For hope in these desperate times, think back to our founding

Articles of Faith

For anyone concerned about the Constitution and the rule of law in India, the last couple of weeks, or indeed the period since the 2019 elections, would be a source of profound despair. India is no Scandinavia, but seeing Union and state governments systematically dismantle the foundational blocks of the Constitution and the rule of law, leading us to a modern version of matsyanyaya, is soul-crushing. More so perhaps because these very same governments seem to enjoy popular support for their endeavours.

One source of comfort is the knowledge that India (the post-Independence nation-state) has been here before, and survived. Large-scale social and political turmoil has occurred repeatedly almost once a decade, whether it was Muzaffarnagar in the 2010s, Gujarat in the 2000s, the Babri Masjid violence in the 1990s, the anti-Sikh violence in the 1980s -- the list goes on, but the nation endures. People have found ways to heal, to rebuild and renew faith in the nation and the government, but only to find it betrayed again.

It goes all the way back to the founding moment of modern India -- Partition.

On a personal note, it was pure coincidence that even as north-east Delhi was aflame, I found myself at the incredible Partition Museum in Amritsar, which has painstakingly attempted to collect oral and written histories of the events leading up to, and the experiences of people during Partition. It boggles the mind to even imagine the enormous suffering that resulted from the displacement of more than 15 million people, let alone the loss of life, limb and property that even today remains precisely unknown and unaccounted for.

Those of us who grew up in the south of the country are perhaps a little too removed from this part of our nation’s history to fully appreciate the enormity and gravity of this human tragedy.

It rarely registers with us that even during the height of the Partition violence, the members of the Constituent Assembly continued their solemn task of drafting for India a modern, secular Constitution, even as Pakistan chose to go the other way. It is almost forgotten that the Muslim League’s members were supposed to be part of the Constituent Assembly when it was first constituted in 1946, but they boycotted it and never took their seats. Yet, one can see no trace of rancour in Rajendra Prasad’s voice as he spoke on the opening day as Chairman of the Assembly when he said:

“It is also to be remembered and we, who are present in the House, cannot forget it even for a moment that many of the seats are vacant in this meeting. Our brethren of the Muslim League are not with us, and their absence increases our responsibility. We shall have to think at each step what would they have done if they were here? We have to proceed keeping all these things in view. We hope they will soon come and take their places and share in the deliberations for framing a constitution for their country which will give it freedom, that they will join us in our march for freedom. But if unfortunately these seats continue to remain unoccupied, it will be our duty to frame a constitution which will leave no room for complaint from anybody.”

This sentiment, expressed on the first day that the Constituent Assembly met, never diminished amid the heated debates that took place in the House. It continued even as communal violence broke out in Delhi and it became a large camp for Partition refugees, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties and strict curfew had to be imposed. The Assembly members were not immune to all this: members of the Assembly needed curfew passes to even get to Parliament, where the sessions were being held. They often found their work had to be curtailed by the need to ensure that their staff got home ahead of the imposition of curfew.

Yet, amid all this violence and bloodshed, they did not waver from their firm conviction that India will be a secular democratic republic, equally protecting everyone’s civil rights. It was both “a people’s constitution” (as scholar Rohit De points out in his book of the same name) and one which espoused modern liberal values. Enacting the Constitution of India as we know it was an act of hope in times of great despair. If one needs to find hope in the present time of despair, one needs to look no further than to this founding moment of our republic.