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Celebrating 75 years of our Constitution

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India celebrates 75 years of the Constitution, which came into effect on 26 January 1950, marking the nation’s transition to a republic. The document, adopted on 26 November 1949 by a Constituent Assembly of 389 members (reduced to 299 post-partition), is a cornerstone of India’s democracy.

Amidst these celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's one-hour-45-minute-long speech during the two-day debate on the Constitution’s journey raised concerns. Instead of reflecting the gravitas of the occasion, it turned into a political monologue aimed at the Opposition. The speech, resembling that of a combative party leader rather than a statesman, focused on targeting the Congress party, particularly the Nehru-Gandhi family, with half facts and baseless criticism.

The Lok Sabha held a debate on 13–14 December, where leaders from various parties shared their perspectives. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also made her maiden speech. However, the tone of Modi’s address was troubling. Rather than celebrating the resilience of a document that has sustained democracy despite challenges, the Prime Minister chose to weaponize historical instances to discredit political adversaries, echoing narratives propagated by the RSS.

Column at a Glance

India recently celebrated 75 years of its Constitution, which came into effect on January 26, 1950. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's lengthy speech during the two-day debate on this milestone raised concerns, as it turned into a political monologue targeting the opposition, particularly the Congress party and the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Wednesday Wisdom

By Satish Misra

Instead of honouring the Constitution's resilience, Modi focused on historical grievances, criticizing past amendments without acknowledging the context. His approach, described as combative rather than statesmanlike, overshadowed the occasion's significance. The celebration called for unity and inspiration, rather than divisive rhetoric, highlighting the need for true leadership in honouring democratic values.

One of Modi’s key criticisms was aimed at the first constitutional amendment during Nehru’s tenure, which adjusted the fundamental right to freedom of expression. The context of this amendment—necessary for addressing socio-political challenges of the time—was completely ignored. Modi accused the Congress of repeatedly undermining the Constitution, yet failed to explain why his own government hasn’t reversed the changes if they were so problematic.

Blaming the Congress for the Emergency of 1975 is valid, but repeatedly punishing the party for the same event seems redundant. The electorate already held Indira Gandhi accountable, voting her out in 1977 and later reinstating her. Ironically, the current atmosphere has drawn parallels to an undeclared emergency, a concern even raised by BJP veteran L.K. Advani.

Modi also criticized the UPA-era National Advisory Council, calling it unconstitutional, yet the BJP didn’t legally challenge it then. Moreover, Modi’s government has enacted numerous constitutional amendments since 2014—are these amendments not equally open to scrutiny?

Rather than leveraging the occasion to unify and inspire, Modi’s speech reflected a fixation on historical grievances and the Gandhi family, as aptly noted by journalist Sagarika Ghose: “Why is Modi still fighting imaginary battles from the 1950s? He needs to move forward.”

The 75th anniversary of our Constitution deserved statesmanship, not partisan rhetoric. True leadership would honour the spirit of democracy by transcending party lines and focusing on the nation's collective progress.

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मीडिया मैप न्यूज़ परिवार की ओर से महात्मा गाँधी और लाल बहादुर शास्त्री जी की जयंती पर श्रद्धांजलि

2 Oct 2024

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Celebrating 75 years of our Constitution