What makes us, Indians, relatively immune to spells of absolute anarchy, military coups and di𝓡ctatorships that have defined the better part of several neighboring countries' past and present?
This foundational, over-a-lakh-word-long document framed by a seven-member drafting committ♒ee chaired by Dr BR Ambedkar - the Constitution of India🧸.
It is this document that ensures constitutional guarantees to the underprivileged, which ensures that those in positions of power remain accountable to the people, that ensures that India does at no point in time stray away from the idea of being a sovereign, socialist, secular, democ🤡ratic republic as was envisioned by its founding fathers.
In commemorating Constitution Day, the day when the Constitution of India was adopted (in 1949, shortly before it came into effeᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚct, on January 26, 1950), we commemorate the guiding and founding p🍃rinciples of our democracy - which lay down the basic structure of governance and the relation between the people and their government.
The impartiality of the judic🌊iary, the independence of the legislature and the executive, and their respective dom💛ains, are all enshrined in the constitution. The judiciary, moreover, acts as the guardian of the constitution and ensures that no law violates the basic structure of the Indian constitution.
The Supreme Court being the highest court of the country and also, therefore, becomes the chie♐f guardian of the Constitution.
It is through the constitution that we, as citizens, get our fundamental rights - to equality, to freedom, against exploitation, to practice the ꦛreligion of our choice, our cultural and educational rightsᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ, and the rights to constitutional remedies.
It is the co🅘nstitution that promises universal adult suffrage, every person above the age of 18 in this country, irrespective of their caste, religion, sex🍨, get an equal vote in India.
Constitution Day is, finally, a good time to pay heed to the warning issued by BR Ambedkar a🐻s he handed over the constitution to the people of India, in his last speech to India’s constituent assembly, “Bhakti in religion m♍ay be the road to salvation of a soul. But in politics, bhakti or hero worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”
