A manual we praise, but do not read

By Aishwarya Sanju
Grade IX, New Indian Private School
Special to The Times Kuwait

Every year, on 26th January, a familiar transformation takes place. The tricolor is hoisted with immense pride in Indian homes across the globe. We treat the Constitution like a holy relic, placing it on a pedestal and garlanding it, just for a few hours of national pride. But, comparing the other 364 days in India to the Republic Day, there is a frustrating contradiction. Sadly, we have developed the habit of worshipping our Constitution, while wholly rejecting its soul. We celebrate India’s Republic Day, but with every year, the value of the Constitution seems to fade.

The Constitution was forged in a time of absolute turmoil. When the Drafting Committee began writing the Constitution, the country had been ripped into two. Mother India was struggled by poverty and was fractured by inequality. Our leaders put an incredible amount of effort into bringing the Constitution to existence. Every word, every sentence of the Constitution was meant to protect every Indian, regardless of who they were.

This took a debate of approximately 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days. We must understand that they weren’t writing a mere book, they were writing a special book that would hold India and its citizens together. They were writing a book whose soul meant the backbone of our nation.

77 years after this effort, we treat it with a kind of casual apathy. We act as if the Indian Constitution is a deity to be worshipped. The truth is it was never just meant to be adorned with garlands. It was never meant to be placed on a pedestal, covered in red silk, on 26th January every year. On the other days, we ignore the values that the Preamble to our Constitution hold.

There is a broad line between worshipping something and valuing it. The Constitution of India doesn’t ask for prayers. Nor does it ask to be kept in a glass case or decorated with flowers. All it wants is for its values to be followed. Unfortunately, the very people who bow in respect to the Constitution is the first one to use money to buy “justice”. Power lies in wealth.

Minorities are judged for everything they do. Equality, Liberty, and Fraternity, the very values that our Constitution guarantees us can’t be seen. Patriotism is now just a mere performance. We worship the idea of our Constitution on Republic Day and neglect its values every other day of the year.

Perhaps, the reason for this happening is that, in our country, the law often feels like it has no teeth. For a Republic to survive, there should be a fear of consequences. From a panoramic view, our legal system feels lenient. We see the gravest of crimes — violence, massive corruption, and systemic abuse — taking years to reach a conclusion. Justice delayed is justice denied. Our laws aren’t implemented with strictness, which leads to people losing respect for it.

They misuse it, find a loophole or simply wait out the system. Now, the Constitution is seen as a collection of suggestions, and not a binding contract. Strict, certain and swift laws and judiciary systems are crucial to running a Republic effectively. Unfortunately, power rests in the hands of the rich, justice can be always bought.

A country is as good at the law it follows. As we mark the 77th year of our Republic, we don’t need more speeches or parades, but a society that would follow its Constitution.

We need to stop treating it like a holy relic or a deity and start treating it as a rulebook which we should follow. The greatest contribution we can make to our Drafting Committee, who have struggled amidst turmoil to forge our Constitution, isn’t a salute, a song, or a speech.

It is the simple act of ensuring that we follow the law, not just today, but every day. If we can’t do that, then the worship we offer today is nothing more than just a hollow ritual.