Last week, when the Indian Constitution marked the 75th anniversary of its implementation, there was celebration, pride and satisfaction. Given that the global average lifespan of a constitution is 19 years, this is a significant landmark. But now there’s a need to appraise our Constitution. Let’s start with the questions the last 75 years have thrown up.

Scholars have criticised the Constitution for being colonial. The RSS claims it’s not rooted in an Indian ethos. So, in what sense has it been good for India?

One answer is that it gave us our democracy and conferred universal adult suffrage in one go. But have all Indians benefitted equally? Or could you argue that Muslims and Adivasis and, perhaps, earlier Dalits and women did not?

Over the last 75 years, the Constitution has been amended 106 times. Is that a source of strength, because it’s made the Constitution malleable and dynamic, or proof of weakness? The American constitution has been amended only 27 times since 1789.

It’s said the Constitution has strengthened the executive........

© hindustantimes