Constitution day makes us remember and rethink the values that India stands for

By Dr. Kapilendra Das*
India, also known as Bharat, was liberated from British rule and gained Independence on August 15, 1947. So every year on 15th August we celebrate Independence Day throughout the country. The Indians felt the taste of freedom, but there were no rules and regulations to govern the country for which British rules were effective up to January 25, 1950.
To govern India, the draft constitution was prepared by the Drafting Committee which was published in January 1948, and the same was finally adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, the day of an important landmark in India’s journey as an independent, Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. The constitution so adopted came into force on 26 January 1950. To memorize 26 January, every year we observe Republic Day throughout India. To mark rethinking and remembrance of the day of adoption of the constitution of India, 26 November has been celebrating as “Constitution Day” (“Samvidhan Divas” or “National Law Day”).
After thirty years of November 26, 1949, the day of the adoption of the constitution (Fundamental Law) of India, a resolution was passed by the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1979 to the effect that National Law Day should be celebrated to mark the adoption of the constitution of India on November 26. Since then, this day of November 26 was being celebrated as “National Law Day” throughout India, especially by the members of the legal fraternity to provide honor to the eminent members of the constituent Assembly and to assess the state of Law in the country as envisaged by the framers of the legal document.
The Government of India decided in May 2015 to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) who is popularly known as the main Architect and Father of the Indian Constitution in a big way. As a part of the celebration, while laying the foundation stone on Ambedkar Memorial at the Indu Mills compounds in Mumbai on October 11, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that henceforth 26 November will be celebrated throughout the Nation as “Constitution Day”. The Government of India thereupon declared 26 November as "Constitution Day" on 19 November 2015 by a national gazette notification. As such 26 November is chosen as "Constitutional Day" to spread the importance of the constitution and to spread the thoughts and ideas of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Various departments of the Government of India celebrated the first Constitution Day on 26 November 2015 as a mark of tribute to India's first Law Minister Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who played a pivotal and vital role in the drafting of the constitution of India and to commemorate the adoption of the constitution. Since then, this day of November 26 has been celebrated as 'Constitution Day' throughout the nation to promote constitutional values among the citizens.
Celebrating 26th November as Constitution Day in India marks our belief in the system and the rules and regulations that govern our country. The constitution day makes us remember and rethink the values that India stands for collectively as a democratic, republic, socialist and secular country. Indian citizens adhere to the laws, rights, and principles of the constitution. A constitution if it is out of touch with the people's life, aims, and aspirations become rather empty. So the celebration of constitution day is to promote constitutional values and create awareness among the citizens.
The constitution of India is prefaced with a preamble that reflects the essence, expectations, objectives, goals, and philosophies of the Indian Constitution. The preamble is the most precious part and soul of the constitution. Which proclaims, the solemn resolution of the people of India.
The preamble to the constitution of India runs as follows:-
" WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens-
· JUSTICE, Social, Economic, and Political;
· LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship;
· EQUALITY of status and opportunity.
· FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation, IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY, this Twenty-sixth day of November 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION”
The values expressed in the preamble are objectives of the constitution of India. These are Sovereignty, Secularism, Socialism, Democracy, Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Human Dignity, and the unity and integrity of the nation.
Constitution Day, also known as "Samvidhan Divas", is celebrated every year throughout the nation on the 26th November to commemorate the adoption of the constitution of India and to honor and pay tribute to the invaluable contribution of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and other founding members of the constitution. It is a national day for all Indians and a day for our self-analysis, understanding rethinking, remembering, and protecting the constitution of India, and to keep it alive and maintain its stature and significance which guides so many millions of citizens in their search for economic, social justice and political right. As a part of the celebration of Constitution Day, every citizen of India should read the preamble through which one can see the purpose that it serves namely the declaration of (I) the source of the constitution, (2) a statement of its objectives (3) the date of its adoption.
On Constitution Day we should take the pledge, to fulfill our responsibilities towards our nation and the fundamental duties to be the duty of every citizen of India. Article 51(A) says that every citizen has been obligated to perform certain duties called fundamental duties. These are the moral obligations that promote the spirit of patriotism and the brotherhood for upholding the unity of India. These duties make a citizen of the country a responsible citizen because the citizen is the country's ladder to development. The main aim of constitution Day is to make Indian citizens aware of constitutional values. When thousands of people of India take the pledge to fulfill their duties and responsibilities towards the nation and join hands together for the development of India, the spirit of celebration of “Constitution Day” will be fruitful.
By all means, the constitution of India contains laws concerning the Government (Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary) and its relationship with people and serves as a powerful emancipation proclamation ending centuries of discrimination, and economic, political, and social exclusion for millions of people. It can be said that both the constitution and the constitution day are of great relevance to all the citizens of India even today and for the future.
“Constitution is not a mere lawyers document, it is a vehicle of Life, and its spirit is always the spirit of Age”. - B.R. Ambedkar
---
*Educationalist

Comments

Budget for 2018-19: Ahmedabad authorities "regularly" under-spend allocation

By Mahender Jethmalani* The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC's) General Body (Municipal Board) recently passed the AMC’s annual budget estimates of Rs 6,990 crore for 2018-19. AMC’s revenue expenditure for the next financial year is Rs 3,500 crore and development budget (capital budget) is Rs 3,490 crore.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Sardar Patel was on Nathuram Godse's hit list: Noted Marathi writer Sadanand More

Sadanand More (right) By A Representative In a surprise revelation, well-known Gujarati journalist Hari Desai has claimed that Nathuram Godse did not just kill Mahatma Gandhi, but also intended to kill Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Citing a voluminous book authored by Sadanand More, “Lokmanya to Mahatma”, Volume II, translated from Marathi into English last year, Desai says, nowadays, there is a lot of talk about conspiracy to kill Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but little is known about how the Sardar was also targeted.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Warning bells for India: Tribal exploitation by powerful corporate interests may turn into international issue

By Ashok Shrimali* Warning bells are ringing for India. Even as news drops in from Odisha that Adivasi villages, one after another, are rejecting the top UK-based MNC Vedanta's plea for mining, a recent move by two senior scholars Felix Padel and Samarendra Das suggests the way tribals are being exploited in India by powerful international and national business interests may become an international issue. In fact, one has only to count days when things may be taken up at the United Nations level, with India being pushed to the corner. Padel, it may be recalled, is a major British authority on indigenous peoples across the world, with several scholarly books to his credit.

Call to "enjoy" pilgrimage of Sabarmati beyond Ahmedabad, where river water turns black

Sabarmati at Vautha By A Representative Nagrik Sashaktikaran Manch (NSM), a Gujarat-based civil rights organization, has called upon the state's citizens to join in a "unique yatra" along the river Sabarmati, starting in Ahmedabad and ending off the Gulf of Khambhat, where the river is supposed to merge with the sea. Pointing out that in Hindu culture, rivers are equated with Mother Goddess, NSM convener Jatin Seth says, it will be a "special event of pilgrimage", because, just like Ganga, Sarbarmati possesses "special properties." "Starting at Giaspur, one can see how industries are releasing chemicals in Sabarmati, and you get a Thumbs-Up like colour of the water, and if you drink it, you are sure to be at least affected by cancer, and this way would enable you to book your ticket in the paradise. The river has a special smell, too, emanating from a black cocktail-type colour", says Seth in a statement. A village next to Sabarmati river In...

Search This Blog