Read Book Online : http://www.archive.org/stream/constitutionofin029189mbp#page/n3/mode/2up

Read Book Online : http://www.archive.org/stream/constitutionofin029189mbp#page/n3/mode/2up

Download pdf Book : http://ia700102.us.archive.org/23/items/constitutionofin029189mbp/constitutionofin029189mbp.pdf

Constitution of India: English http://india.gov.in/govt/constitutions_of_india.php

Our Republic Day The 26th of January honours the anniversary of the formation of the Republic of India. It marks the adoption of the Constitution of India and the transition of India from a British Dominion to a separate State. It is a day of patriotic parades, nationalistic fervour and a reason to hoist the National Flag. The guest of the parade is the President of India (External website that opens in a new window) and head of state of another nation. The establishment of the Republic in 1950 was the first step towards fulfilling the dreams of citizens. The Constitution laid the foundation of the structure of governance and pledged to secure justice, liberty, equality and dignity for everyone. Over the years, the country was inspired by the values of freedom, tolerance and plurality. The inherent strength of our citizens hailing from diverse language, religious and cultural backgrounds contributed immensely towards the growth of the nation. During these years, India has travelled far, overcoming various obstacles and hurdles to rejoice in moments of triumph and glory. More at : http://india.gov.in/spotlight/spotlight_archive.php?id=35

Even this preamble stands amended! yet the amended preamble still proclaims : In our constituent assembly this twenty sixth day of November 1949 do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION ! Ironically in the Keshavananda Bharati case, 7 judges out of 13 held that the objectives specified in the preamble contains the Basic Structure of our constitution which cannot be amended in exercise of the power under Art. 368 of the constitution! Paradoxically within 3 years there after the word Socialist, Secular were inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976 ( During Emergency) ! What flummoxes is the recent comment a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Asok Kumar Ganguly that the majority decision of a five-member Constitution bench upholding the suspension of fundamental rights during the Emergency in the Additional District Magistrate Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla case (1976) was "erroneous"! Their lordship very well know such a comment by them has no legal value unless they had taken the courage to request the CJI to review the impugned judgment by a larger constitutional Bench ! Then why make such inane comments ? Just to grab the sound bytes ? Unfortunate !

We all await the the day when the directive principles in the constitution join the fundamental rights. RBSI, as you say, freedom, plurality and tolerance. Right to work, right to education, right to health.

Directive principles is a mixed bag ! It contains direction to have uniform civil code and Cow slaughter also ! Both has no takers or mired in controversy !

I wonder what is the word socialist doing in the preamble of our constitution.Does it now accrue from the fact that we are a welfare state?

'Socialist' was a result of Cold war Dynamics, Indira Gandhi's realpolitik and her positioning of herself as the Garibi Hatao Devi. Of a piece with the abolition of the Privy Purse and the Nationalization of Banks. As for India being a Welfare State the less said the better. There is no dearth of lofty ideals in the Constitution but little actual application of these ideals.

Call for Socialism in the early seventies was indeed realpolitic as the entire world was in the grip of an anti establishment, antiwar wave and socialist aspirations. In that context, abolition of privy purses (however obnoxious to scions of some families) and nationalisation of banks did release a flood of energy for nation-building. I think to say that Indira was hankering for a status of devidom is like hitting another woman below the belt. The cold war was not a figment of imagination, it was the real thing. It is only after the collapse of the Soviet Union that capitalism seemed to have triumphed. Capitalism today is united as never before and to recognise the sense of vulnerability its leaders have, one has to only follow the debates in Davos. The paradigms for our society in today's context are quite different than what they were three or four decades ago. Luckily for us, those have changed for everybody around the world and everybody seems to be groping for a brand new solution.

...to what extent can modern India be described as a 'welfare state' ??...