Our Constitution our dignity

We are proud of our Constitution, which has given us real freedom from gender-based, class-based and ethnicity-based laws and rules. It is a live, progressive document, and has not failed us in these 74 years. It has given us the much-sought-after ideals of Justice, Liberty and Equality to all. The most pious hymns are written in our Constitution by men, for men, and these hymns have transformed India. Babasaheb Ambedkar, one of the main architects of the Constitution, has been elevated to the status of a god for achieving the impossible task of giving dignity to the masses. Baby Kamble writes in The Prisons We Broke that Ambedkar is deemed so as he could wipe out the age-old suffering of millions of people through the ideals he implanted in the Constitution.

The biggest revolution since Independence has been the adoption of universal adult franchise for elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies of the states. In a newly independent country with backwardness, dismal poverty and rampant illiteracy, it was an act of faith by the founding fathers to give a vote to every citizen who was not less than 21 years of age (since reduced to 18) and not otherwise disqualified under any law on grounds of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice (Article 326). Hence, there is universal suffrage and the value of one’s vote is the same for a billionaire or a pauper. It should be seen in the background of the fact that even in the advanced democracies of the West, franchise was extended
only gradually.

Now, the criminal laws are the same for all. The punishment for a crime is meted out to the accused without considering his caste. There was a time when separate laws were applicable for different varnas. Shudras suffered for a long period due to this. They had no right to education, or the right to go to temples, nor even the right to be acknowledged as human beings. It was a life of indignity. Ambedkar wrote in the first issue of Mook Nayak in January 1920, “The Hindu society is like a tower of many storeys. It has neither a ladder nor a door to go out. And therefore, there is no way to interchange storeys. Those who are born in a particular storey die in that storey. Even if the lowest storey person is worthy, deserving to be promoted to an upper storey, he cannot move to that level. And if the person in the upper storey is most unworthy and undeserving, still he cannot be pushed down”.

In the minds of the founding fathers, dignity of the individual was of supreme importance. The objective was to improve the quality of life for the individual by guaranteeing the fundamental rights of freedom, equality, etc. Article 17 as a fundamental right was directed at abolishing the practice of untouchability, which is an affront to human dignity. To enforce any of his fundamental rights and his individual dignity, a person could approach even the Supreme court directly. Of course, the indignity is still there as some fellow human beings are destined to continue working in gutters and septic tanks. These scavengers remove excreta from a dry pit. Every month, deaths are reported due to manual scavenging. It is surprising that we are aspiring to go to Mars but cannot adopt a mechanised way of cleaning and modernised sanitation.

The Constitution has given equal rights to women. Patriarchy has been the elephant in the room for long as far as women’s rights are concerned. Women have suffered at the hands of men all through the ages. The fact is, girls are not welcome into what are deemed to be men’s domains; a new bride is still blessed to bear a son, not a daughter; and there are still festivals for the well-being of sons. The daughter’s name is simply not remembered. How many of us know the names of our grandmothers or great-grandmothers? Women are involved in traditionally gender-based professions such as being health workers, nurses, teachers, sanitation workers, street vendors of food, vegetables, fruits and flowers, domestic workers, Anganwadi workers and cleaning staff in municipalities and hospitals. Of late, they are growing up to have a foot in male bastion professions and we should hope that they succeed and become a permanent part of these. The Supreme Court has always acceded to their right to reach new frontiers.

Our Constitution confirms that there would be no discrimination between one person and another on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Also, all citizens are equally entitled to enjoy the political rights to vote and participate in the process of governance without any distinction. Ambedkar knew that it was not going to be easy. He had this to say, “Our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic”.

To make our country strong and united, the recipe is ‘Fraternity’. Speaking on the need for the recognition of the principle of fraternity, Ambedkar remarked in the Constituent Assembly: “What does fraternity mean? Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood of all Indians, of Indians being one people. It is the principle which gives unity and solidarity to social life. It is a difficult thing to achieve.”

The ideals of justice, liberty and equality are relevant and meaningful only inasmuch as these promote a common feeling of brotherhood, of Indian fraternity, of being sons/daughters of Mother India, despite all the racial, linguistic, religious and other diversities of many sorts.

Some people take pride in the eras gone by, and they have the right to do so, but the present era is the best one as today, there are rights guaranteed to every human being. One can also now aspire to become President, Prime Minister or Chief Minister. It was not so in the earlier eras that are spoken of as India’s glorious eras. And it is so thanks to our Constitution.