• Dr. Udit Raj

Constitution Day is celebrated every year on December 26. This tradition is gaining momentum, but is being shredded at the same speed. Even those powers who opposed it not only at the time of its institution but also later, have started celebrating it. When the Constitution was not in danger, December 26 was not celebrated in a big way and now it is being done all the more.One reason for this is that the democratic forces have become cautious. Even fascist forcescelebrate it with great pomp and show so that people feel that they too invest their faith in the Constitution. Earlier when they protested, they remained outside the government and now they are doing an internal attack. It would appear as if no one else has more faith in the Constitution than them.

Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar had said at the time of formation of the Constitution that the country can run even if the Constitution is bad. On the other hand, no matter how good the Constitution is, but if the people are bad, it will fail. A lot depends on the people enforcing the Constitution. Even though Dr. Ambedkar drafted and gave most of the answers on the floor of the Parliament, it could not have been passed without the support of the Congress Party. Those who have apprehensions that without the support of Congress such a Constitution could have been made, need to change their outlook. Dr. Ambedkar himself had said that all the amendments that were tabled after taking the draft Constitution could be passed only with the support of the Congress. Imagine that the society of that time was not so progressive that it could pass all the provisions without Congress. It is difficult to imagine how the forefathers of BJP used to reject and hate this Constitution.

The RSS strongly opposed the Constitution. On December 12, 1949, they burnt the Constitution and Dr. Ambedkar’s effigy at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. At that time, the Hindu Code Bill was being introduced, in which women had the right to inherit the property of their parents and the right to divorce their husbands. They had not got this right from the so-called Sanatan era till now. RSS’ Sarsanghachalak Golwalkar could not digest the Constitution and said such hateful things that the present generation would not even believe. He said, “Dr. Ambedkar has taken the Constitution from western countries and linked it.” He had also said that if Dalits, backward and minorities get a share in power after independence, then it is better to be slaves of the British for life. It is not difficult to understand how much they hate the Constitution.

The framers of the Constitution would not have imagined that a day would come when a battle would have to be fought to save it. All the pages of the Constitution have been torn, the proof of which is still visible. The present government is against secularism which is the soul of the Constitution. There is almost a ban on religious freedom. Freedom of the press has been curtailed. Whoever raises his voice is being put in jail. Government institutions like CBI, ED and Income Tax are being grossly misused. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the Constitution is in grave danger.

Pandit Nehru deepened the roots of democracy the most. He also included those with opposing ideologies in the cabinet in the first government. He used to love even those like a friendwho criticized him. After the partition of the country, Dr. Ambedkar’s membership of the Constituent Assembly had ended and the Congress made him win the election. The bad propaganda is that Sardar Patel had even said that for Ambedkar, the doors and even the windows of the Parliament were closed. Even if it was said, was it an official statement of the Congress party?It must be considered that only Congress got him elected in the Parliament after that. The Constitution was badly damaged by this propaganda. Such an attempt was made so that Dalits start hating the Congress. Sardar Patel must have said this before independence, but all is well that ends well. The Congress itself made Babasaheb not only a member of the Constituent Assembly, but also the President and the Law Minister.

Hardly any other party believes and understands the importance of the Constitution as much as the Congress does. Those who created it had made a lot of sacrifices. It can be understood from an example that the freedom fighters had to face so many tortures. After arresting Pandit Nehru, the place where he was kept in Dehradun was an animal stable. The same stable was converted into a jail. The walls were so high that it was difficult to see the mountains, and even the wind could hardly come through. Just consider for a while that despite hailing from such an aristocratic family, he was locked alone in the cell for the cause of freedom of the country, but he did not give up the fight for freedom.Only those who have given so much sacrifice for freedom can understand the importance of Constitution. As long as the Congress is there, the Constitution is alive, otherwise who cares to save the Constitution! Undoubtedly, the forces of social justice also believe in the Constitution, but they are not able to come forward and fight the fascist forces the way they should.

It reminds me of Dr. Ambedkar here when he said thatno matter if the Constitution is bad, good can still be doneif the intention of those who implement it is right. Even the best of Constitutions can fail if the intentions of the implementers are not right. Presently, there are both the challenges - saving and implementing the Constitution. The general public in the far-flung areashas less knowledge of their rights. At present, the most important thing is to save the Constitution.

(The author is former Member of Parliament, National Chairman of Unorganized Workers and Employees Congress)