WHY CELEBRATE THE CONSTITUTION DAY
- Jayant P. Mulgaonkar,
- Senior Advocate
When India became independent on 15th August, 1947, it was,
like Australia and Canada, a British dominion. But that had
not been our national aspiration. Not at least since the Lahore
session of the Congress held in 1929 declared Purna Swaraj
or complete independence as the national goal. Before
independence, since 1930, 26th January was celebrated as
the independence day throughout the country every year. It
was this historic reason that led to the decision to choose
26th January as the date for the birth of the Republic in
1950.
The framework for the Republic was provided by the
Constitution that was adopted on 26th November, 1949. It
was the result of almost three years of labour. Dr. B. R.
Ambedkar, who chaired the drafting committee of the
Constituent Assembly and played crucially significant role,
bringing all his erudition, skill and statesmanship to the
making of the Constitution, aptly said in his celebrated
closing speech to the Assembly that “ On 26th January, 1950
, India will become an independent country”.
That Indians must shape their own destiny and framing
of the Constitution must spring from the wishes of the
people of India through their freely chosen representatives
was the persistent demand made in the course of our
freedom struggle. The Indian National Congress made
demand for a constituent assembly in 1934.
The Constituent Assembly that met for the first time on
9th December, 1946, , though indirectly elected on the basis
of limited franchise, was astonishingly representative of all
sections of the society, it was “ an India Microcosm”.
Notably, it had nine articulate women members, who by
their active participation in the debates of the Assembly ,
made very significant contribution to the making of the
Constitution.
The Constituent Assembly took almost three year to
complete the historic task of drafting the Constitution. On
13th December, 1946 , Jawaharlal Nehru, who was to
become about eight months thereafter , the first Prime
Minister of the country moved the objectives resolution
before the Assembly which was passed unanimously.
Among other things, the resolution declared the firm and
solemn resolve that India would be an Independent
Sovereign Government and draw up for her future
governance a constitution; that all power and authority of
the Sovereign Independent India are derived from the
people ; that justice, social, economic and political, equality
of status and of opportunity and before the law ; freedom
of thought, expression, belief faith , worship , vocation,
association and action , subject to law and morality shall
be guaranteed and secured to all people of India.
Despite widespread scepticism, universal adult franchise
had its advocates across the political spectrum. Mahatma
Gandhi had declared that he was not worried by illiteracy
and wanted unadulterated adult franchise for both men
and women. Motilal Nehru report in 1928 and Sapru
Committee report made in 1945 also made a strong case
for universal adult franchise. Dr. Ambedkar himself had
always been unequivocal propagator of universal adult
franchise as far back from 1919. To limit the suffrage, Dr.
Ambedkar argued ,was a kind of perversity, because
literacy had first been denied to a large segment of
population because it was illiterate . The exercise of
franchise, Dr. Ambedkar pointed out, was not a privilege
but a right and to treat it as a privilege would mean that
the “political emancipation of the un-enfanchised at the
mercy of those that are enfranchised”.
In his classic “ The Indian Constitution Cornerstone of a
Nation” Granville Austin described the Constitution of India
“ perhaps the greatest political venture since that
originated in Philadelphia in 1787”.
Our Constitutional goals were thus rooted in our long
struggle for freedom. This finds clearest expression in
Preamble to the Constitution which records the solemn
resolve of the people of India to secure to all its citizens
social, economic and political justice, equality of status and
of opportunity and of status and fraternity assuring the
dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of the
Nation. They are also enshrined in Fundamental Rights
chapter in Part III and Directive Principles of State Policy
found in Part IV.
• Whenever and wherever the State
transgresses Constitutional limits or limits
set by law or fails to discharge its
Constitutional obligations, the Judiciary steps
in. The Constitution invests the High Courts
under Article 226 of the Constitution and the
Supreme Court under Articles 32 and 136 of
the Constitution the widest powers. When
we reflect on how the Constitution has
worked over the years, in a large measure,
the answer is to found how far the higher
judiciary lived up to the expectations of the
founders? It is a mixed records. There have
been highs and lows. The majority opinion in
ADM Jabalpur remains in our collective
memory as a particularly dreadful letdown
by the judges of Supreme Court at a critical
juncture when our Republic faced the stiffest
challenge and Justice H. R. Khanna’s dissent
stands out as a shining example a judge
standing up to power and asserting judicial
independence.
The basic structure doctrine ,on the other
hand , was the creative answer to save the
core constitutional values which originated
from the Bar and is now firmly entrenched in
our constitutional law. Likewise the
expansive interpretation given to Articles 14
and 21 of the Constitution has been in
furtherance of the Constitutional horizons.
The creation of the Collegium system
was also an attempt , perhaps not quite
satisfactory, to prevent executive
interference in judicial appointments and an
assertion of judicial independence. Repeated
judicial pronouncements that judicial
independence and secularism constitute
basic structure of the Constitution are also
indeed reassuring.
Whether or not the Court stand up for
the liberty of the citizens against the might of
the state, give voice to the weak, voiceless
and the downtrodden seekers of justice,
protect the minority rights, depends
inevitably on the individual judges or
benches. The “Executive—minded” are
judges are present in every judicial system
so do judges who stand up for liberty and
against the might of the State and the big
corporate.
The Constitution Day is, therefore, a day
that we should be celebrating and also a time
for deep reflection.
Jayant Mulgaonkar