75 years of Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is built on the three pillars of liberty, equality and fraternity. These three words have been given equal importance in the Preamble to the Constitution. The purpose of the Constitution is to elevate every citizen of India to the goal of life in which the three are combined. BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, said of the Preamble: "Liberty cannot be divorced from equality, equality cannot be divorced from liberty. Nor can liberty and equality be divorced from fraternity. Without equality, liberty would produce the supremacy of the few over the many. Equality without liberty would kill individual initiative. Without fraternity, liberty equality could not become a natural course of things."
The Preamble of the Constitution of India, along with introducing the principles of the Constitution, also mentions the sources of power. The Constitution of India is a vibrant epic code in which sovereignty is philosophically vested in the people. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, and the Republic Day of India was celebrated on January 26, 1950. That's when the Constitution officially came into force. The term sovereignty mentioned in the Constitution means the independent power of a country; this means that the Parliament and other Houses of Representatives of the country have the power to legislate on any subject in accordance with the Constitution. The preamble, adopted in 1949, did not contain the words socialism and secularism. These were later added after the 42nd Amendment.
The essence of the idea of socialism is inherent in the word equality. Similarly, the word fraternity contains the meaning of the word secularism. So there are those who argue that these additions were not necessary. At the same time, the addition of these new words has not damaged the very essence of the Constitution. What sustains India as the world's largest democracy is this country's comprehensive and extensive constitution. Its structure is extremely rigid but flexible enough to be subject to modification. The higher judiciary can strike down any law if it is convinced that it is against the basic values of the Constitution. The greatest contribution of the Indian Constitution is that it ensures that no government can create laws that subvert civil liberties and democracy just because it has got a majority in Parliament.
Constitution Day is celebrated on November 26 every year since 2015 to promote constitutional values among citizens. The Constitution completes 75 years today. The Constitution Day celebrations will be held today in the Central Hall of the old Parliament, at where the Constitution was adopted. On the occasion, commemorative Coin and Stamp and the constitution in Sanskrit and Maithili languages will be released.
Though the Constitution is 75 years old, the justice envisaged in it has not yet been achieved at par with all sections of the people of India. The purpose of the Constitution will not be fully realized unless there is proportionate representation of the various sections in the highest constitutional institutions and hierarchies.