We, the people of India...

Often, we do not quickly understand the difference between the two national days of India, 15th of August and 26th of January. The 15th of August is our Independence Day, so it’s easy enough. It was the day we earned our freedom from Britishers. But what exactly does a Republic Day mean? ‘Republic’, ‘Constitution’ sound like such big, baffling words, don’t they? The truth is, they are not as difficult and burdensome as we believe. Let's see why.

 Our country gained independence from the British on 15th August 1947. Until then, they were running our country. When they left, the governance came under our control. Then we Indians had to decide how to run our own country. More than three hundred and fifty people from different regions, from various castes and religions, who spoke numerous languages came together to make this decision. And two and a half years later, after a lot of discussions, arguments, and dialogues, they wrote a book. It is called the Constitution of our country. In this book, they wrote down all the rules for governance. When you buy an electronic device, you also get a manual along with it. It provides detailed information about using that device. It tells you how to take care of the equipment. And also, what to do if it breaks down. Our constitution is like the manual to run our country. It has instructions for the distribution of responsibility to look after it. It also tells you what to do if something goes wrong. So 26th January 1950 was the day we decided to adopt the Constitution. This day is as important as or rather more important than Independence Day. Because the constitution helps protect and preserve the freedom we have earned.

The Indian Constitution was prepared after studying the Constitutions of various countries, different laws and regulations, and the thoughts of many philosophers. It is the largest, most detailed Constitution in the world. But the interesting part is, it's not just a gallimaufry of things. It was written keeping in mind what applied to our country, our people, and the culture. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and many such experts played a vital role in shaping our Constitution.

I really like the very first words of our constitution. "We, the people of India ...". It means this set of rules, the manual to run the country, is not gifted by anyone; it hasn't been borrowed from anywhere. But we, the people of India have prepared and accepted it. This part of the constitution is called Preamble. It explains what this book is all about. ‘We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a ‘sovereign’- means truly independent; ‘socialist’- means inclusive of people from all walks of society; ‘secular’- means non-discriminatory on the basis of religion and sect; 'democratic republic' - a government of the people elected democratically. It further states that in this country there will be justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. This Preamble is as useful as a compass that indicates the direction. We need to keep a check on everything that occurs in our country, everything the government does, and see whether it's going in the direction showed by the Preamble. It is our duty as a faithful patriotic Indian citizen.

We can amend the constitution as per the need, time, and situation. More than a hundred such changes have been made till today. Though its basic structure cannot be changed. Nobody can make any amendments that may compromise the rights given to the Indian citizens or harm the basic framework of the Constitution. And this is its greatest strength. Just like the Preamble states the direction in which our country should lead, the third part of the Constitution states exactly which rights the citizens enjoy. They are called fundamental rights. But the constitution does not stop here. It also tells us what we, the citizens, should do. They are called fundamental duties. Every Indian is expected to fulfil these duties to take the country in the direction we have set for ourselves.

The benefit of understanding the constitution is, if we want to enhance our lives, it tells us exactly what to do. From our history of about two hundred thousand years, we can see that we invented several things. Fire, the wheel, steam engine... millions of such tools! And the purpose of it all was to make our life comfortable and happy. But only inventions were not enough. For our life to be safe, peaceful, and happy, we needed to make rules for co-existence. The Constitution and the laws based on it are meant to enrich our lives. The Constitution is as important for a peaceful life together as a compass is for directing a ship at sea. If we want our everyday life to prosper, be peaceful, and happy, then we must try to understand the Indian Constitution, right?!

-      -Translated by Srujana Pradnya

(Original Marathi article is published in Kishor magazine of January 2021.)