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The Protest Constitution: Time to Review and Rethink
“The Constitution, having been called a living document, itself makes space for review, reform, and resilience, and that comes from discussion and not anarchy.”
Illustration by The Geostrata
INDIA'S STORY OF CONSTITUTIONALISM
The Constitution of India, whenever discussed or deliberated, comes with a rich history of India's quest for freedom, both of the mind and the being. However, this document found its inception through the Objective Resolution speech of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 13th December, 1946. It has become somewhat necessary to remember his words when talking about the present-day developments in India's politics.
There are three specific elements of Pandit Nehru’s speech which I would like to reiterate and harp on. Firstly, the idea of sovereign guarantees. India, having won its independence at the cost of blood and sweat, made a promise to its citizens that, at all costs, the promise of justice and equality would be ushered in the new republic, with freedom of expression being at the cornerstone of the republic.
Secondly, the promise to vulnerable groups about adequate protection of their rights, beliefs, and personality as a whole, irrespective of these groups being on lines of region, caste, class, or gender. And thirdly, a semblance of global peace which would bring along with it the welfare of humankind. Lastly, this objective Resolution speech, which gave birth to India's constitution in so many terms, was never to be filled with legalese; rather, it was to be driven by human spirit and the passion of a rising nation.
However, seeing the events happening in the last few months both in India and across the globe quintessentially diluted Pandit Nehru's vision for India and its fellow world citizens. What makes more sense today is Shakespeare with his iconic monologue: “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” And this quote being a monologue makes a lot of sense, as today dissent gets diluted and critique becomes a duty not taken seriously at all.
IDEAS EVERYWHERE, ALTERNATIVES NONE
The streets swept by protests are stemming from a contestation of ideas where it's not about who trumps the other. But it's from a sense of trying to one-up those who exert undue control over institutions. It's for those who don't just seek your vote but ask for a larger role as a political outfit in your life, from deciding your rituals to setting standards of conformity on all aspects, from choice of love to language.
And that is a problem not just for the citizenry but comes out as a stress test of the institutions which are held in great esteem for the idea that yes, they will show up not for the political masters but for that “little guy”, whose voice will get amplified to be heard somewhat for course correction by the politically inspired policy makers. It must be noted that this is being written when Europe is burning one city at a time.
France, the worst hit, is being lit from the wrong end of pyromania. Now, for a country that is still taught as the founding father of ideas like liberty, fraternity, and republic in the Westphalian state system has had 15 distinct major constitutions or governing charters since the time the monarchy was deposed as a result of the French Revolution. Its current document has been one of the longest surviving.
However, the lesson to us, Indians, and in Pandit Nehru's worldview, every Global South citizen is that your institutions are not bigger than you, nor are your leaders or political systems. What's bigger is you and your “social contract” with the nation-state, and that contract is far more sacrosanct than any person or idea trying to divert, subvert, or alter that contract, which makes the state answerable to you via its institutions.
This fire, which is spreading to Brussels, across the Atlantic, has manifested in the disenchantment of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) fever, and is breaking the self- proclaimed righteous (a small pun intended) one nation at a time.
For India, it's time to see how its institutions are beyond politics; they churn the political economy for a better tomorrow, not to become a part of it. Starting from the electoral roll process, which causes the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to the demands of the students in various institutions, it all boils down to a single word: transparency. The trust should not wane in the processes that, individually, don't affect us all, but together matter to the entire populace of India.
REFORM AND REWORK TO THE CONSTITUTION
Remembering the doyen of right-wing politics in India, Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a must. It was under his administration that a resolution on the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) was created in 2002 under the then National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. An able administrator and a parliamentarian with over 50 years of experience by the time he took this decision; in hindsight, 24 years later, nothing might have changed because most of the document went without implementation; however, just a glance at its text justifies why it should be brought back, read, reviewed, taught, and finally implemented through legislation.
With 249 recommendations, suggesting 58 constitutional amendments, 86 legislative measures and over 105 executive actions under the aegis of Justice Venkatachalliah, a legal legend in his own right, the extent and audacity of this document speaks volumes.
From adding new fundamental rights: the right to water, extended education for the girl child, complete withdrawal of criminals from politics, compulsory minimum working days of Parliament, and a judicial appointment position. Implementation of this report in itself would bring out a lot of transparency and can be a starting point for larger ideas of administrative reform and constitutional resilience. And this must be an established point for people in power that tough questions will be asked, there will be an air of discomfort, and that is an affirmation for nations like India.
REMINISCING DR B.R. AMBEDKAR
However, this comes with a fair warning for those protesting as well. And to build this last and final argument, reminiscing about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in his final speech before the Constituent Assembly. Titled the famous “Grammar of Anarchy”, Dr. Ambedkar states that the birth of independent India has given us a chance to rethink methods like non-cooperation and civil disobedience, which must lose their significance, as now there are constitutional routes to voice out dissent, and not using such routes is making democracy destructive at its core.
So it goes without saying that when a senior advocate of the Supreme Court talks about regime change, not following suit with him, as a voice myself from the legal field, becomes a well-thought-out and conscience-driven opinion. As bridging social and economic inequality was kind of like a mission for all founding members of the Indian state, almost all of them, led by Dr. Ambedkar, gushed over the idea of creating a social democracy.
This very social democracy lies in creating a society where policy is driven by social reform, where polity is not mere universal adult franchise but is anchored in a belief in the constant improvement of the state of the nation, and open channels of communication, and not the grammar of anarchy, is the methodology to achieve that. And knowing Dr. Ambedkar’s vision for the republic, he would really be at peace by seeing his words of the Constitution being a living, breathing, and dynamic document being fulfilled through constant discussion, deliberation, and delivery of changes.
A humble submission would be that the route taken by the populace of France might seem very attractive to a very chosen few who may have vested interests. For an informed public, a very important note again from Dr. Ambedkar would be to refrain from hero-worship (bhakti), so as not to create deities out of those who live like us and are chosen from among us to shape our future as a collective.
With this, let there be light on how constructive Indian democracy is so that the next century of buzzwords like Viksit Bharat are not mere ideations of those in power but are learning lessons for the global community, so that the Indian way leads to enlightening the world about peace, stability, and a safe, protected, and informed mankind.
BY KAUSHAL SINGH
CENTRE FOR LAW AND POLITICS
TEAM GEOSTRATA
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