Killing the Constitution

The largest democracy in the world is being governed by a political party which has been playing detrimentally and weakening India's soundness as a democratic state. During the formation of India's constitution (which is also considered as the longest written constitution in the world) assembly witnessed number of debates on number of issues. After undergoing the struggle for months the Indian constitution came into frame. Concept of democracy was one of the fewest concepts which remained untouched for argumentation as there was mutual agreement among all the members of the assembly for accepting it for India. Democratic republic, Sovereign, Secular & Socialist these are the terms mentioned in the preamble of the Indian constitution. Preamble of the constitution identifies the nature of the state.

Our honorable Prime Minister regards the constitution as a "Holy Book". Generally, we use the phrase "Holy Book" to express our emotional beliefs towards a scripture or religious books. Relevance of the Indian constitution is purely based on practicality and not emotionally. The Republic of India functions on this document. It can be amended unlike Geeta, Quran or Bible. It's not necessarily important to associate the word "Holy" just to show your beliefs towards our constitution. What is so ironical is that the current government is trying to redefine India's nature as a state irrespective of the Preamble. Expression of their faith and belief in the constitution is just a dissemblance.

Let's take only one defining term from the preamble - SECULARISM. Indian Constitution defines the state as a secular one. From the time of Independence to the current scenario India has witnessed several disturbances which had grounds on religion and caste. Usually, ruling party members or the government considers those communal instances as a subject of shame and mismanagement of administration. Whereas, Currently, Modi-led BJP is too busy in the process of saffronisation of India. BJP leaders do not even pretend to behave like secular beings. They do pretend to show their respect for the constitution on many occasions. Despite of being already aware of India's nature as a diversified state, they've been showing their inclination towards a specific religion and putting efforts to make India one sided.  In a democracy, it is presumed that a state would play a minimal role in the communal aspects. Secular state should not give privilege to a specific religion rather it should protect the religious interests of all. 

By flagging the concept of "Hindutva" they're redefining India's secularism. Mr. Vajpayee served this party from the very beginning and he never defined "Hindutva" as a "pro-Hinduism" concept. He served the nation as the 10th Prime Minister and his sense of guardianship never allowed him to associate "Hidutva" with "Hinduism". He always demarcated "Hindutva" with "Indian-ness". Anyways, comparing Mr. Vajpayee with somebody like our current Prime Minister does not seem warrantable. Vajpayee was somebody who evaluated the term of "Hindutva" for promoting unity and Modi is using the same term to create faction. Modi-led BJP can also justify the rape accused (Kathua) under the shadow of Hindutva. 

Before BJP, Manmohan-led UPA regime functioned for 10 years. Due to several factors Manmohan-rule could not manage to get another term. People were completely fed up by congress rule and they were seeking a change. Eventually, BJP performed handsomely and got the mandate successfully. Before 2014, India had not observed a complete majority government in near past. Therefore, Mr. Modi and team took this as granted and started playing with constitution and institutions.

Relevance and influence of the constitution is not as sound as it used to be. India is been witnessing a terrific change which may turn the scenario a bit more serious. Institutions which are generally regarded as important players in democracy are losing their relevance and government is the only responsible factor. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recently remarked bureaucrats as "not-accountable actors" while questioning their decision making power as an unnecessary power. Democratically elected party is now targeting the "Holy Constitution". Constitution Bigger Or Party?

"Not looking at alternatives which can replace this government. I have been trying to evaluate the political circumstances of current time. Maybe it's all happening just because of score. The score of 282 which portrays BJP as supremely powerful party with a clear majority.And the fact is "Dominance of BJP is diminishing the relevance of the constitution." Does not it project Indian democracy as a weak democracy? By choosing any other option than BJP in 2019 you'll only be substituting the government not the current political situation. Rather than focusing on substitution we should look for the solution."

By Abhishek Mishra