I would not take two years, eleven months, and twenty-three days to finalise the draft of any document or book, let alone a constitution. I ask: if every letter, idea, and concept has been copied from other constitutions of the world (I do not know whether with or without permission), why would it take almost three years?
The time taken period for drafting the constitution could have been accepted if the ideas were original. By constructing tall buildings and roads similar to those in Singapore, India can never become a Singapore. By styling my hair like Amitabh Bachchan, I cannot become him. Similarly, by copying ideas from the constitutions of the UK, the USA, the USSR, and other countries, we cannot become them! Thus, the premises taken was a wrong one. 80 years later, when I review the constitution and the progress made till date I cannot help but feel that I am thoroughly cheated by the constitution.
Frankly speaking, we remained where we were! For these eighty years, we have lived under an illusion: the illusion of equality, justice, liberty, and so on. We are cheated by our own Constitution. Generations have come and gone over these eighty years. These generations were taught that the Constitution is a sacred document. The injuries once inflicted by the priestly class in the very shadows of the Vedas and Upanishads are now being inflicted by politicians in the shade of the Constitution. Nothing changed. We have an empty Constitution. This empty document is sacred! And to this emptiness, I must show my respect!
What does liberty mean? Libraries of work took place to define the word liberty and yet there is no universally acceptable definition. All I know is that I do not have any liberty when it comes to education, health, employment and so on.
Why do people feel so emotional about the Constitution? People say, “I will give my life to save the Constitution.” But what is it they want to save in the Constitution? And why should it be saved? What is wrong with letting it go? It was written by a group of people some eighty years ago. Is it not time to rewrite the Constitution suiting the needs of Generation Z and their future generations?
We need a constitution that gives something to its citizens. We do not need an empty and sacred constitution. We need a book that delivers. Today there is a divide between the people and the constitution. We are only made – or trained – to feel emotional about it.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional. What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
