By: Krishanu Das

The Indian Constitution is the first thing that springs to mind when we hear words like "JUSTICE," "LIBERTY," "EQUALITY," and "FRATERNITY." These are words from the Indian Constitution's preamble, which signified the birth of an independent India. This Sovereign document, drafted by the Drafting Committee led by B.R. Ambedkar, is the world's largest and longest Constitution, with 395 articles and 12 schedules, long enough to make us fall asleep yet powerful enough to manage a country the size of India. However, the length and language are irrelevant because it was intended to cater to a small subset of privileged individuals. Consequently, they ensured the language was tough enough, and the text was long enough to bore the public.  

The thought behind making the Constituent Assembly was to reflect people's desire. The phrase "We the People" indicates that it was written by, for, and about the people. But "The People" who represented our will, did they consider everyone's will? It appears that the definition of people for them was our "beloved" politicians. But, I suppose, they're utilising that power to represent the people's will. But I think that's the beauty of Indian society. I mean, we would have probably posted some good Instagram stories showing that we care, but in reality, I think that's all we have done, which is a significant amount of work to improvise our Constitution.

The first draft of our Constitution came out about 70 years ago, and things have been going well for India. After such a violent history and all of India's misfortunes, I believe these 70-year-old concepts would be sufficient to operate the system for another 70 years. Evolution has been a massive part of the human race, and I think it has influenced all of the changes and advancements we've made, but I don't believe the laws of nature apply to our Constitution. How flaw "less" could it possibly be?

Our Constitution was written to protect the people's interests, but does it do so? Take, for example, the concept of "Religion." Every religion, like every other, has its own set of beliefs. The semantic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are rooted in the faith in a single God who created all things and beings. On the other hand, we have Indic cultures, and customs practised for thousands of years and are considered ancestral wisdom. There is no single God, no single holy book, and no claims to truth in Indian faiths. As a result, the term "Religion" to embrace fundamentally distinct ideas confounded and perplexed the framers of the Constitution and their descendants. Our founding fathers did such an excellent job that we could sum up a person's beliefs in a single word. It may mean different things to different people. Still, these people were so confident of their ability to express people's will that they could never fathom someone having a different viewpoint, but that has always been the beauty of Indian leadership.

What surprises me is that our founding fathers were more concerned with our fundamental rights than our essential responsibilities. Maybe it's just me, but I believe they perform a very similar and equally vital function in any society. But, in any case, they were concerned about everyone's well-being. But, because they kept "my interests" in mind, I think I shouldn't be questioning them now. One of the significant flaws in our legal system is that it is supposed to provide justice to all (social, economic, and political), one of our Constitution's primary goals. It is one of the slowest systems, but I believe it has been fed in our minds that our court system is slow but provides justice. I try to think of it, but it reminds me of the Ayodhya Babri case or criminal instances such as Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Mattoo, Nitish Katara, etc.

But I don't think all of this matters because at least we could satisfy the needs of some "privileged" class. That's the beauty of our Constitution.

References:-

  1. https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/11/indian-constitution-a-comprehensive-analysis-loopholes-and-more/
  2. https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2018/aug/02/the-problem-with-our-constitution-1851891.html
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