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Foundational values, the journey of the Indian state


‘What is required today is clear-headed guidance on the future of our constitutional philosophy’
| Photo Credit: PTI

On the 75th anniversary of the coming into effect of the Constitution of India, it is imperative to evaluate the journey of the Indian state from the perspective of its foundational values before we plan the course ahead. After nearly three years of debate and deliberation, the Constituent Assembly of the newly independent India adopted its founding document, the Constitution of India. Two months thereafter, the Republic officially came into force with the Constitution being given effect to. When Dr. B.R. Ambedkar delivered the closing address to the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949, he characterised the complex challenges ahead. He anxiously wondered whether Indians would place “the country above their creed”. Today, we realise that the words from the closing address carry meaningful lessons for the next 75 years and propel us to guard the Constitution.

The federal republic

Many of the constitutional issues that have been keenly debated in recent times have been around the interpretation of India’s federal structure. Tussles between State governments and some of the State Governors have made their way to the Supreme Court of India. Pitched battles are being fought within and outside Parliament on the issue of simultaneous elections. The neglect of ‘regional languages’ such as Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi and so on is being argued from the vanguard of multilinguistic equality and State autonomy. Fiscal federalism has been a major sticking point for States that are suffering under the dual regime of the Finance Commission and the Goods and Services Tax Act. The next delimitation exercise, which will determine the democratic future of India, is set to result in a showdown between the Union and States that have controlled their population.

It is strange that given how integral federalism has been to the constitutional discourse over the last 50 years or so, the word ‘federal’ is nowhere to be found in the text of the Constitution.

Criticism of the Constitution in the early days, and one that was well anticipated by Dr. Ambedkar, was that the document is anti-federal and tilts the balance in favour of the Union. Addressing this complaint while speaking in 1949, Dr. Ambedkar explained that the ‘Centre and the States are co-equal’ in matters of legislative and executive authority. He clarified to the Constituent Assembly that the overriding powers for the Union are only placed “to be used in an emergency”. As such, the regular conduct of democratic business in India is within a federal framework and not to be mistaken for a unitary one. On this count, constitutional courts have confirmed the proposition by ear-marking federalism to be a part of the basic structure of the Constitution, beginning with the judgment in S.R. Bommai vs Union of India (1994) and continuing to the Government of NCT of Delhi vs Union of India (2024).

An unequal democracy

Another question of contemporary interest is on whether and how India has matured over the 75 years, into a social democracy that is guided by the constitutional values of liberty, equality and fraternity. The argument put forth by many critics of the government is that it has become a police state. The offence of sedition along with stringent special statutes such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act supplement this position. Similarly, whether the country has been able to achieve a degree of equality among various cohorts, and whether it is truly democratic are questions that merit introspection.

With tremendous foresight, Dr. Ambedkar explained that the country must strive to remove social and economic inequality before they become a threat to democracy itself. He went on to underline the importance of fraternity for the fledgling republic. Terming the idea of an Indian nation as a delusion, Dr. Ambedkar asked how people divided into several thousands of castes can be a nation.

Seventy-five years hence, can we fairly claim to have fostered fraternal feelings through social and political movements? Have we succeeded to some degree in neutralising the significance of caste in determining merit and success in society? The answers must be in the negative. But, that does not necessarily imply that the Constitution has failed. It is an indication of how much farther the country must travel.

The need for constitutional guardians

Of late, there has been some noise about revamping the Constitution, as the accusation is that it has evolved from an European colonial perspective. It has become a common trope among the social right to suggest replacement of the present-day Constitution with an ‘Indic’ constitutional document drawing from Hindu dharmic concepts — there can be no greater insult to the combined intellect of the Constituent Assembly than this. There can be no greater disservice than this to the three years of the Constituent Assembly and the 75 years of nation-building that have made India what it is today.

Rather than reinventing the wheel of the Constitution, the country must respond to Dr. Ambedkar’s calls to defend our democratic principles and preserve the Constitution. For it is not the document that makes the nation but the people who are called to govern.

What is required today is clear-headed guidance on the future of our constitutional philosophy. In Plato’s Republic, he argues the case for a class of guardians who are philosopher-kings. India today needs guardians who can place the country above their creed more than ever: they need to be guardians in the form of judges, bureaucrats, politicians, activists, journalists and citizens. Only then can we truly aspire to fulfil the promise of the Constitution.

Manuraj Shunmugasundaram is Spokesperson, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and an advocate in the Madras High Court



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