Why We Need The Constitution Now More Than Ever

Rise of the authoritarian regime in India

Judging by the policies of the regime of RSS/BJP, it is clear that India as a democratic country is facing a lot of challenges. It is clear that all the constitutional institutions have been hijacked by the deep state, that is, RSS and India is a democracy for a namesake. It has already turned into an authoritarian State. No longer a democracy, what should be done is a big question. (In a true sense, India was never a democracy, it was always Brahminocracy. How could it be a democracy while less than 5% of people are ruling over the masses? Further, democracy in true sense never existed in India – from social to economic to political equality, it was always missing from the Indian landscape.)

Constitution as revolution

The answer lies in the constitution and that is how the constitution was designed as a measure to protect the nation it constituted from the anti-national forces that have risen today in India. In this situation, we need to go back to the constitution again and again and interpret and reinterpret it to challenge the authoritarianism.

Power of the people and all power to the people

The constitution has given the ultimate power to the people of India and any individual or group of individuals taking absolute power must be stopped as it is against the very nature of the polity of India. The constitution opposites dictatorship, monarchy, aristocracy, plutocracy, and even bureaucratic regime.

Democracy is the only legitimate form of Government

The only form of the government that the constitution recognises is the democracy: government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Any other form of the government must be opposed by the Indians who love their nation.

Value-based nation

The country is constituted on the basis of inviolable values which can not be touched or compromised with, doing so makes the government of the day opposed to Indian nation. Indian constitution and the Indian republic is not value-neutral. The nation is constituted on the values of Justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, and dignity. These values must be represented in all the policies and they are the standards to judge all the governmental policies.

Freedom of religion is the constitutional guarantee

Freedom of religion is granted and guaranteed by the constitution of India and religion cannot be the basis of any policy. With laws such as CAA, BJP/RSS government has gone all the way to deny Muslims citizenship. Not on Muslims but Dalits will suffer from such heinous laws.

No adequate representation; no Indian republic

The Indian nation is constituted with a promise to SC, ST, and OBC that they will be adequately represented in the various organ of the governance. The reservation is not a policy, but the constitutional mandate and promise to India’s SC, ST, and OBC that they will have adequate representation. Any attack on this constitutional promise and mandate is the attack on the trust of oppressed majority who constitute 85% of India’s population. The reservation policy is just surfacial policy, the constitutional promise to SC, ST, and OBC involve representation in all the organs and layers of governance.

Author – Mangesh Dahiwale, Human Rights Activist