Alpesh Patel’s Political Sketchbook: The Politics of the Republic

Wednesday 27th January 2016 08:59 EST
 

‘The State of our Union is Strong’ proclaimed Barack Obama last week. This past week also saw India celebrate Republic Day. On January 26th 1950, some two and half years after becoming a British Dominion (or ‘independent’), India became a Republic. As a Republic, she removed the British King as Head of State, something which she did not do at Independence in 1947 and adopted a new constitution.

As the American President does annually, perhaps India too should analyse the State of the Union, and to what extent the Constitution is being upheld to the original vision of the founding fathers of mother India.

After all some 70 years is long enough to ensure the Constitution is being executed faithfully. Article 15 states, ‘The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.’ Okay, well India has had women and untouchables as Prime Ministers. It took the Americans 200 years of their Republic to have a black man as President – so perhaps India can be forgiven. 

The Indian Constitution goes on to say, ‘Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes’. Not even the American have at their dream founding allowed for positive discrimination for their ‘scheduled castes and tribes’ which were the ‘negro’ and the ‘Red Indian’. 

 

Article 17 says:’ “Untouchability” is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.’ The country recognised the importance of doing something about this. 

 

Article 19; “All citizens shall have the right— (a) to freedom of speech and expression; (b) to assemble peaceably and without arms”. The exact opposite of the American constitution which grants the right to bear arms. Maybe Indians knew their citizenry all too well. 

 

Article 21A; “The State  shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine” All Constitutions are a roadmap of the present, and a promise to the future.

 

Article 23; “Traffic in human beings and begging and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of   this provision  shall  be  an offence punishable in accordance with law.” Some problems take generations to solve, even the most powerful country in the world, America, has not solved its problems of segregation.

 

Article 24: “ No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.” 

 

I won’t go on. No Constitution ever realises the dreams of its aspirations. But those few Articles would have been a good start. As mentioned, it even took the mighty US 200 years and it is still far from realising its Constitutional American Dream. 

 

How will this all happen? I tell you this, America had Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. India had Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. Is India any less capable of producing greatness? No, until one of her sons and daughters rises to be a Lincoln, Washington, Gandhi or Patel, let us keep reading the Constitution, because one in six humans on this planet lives under that Constitution and it matters.

 

Alpesh B Patel

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