India observes 26 January as Republic Day to mark the adoption of the Constitution on 26 January 1950 and the transition of India to a constitutional Republic. Republic Day should, therefore, be an occasion to celebrate the constitutional goals and commitments that define the character and direction of the Republic and the rights of the citizen as proclaimed by ‘We, the people of India’.

But over the years, Republic Day has become all about the Indian State, with the parade in Delhi turning into a curated exhibition of the economic and military might of the State; a platform to publicise the various schemes of the government.

Ironically enough, in the Modi era, even as the Constitution is subjected to relentless attacks, even as citizens face the growing threat of mass disenfranchisement, we have two additional days to officially celebrate the Constitution and the elector — 26 November is observed as Constitution Day to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly in 1949; 25 January is observed as National Voters’ Day to mark the anniversary of the foundation of the Election Commission of India in 1950.

The Preamble to our Constitution describes India as a ‘sovereign socialist secular democratic Republic’. The Sangh-BJP establishment wants to remove the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’, ostensibly because these two words were not there in the original version of the Preamble and were inserted subsequently through the controversial 42nd amendment during the Emergency.

It is true that these two words were not there in the original Preamble, but that does not mean that Ambedkar and the Constituent Assembly were opposed to the notions of socialism and secularism. On the contrary, Ambedkar had argued that the ideas and principles of socialism and secularism were built into the text of the Constitution. It was for the sake of keeping the Preamble brief that the words sovereign and democratic........

© National Herald