
2024 marks the 75th anniversary of Indian constitution. The new Constitution of independent India was adopted on 26 November 1949. It came into effect from 26 January, 1950. Hence 2024-25 are described as Amrut kal of Indian constitution. On this occasion lot of discussion is going in several corners regarding the constitution. Following is a two-part account, the first part pondering over the debate in parliament and the second part discussing whether the constitution be protected.
Is the constitutional journey really glorious?
The 18th parliament took up a special discussion from 13th – 17th December 2024 in the winter session commemorating the 75 th anniversary of the adoption of constitution of India. The discussion was initiated by senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha on 13th Dec 2024 and was concluded by the reply of Mr. Narendra Modi, the prime minister on 14th Dec. In Rajya Sabha finance minister Mrs. Nirmala Seetharaman opened the debate on 16th Dec and was concluded by the union home minister Mr. Amit shah on 17th December. Several members from different political parties participated in the debate. Priyanka Gandhi made her debut speech as MP in Lok sabha on this occasion.
The discussion on the “glorious journey of 75 yrs” was expected to focus on the achievements, experiences, memories and lessons from the Indian constitution [samvidhan]. Most of the constitutionalists wanted a meaningful, analytical deep discussion on the significance, virtues, values, deficiencies, failures and proposals of amendments if any to tune the constitution as per the present aspirations of people. But both the houses saw the usual callous attitude and routine mudslinging and blame game intended for political mileage between the treasury benches and opposition. It is observed that though issues such as unemployment, women’s safety, ethnic strife in Manipur and the like were raised by few, the discussion was mostly not peoples’ centric. Rebuilding the constitutional scheme to set the present maladies of the country like the poor standards of life, unequal economic trends and demographics require a close and unified focus of the political class. Unfortunately, less time has been devoted to these questions.
The ruling party concentrated to bring out the unconstitutional methods followed by previous Congress rulers highlighted its own achievements. The opposition parties similarly criticised the present rulers as communal fascists, anti-constitutional decedents and as forces trying to banish the present constitution to introduce a Manu Smrithi like code.
The first amendment of constitution was made in 1951 itself before the formation of an elected government of independent India. This amendment brought in several changes to the provisions of fundamental rights and restricted the freedom of speech and expression. It set the precedent of amending the constitution to overcome judicial judgements. Implementing Article 35A [ in 1954 special rights and privileges to residents of Jammu and Kashmir were given by presidential order] quickly and quietly by congress government without consent of Parliament, misuse of Article 356 [imposing Presidents rule in the states] in several occasions, declaring internal emergency of 1975 and committing excesses, the unconstitutional way of amendment 42 of 1976 by Indira Gandhi government (some of which were reversed by amendment 43 later by Janata government) were highlighted by BJP leaders. They praised themselves for scrapping 35A and on abrogation of Article 370 [special status of J&K state] in August 2019 with indomitable courage and resolve.
The opposition raised concerns and lamented about breaching safeguards of constitution leading to encroaching minorities rights and toppling of elected governments, misuse of Governors and other institutes unconstitutionally under NDA rule. The discussion was made to revolve round the issues of religion and reservation without any attempt to discuss the basic issues being faced by people.
The men in power both ruling and opposition emphasized on the immense progress our country has achieved in their respective reigns under the framework of the Constitution. They applauded themselves on how they deepened democratic roots of our nation during their rule over the past 75 years, thanks to the Constitution’s foundational spirit. Both wanted citizens to assess which political parties have upheld the Constitution and which have failed to respect it.
More than this, the occasion was utilised to once again rake up pseudo nationalist pride. They pointed out that Britain, once India’s colonial ruler, now trails behind India in global economic rankings. “It is a moment of pride and renewed resolve for every Indian” they said.
It was emphasized again and again that India’s Constitution, its Constituent Assembly, and the process of its creation are unparallel among the constitutions of the world. It is described as the most detailed and comprehensive written Constitution, crafted through the traditional Indian practice of extensive deliberation. The process of drafting the Constitution involved meticulous discussions over 2 years, 11 months and 18 days. The diverse composition of the Constituent Assembly, which had 299 members representing 22 religions, castes, and communities, as well as every princely state and kingdom, ensuring inclusive representation was repeatedly stressed in an attempt to make people believe that ours is a most democratic constitution.
Initiating the debate in the Loksabha, Defence Minister and a senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh put forward the BJPs angle in a nutshell. He said “The role of several leaders in the framing of the Constitution has been deliberately ignored. “a particular party” always tries to “hijack and appropriate” the framing of the Constitution. He accused the Congress of insulting the Constitution and its spirit on several occasions. The independence and autonomy of institutions could not be tolerated by it and tried to destroy the basic principles of the Constitution. Rajnath Singh told that the BJP has always bowed to the Constitution and never played with the independence or autonomy of institutions. “The Constitution talks about freedom of religion and it has been made clear that the state will not have a religion and will be secular. He said that it was not the people but the Congress who described them as communalists and that the Constitution was a testimony to the general will of the people. Our Constitution touches upon social, economic, political and cultural life and paves the way for nation-building. This is a roadmap for India’s place on the world stage. This is the result of many historical events. It should be remembered that the thoughts of those who are not part of the Constituent Assembly are part of it and they played a key role. The thoughts of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Veer Savarkar and others strengthened the Constitution.” Thus, he tried to conceal their decades long blatant and latent antagonism to the present constitution and wanted to take credit with half truths about the history.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said “Our freedom struggle is based on truth and non-violence, is unique in the world and very ‘democratic’ as irrespective of caste, religion or language the farmers, soldiers, labourers and intellectuals participated in it. The voice that emerged during that struggle was the voice of the nation. It is the voice of courage, the voice of our freedom, and its resonance is the Constitution,” she said. “Babasaheb Ambedkar, Maulana Azad, C Rajagopalachari, Jawaharlal Nehru and other members worked on the Constitution for many years. This government would have started the process of changing such Constitution had it not been for the loksabha election results. [The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had won 293 seats in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year for 543 seats. The BJP won 240 seats on its own and now is not strong enough to bring out constitutional changes.] “The government is working to dilute the reservation policy through lateral entry and privatisation. Your supreme leader Savarkar has given priority to Manu Smriti over the Constitution,” Priyanka G Vadra said the Constitution has given every citizen the right to build and remove the governments. It is true that the people of this country are chanting the word ‘Constitution’ only because they have realised that they will keep the Constitution alive,”
Congress MP Hibi Eden said, “Today, the Constitution is in danger. Despite differences of opinion between Ambedkar and Nehru, the Constitution succeeded then. But now the RSS wants to enforce the caste laws of the Manu Smriti. TMC MP Mahua Moitra accused the BJP of failing all three constitutional tests — electoral accountability, institutional [ judiciary] accountability and monitoring of media and civil society organisations . Referring to election bonds and foreign funds she said “ECI should restore people’s trust in elections.” “The framers of the Constitution did not think that judges would rely on personal conversations with God rather than on the Constitution while delivering judgments,” Moitra said in reference to a statement of former CJI- Chandrachud regarding the Ayodhya judgement. CPM’s R.Sachinadham alleged that the BJP and the RSS were trying to change the Constitution. They want to replace the Constitution with manusmriti. Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad assured that the Constitution will be protected as long as there are MPs. from his party
MP from BJP Shambhavi Chaudhary said the Central Hall was kept without Ambedkar’s photo by the Congress government. She also accused the mahagathbandhan of violating constitutional values in Bihar. Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan said the previous Congress governments had misused Article 356 and toppled state governments several times. In 1975, a midnight emergency was imposed to remain in power. All opposition leaders have been put in jail under MISA; the courts and media have been detained, deprived of freedom. Fundamental rights of people have been denied. They are talking about the Constitution now.” Lamented Mr Ranjan.
Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said “it is deplorable that the judges on duty give favourable judgments, In lieu after retirement they are taken into political parties and instituted in important positions. He accused the BJP of toppling several governments with the involvement of politically biased the governors.
DMK leader TR Baalu commented “Socialism and secularism are not just the words in the preamble, they reflect the essence of India’s democratic system, inclusive and egalitarian mission,” He said the Constitution is not just a book about laws, rights and duties, but the vision of the first generation of leaders of independent India who would guide the country later”. Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said “If this is the subject of the great journey of this Constitution, then we have to accept the efforts of everyone from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi,” “The need for this day is whether the Constitution has failed or whether we have failed the Constitution,” he asked.
SP leader Akhilesh Yadav said “It is because of the vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar that we have got a great Constitution based on principles like law, freedom, equality and unity. The Constitution is the real saviour of the downtrodden sections of the country. It is the lifeblood of democracy.”
Constitution is the foundation of India’s unity, but Congress has hurt that spirit: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his reply on14th Dec told the Lok Sabha that the Constitution is the foundation of our unity and accused the Congress and its previous governments of trying to undermine the spirit of the document. Speaking for over an hour and 45 minutes at the end of the two-day debate on the 75-year journey of the Indian Constitution, the Prime Minister stressed that unlike previous Congress governments – amendments made by NDA governments were made to strengthen the spirit of the Constitution.
“During the recent Lok Sabha elections, the opposition had alleged that the BJP-led government has plans to scrap reservations in jobs and educational institutions, but when former Congress prime ministers spoke on reservation for marginalised communities, objections were raised repeatedly but my government had expanded reservations to the economically backward classes (EWS) without any objections from any section of the society.” he refuted
Targeting the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
Modi said the first constitutional amendment made by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the fundamental right to freedom of expression in 1951 led to the breakdown of this document. He cited former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s imposition of emergency as one of several examples of this. Passing the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights under Divorce) Act during the Rajiv Gandhi government’s tenure, reversing the Supreme Court’s verdict on subsistence allowance after divorce for Muslim women; The formation of the National Advisory Council during the UPA regime were all criticised by PM. He asserted that leaders like him and those from ordinary families will not be able to get where they wanted, except for the Constitutional strength. Stressing his long-standing commitment to constitutional values he recalled how as chief minister of Gujarat, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution, walked barefoot keeping a copy of the document on an elephant to show its supremacy- he told..
The Prime Minister said that while the Constituent Assembly decided not to provide reservation on the basis of religion and faith, the Congress, out of its thirst for power, had provided reservations in violation of the spirit of the Constitution to appease the vote bank. “Article 35A, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir state legislature to define permanent residents, has been incorporated into the Constitution through a presidential order and not by Parliament. In 2019, the then President Ram Nath Kovind revoked the order’ he explained. Modi said his government had abrogated Article 370 to unite the country and bring Jammu and Kashmir under the ambit of the Constitution of India more comprehensively. The Prime Minister said that India is determined to become a developed nation by 2047 and its unity is the biggest requirement to achieve this goal. The Constitution is the foundation of our unity. He reiterated his government’s commitment to bring in a secular civil code as enshrined in the Constitution. He quoted the late leader K.M. Munshi, constituent assembly member that a uniform civil code is essential for national unity and modernity. The architect of the Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, strongly advocated for the abolition of personal laws based on religion-he said.
Modi concluded his speech by asking parliamentarians to take up 11 resolutions. But some of them look like instructions to his party members rather than to Indian parliament. He asked to resolve to respect the Constitution, determine not to weaponize it politically, to counter the opposition’s propaganda that the Constitution was in danger, Development for all citizens, ending dynastic politics, social boycott of the corrupt, facilitating women-led development and working towards ‘Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat’
In Rajya Sabha 31-hour-long discussion took place and 80 members actively participated. But this parliament debate did not lead to any resolve worth mentioning for future. “Congress governments have violated constitutional provisions” accused finance minister Nirmala Seetharaman. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge condemned Finance minister of spreading lies against congress. BJP president and Union Health Minister J P Nadda said incidents such as the introduction of Article 370, the use of Article 356 to dissolve elected governments, the declaration of emergency and the abrogation of the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case on triple talaq are testimony to congress. All these deeds proved Ambedkar was correct in warning that bad people can misuse constitution
Hurting the spirit of the Indian Constitution.
Union home minister Mr. Amit Shah concluded the discussion creating more controversies. Mr. Shah paid tribute to the members of the Constituent Assembly, including stalwarts like Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Shri Katju, K.T. Shah, Maulana Azad, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, and K.M. Munshi, who enriched the Constitution through extensive discussions and intellectual contributions. He further acknowledged that the Constitution also embodies the principles and sentiments of visionaries such as Swami Vivekananda, Maharishi Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Veer Savarkar, and Lala Lajpat Rai—leaders who upheld high values in nation-building, democracy, and cultural traditions. He affirmed that the Constitution imbued with the wisdom and ideals of such great minds was destined for success.
Mr. Shah took a swipe at the Congress party. Comparing the constitutional amendments brought by the BJP-led governments and the Congress governments, he said the Congress had changed the basic constitutional provisions for political gain and the BJP has focused on the empowerment of citizens. Accusing the opposition of spreading false narratives for electoral gains regarding constitutional changes. Shah said “A 54-year-old leader, who claims to be ‘young’, is roaming around with the Constitution in his pocket and saying that he will not allow change the Constitution. I would like to say that the Constitution has a provision to amend the Constitution. The Constitution is not an immutable document, it allows for amendments by Article 368.”
“The BJP has ruled for 16 years and has made 22 amendments to the Constitution. The Congress had made 77 changes in its 55-year rule. The first amendment was made on June 18, 1951. After the constitution was framed, the Congress did not have the patience to wait for the Lok Sabha elections. That Article 19 A was inserted to take away freedom of expression and Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister at that time. He then referred to the 24th Amendment to the Constitution made by the Indira Gandhi government which restricted the fundamental rights of citizens.
The amendments brought in by the Narendra Modi government to introduce GST, granting constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes, providing 10% reservation in education and government jobs, for economically weaker sections restoring the power of state governments to recognise socially and educationally backward classes. Amit Shah accused the Congress of betraying Parliament by treating the Constitution as a personal right of one family. He dealt with the welfare schemes undertaken by the BJP government in the last two terms for public welfare in accordance with the goals of constitution
The Home Minister said the Congress had blocked attempts to bring in reservations for other backward classes {OBCs]. But they gave reservations twice on the basis of religion unconstitutionally. The Constituent Assembly clearly stated that reservations can be extended only on the basis of backwardness but not on the basis of religion. Shah said. “As long as there is not a single BJP MP in this Parliament, we will not provide reservation on the basis of religion” he stated. While the Congress strongly opposed Shah’s remarks, party chief whip Jairam Ramesh intervened and said the Congress never provided reservation on the basis of religion.
Amit Shah said the Constitution of India is “secular” and therefore it supports a “common civil code”. “Why did the Uniform Civil Code not come? — It did not come because the first Prime Minister Nehru brought in the Muslim Personal Law. I want to ask the Congress whether there should not be a single law for all religions in a secular country?”. Amit Shah concluded chanting “Ambedkar’s name is now ‘fashionable’, if opposition parties have taken the name of God so often, they would have got a place in heaven. The congress party should also talk about its true sentiments towards him.” He recalled how Ambedkar was forced to resign from the first cabinet after disagreeing with the policies including Article 370 of the then Congress-led government. Such comments of Amit shah caused a huge uproar and protest which led to the adjournment of both houses.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the home minister’s insult to Babasaheb has once again proved that the BJP-RSS was against the tricolour and that their forefathers opposed the Ashoka Chakra and that the people of the Sangh Parivar wanted to implement the ManuSmriti instead of the Indian Constitution from day one.
The debate in parliament ironically ended with the adjournment of both the houses for the day amidst loud protests over the issue of insult to Dr.B.R. Ambedkar. It is also ironical that the parties both in power and opposition acclaim him as architect of the constitution and vow their complete reverence to him.Both NDA and INDIA alliance filed cases against each other. This is how the constitution was followed by parties either in government or opposition.
The rift deepened with demand for resignation of Amit shah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly defended Amit Shah by saying that the home minister had exposed the congress party’s dark history of insulting the framer of the Constitution. He accused congress with a list of sins committed against Ambedkar by them which include defeating Babasaheb not once but twice in elections, Jawaharlal Nehru himself campaigning against Ambedkar, making his defeat a prestige issue. The congress did not place even his portrait at an honourable place in the Central Hall of Parliament nor did they award him the Bharat Ratna.
Modi (December 18, 2024) narrated “we did the honour of bestowing Bharat ratna to Ambedkar and added that “the issue related to land for Chaitanya Bhoomi [where Ambedkar was cremated] had been in pending for decades and our government resolved it and I went there to offer prayers. The 26- Alipore Road in Delhi, where Ambedkar spent his last years, has also been developed. The government also took over the house where he lived in London. When it comes to Dr. Ambedkar, our honour and respect are absolute.” He stated.
PM said that for the last decade, his government has been working tirelessly to achieve Ambedkar’s ideals of uplifting the SCs and STs. Ambitious initiatives like lifting 25 crore people out of poverty, strengthening the SC/ST Act, Swachh Bharat, PM Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala Yojana, etc., have touched the lives of the poor and the downtrodden. He said “My government is working for the development of Panchatheertha, the five iconic places associated with Ambedkar.”
It is clear that unlike the previous decades now BJP has developed a strategy of attracting the vote bank of 17% Dalits by expressing ownness with Ambedkar. Just as they have hijacked and owned up prominent and prestigious personalities like Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel or Bhagat singh who were not with them, now they are trying to include B R Ambedkar in their vote pullers list. The one who burnt Manusmrithi is being embraced by Manuvadis now. Thanks to the electoral democracy of India!
The parliamentary debate on the Constitution led to sharp differences between the ruling alliance and the opposition parties. Noise and anger marked the debate and has exposed polarisation of members and parties. Although both sides have acclaimed the supremacy of the Constitution, they have blamed each other in its abuse or mis implementation. This discussion could have been utilised as an opportunity to explore constitution as a new unifier and common basis for progress of the country but it resulted in sharp polarized divisive politics. With such antagonistic interpretations of practises, it is clear that this constitution cannot be an instrument to bring out unity, integration of the nation as envisaged in its preamble.
Speakers of parties in power led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition speakers led by leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi have used the Constitution as a platform for their partisan politics by cracking down on their political opponents. Gandhi considers the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Mr Modi to be traitors to the Constitution and tried to link them all to the Hindutva ideology. Modi accused the Rahul Gandhi and family of undermining the Constitution since his great-grandfather and first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Both sides have used facts and statements of past actors in exaggeration to drive that their opponents have done more harm to the Constitution. This is a propaganda strategy and so would not lead to constructive engagement.
The Constitution is described as a living document which provides the foundation and framework for a just social, political and economic system for the country. Constitutionalism is an evolving process and any discussion on it should lead to dynamic changes for a better future. History is a good teacher if we can hear. There have been many dark moments in the 75-year-old constitutional history. The discussion ought to have centred on if the constitution has served the purpose of providing a good governance for a secular, pluralistic and progressive nation with high morality.
The discussion was summarised by a commentator with a similitude “BJP and the Congress calling each other by names is equivalent to a pot calling the kettle black”. Both sides are accusing each other of dividing the country even though they say it is to strengthen the unity of the country. What emerges from this discussion is that true Introspection and self-assessment are missing.
Dr.S. Jatin Kumar is a political commentator