise Muslims obviously cannot be said to follow Constitutional principles and ideals.
Political analysts believe that this new narrative of social justice and economic equality that may become more pronounced in the coming years may not be good for the country as it smacks of a majoritarian bias in favour of Hindus. The bias should be to upgrade the conditions of the poor and, in this context, some political parties such as Congress, JD(U), RJD have been vociferously demanding a caste census to locate the extremely poorer section. It needs to be reiterated that targeting the vote bank to a party’s fold may not always be successful unless it is followed by an effective economic strategy as mere religious issues cannot solve bread and butter problems.
Upholding India’s heritage is no doubt important and should be promoted in a rational and judicious manner. But there is need to move towards a progressive society with a modern outlook and base our governance on the ideals enshrined in the Constitution. This means the concerns of the majority of our citizens, who have to struggle for an existence, would have to be given topmost priority and accordingly plans and programmes have to be formulated in that direction. Unfortunately, this is not happening as the vulnerable and backward sections have to struggle for mere existence.
A radical shift in policy planning and implementation is the need for both political and socio-economic transformation to be ushered in. The onus obviously lies in our political leaders to evolve, keeping in view the interests of the masses. The earlier this happens it’s better for the common man whose well-being should be of utmost concern. Thus, social and economic justice, as outlined in the Constitution, should be the basis of a country’s developmental strategy. But are the political leaders listening to the demands of the impoverished and marginalised masses?
Only time will tell whether there would be the desired shift in judiciously following Constitutional principles and values in the coming years. But if this does not happen, socio-economic justice would be hampered, and the societal structure may be retarded with grave consequences. A debate on the Constitution is slated this weekend in the Lok Sabha and next week in the Rajya Sabha. Political parties and Members of Parliamentneed to carry out their responsibilities and duties to do justice to it. — INFA