Rededication to Constitutional Promises

As preparations are in full swing for India’s 75th Independence Day, it is time for us to revisit the past and to rectify the mistakes that we have made in the last seven and a half decades. Rededicating ourselves to the Constitution will be our first task as this is the only way to strengthen India’s age-old tradition of ‘unity in diversity.’ To safeguard the constitutional republic system in the country, every Indian should take a vow to promote fraternity, which is considered as one of the pillars of our constitution. Whilst discussing the topics of Justice, Liberty and Equality, often we forget fraternity as the fourth pillar of the Indian constitution. Here, the citizens have a greater role to play as Article 51A (e) of the Indian constitution states that “It shall be the duty of every Indian citizen to promote harmony and the spirit of common harmony amongst all the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.” It is time now for us to ask ourselves, have we really been able to behave in accordance with this very important Article of the Indian constitution.

By studying the incidents which have remained as blemishes to the country’s reputation as a civilised and democratic nation, it can be concluded without doubt that we have failed to protect the pledge made by our leaders at the time of adopting the constitution. Instead, the prevailing age-old amity between various religious, linguistic communities have turned into animosity these days. The gap between various ethnic communities have only widened during the last seven decades. Women are unsafe and over the years the condition of the marginalised sections of the society have not been improved in any respect. All these are violations of Article 51 A (e) of the Indian constitution. The Northeast is the best example of the violations of the promises made in the constitution. Although the people of the region have made the nation proud in various fields, especially in sports, the people have not been benefited by the constitutional remedies, which is reflected in the prevailing gap of understanding and trust. In recent times, some measures have been taken to bring the region closer to mainstream Indians, but it will take a long time to remove the sense of alienation from the minds of the Northeastern populace as they have faced enormous neglect in the most part of the last seven decades.

So to make the nation stronger, we have to infuse the sense of oneness among the citizens of the country to enjoy the other rights fully provided in the constitution. Absence of fraternity gives birth to various conflicts, which are potent enough to stall the progress of the nation. Thus, we should never see each other as rivals or enemies, but must instead practice diversity preached by Indian culture and tradition. Otherwise, India will never reach the pinnacle of progress that it aims to achieve.