On a chilly morning in December 1946, 192 men and 15 women gathered in the then imperial Capital of New Delhi on a mission. They were tasked with drafting the document, the birth charter, of a Republic that was still nascent in the imagination of the country’s impoverished millions. In front of them were several challenges — the still-to-be-born Republic was teeming with people too poor to get educated or dream of a life of dignity, too fragmented by cleavages of caste, faith, language and gender, and too scarred by two centuries of brutal colonial rule. They could have taken more convenient routes by restricting franchise, opting for elite control of government and making peace with some degree of prejudice and hierarchy. Indeed, successful countries were founded on similar compromises.
As India marches towards the centenary of its Independence, it will need the power of the values enshrined in that document to create a better life for its citizens. (HT Photo)
But in that hall, on that day, those men and women made a choice: To abjure all forms of discrimination and inequality, and anchor their vision of the country, and the society they wanted to create, on equality. They decided that all people deserve the right to choose their government, regardless of their gender, colour of skin or extent of wealth. They decided that despite the wrenching experience of a religious divide-fuelled Partition, the Republic would not tilt towards any faith, seek to create a level-playing field for every individual, and imbue them with inalienable rights. Sweeping aside fears of whether the imminent Independence would last and concerns that India’s diversity would prove inimical to its democratic sustenance, they chose to take the difficult route of establishing a principles-based, fair and just Republic.
This was an audacious choice. As scholar Uday Mehta notes, the country at the time appeared to have few, if any, of the requisite conditions to be a democracy but the ideal of forging a political society that was democratic, that had diversity and unity, became the central glue that held the Constituent Assembly together over the next two years. It birthed a Republic that not only endured but thrived, standing out as an example of how a people could give to themselves a just and representative government.
The Constitution is now over seven decades old. It has served the country well, steering it through both internal and global turbulence, and counteracting authoritarian impulses. Governments have made ill-advised attempts to circumvent or alter it, but the document has sunk deep roots into the psyche of the populace and has largely resisted such endeavours. It has engendered a powerful and independent judiciary and helped pave the path for rights and freedoms that the founders may not have even imagined (think about how constitutional morality helped make the case for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 2018 and you’ll know the power of its ideas).
But the constitutional project remains unfinished. As India marches towards the centenary of its Independence, it will need the power of the values enshrined in that document to create a better life for its citizens, resist majoritarian sentiment to solidify caste and religious hierarchies, and guarantee dignity and respect for every individual. It should never forget BR Ambedkar’s warning that democracy can end up being a mere top dressing. In a world where technology will reshape life and laws and an uncertain global order will transform national priorities, the Constitution should remain the guiding light for the government and every citizen. Like it always has been.
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