Which civilized republican Constitution in the world allows criminals of all orders, illiterates, separatists and anti-social elements to hold political offices like ministers'? Our Indian Constitution does it, and it’s time that we change it.

Vaatupura A. Jayaprakash,

THE ARCHITECTS of our Constitution had lofty ideals and great vision in their minds when they culled and incorporated articles and principles from other Constitutions like Britain’s, and gave shape to what we Indians greatly honour and astutely follow as the most important literature of our nation.

Our Constitution, ever since the nation became a republic, has been misinterpreted, amended and added upon much more frequently and it has long ago become a document of ridicule. This is being substantiated again by the way the advocates of our Constitution, our elected representatives and our so-called secular schools of thought, and of course by every Indian, who periodically becomes instrumental to the most ridiculous democratic exercise, the election process.

The lofty ideals and principles are there in our Constitution, and the ones being raked up and dissected threadbare in the wake of amendments and resolutions have no bearing on the pressing needs of our current nation. All these ploys are politically, religiously, communally and even regionally and linguistically motivated, and this politicking of the Constitution is being carried out so take-it-for-grantedly that it has become a private script of those who rule and misrule the nation. Let’s see how our present Constitution fares.

·         Elected representatives do not seem like elected leaders at all once they are voted in. They behave like parallel-governors.

·         Political ideologies are just spring boards to power and power sharing. The different heights are marked by different offers and terms.

·         Elections are mere humbugs. Most of the elected representatives represent the minority, and the majority vote is scavenged out by petty parties.

·         The voters are all powerful to elect. But they have no right to recall an irresponsible representative. The former is at the mercy of the latter. Our Constitution hasn’t done anything in this direction so far.

·         The numbers of rich and poor are always on the increase. Advocates of our constitution do not find anything strange in it.

·         Money is key player in all democratic processes. It’s legal to be buying and selling votes or votaries.

·         Corruption rules the roost all over the nation. It is the order of the day: from defense purchase to public distribution systems.

·         When voting is a right, votes are sold out or bought no matter it is a citizen’s vote or an MP’s vote.

·         Proportional representation is a mirage. Equal rights for men and women, or at least 33 per cent representation for women in elected offices is a distant dream.

·         Uniform civil code that is mandatory for all democracies is a threat to the nation. Country gets shaken when it is discussed in a constitutional point of view.

·         A great percent of judges are found to be too corrupt to be remaining in their positions. Their verdicts are signs of injustice.

·         Number of MLAs and MPs are corrupt and criminals of the first and finest order. Many serve much more of their tenure in jails than in the isles of the House they are supposed to be in.

·         Anti-defection Bill introduced during Rajiv Gandhi’s time, aiming at ensuring some kind of political accountability among our political horse-traders, has been proved time and again that it is constitutional to be defecting and anti-defection is unconstitutional. Our Constitution does not have the teeth to counter such a hijacking of a Bill. Do we need such a book any more?

·         Ministerial portfolios are generated periodically not to meet the increasing governance demands of the nation, but to satisfy the petty political interests. Our Constitution makes the voters bear all this dirty brunt.

·         Our Constitution does not have any provision to impose age ceiling to our old political men. If it did, we could periodically clean up the political system so that our old men in the political sea would stay off the way of the nation’s forward move.

·         There are instance to show individuals and institutions call the shots and political parties and their henchmen take the people at ransom. Arson, homicide and communal riots are politically managed.

·         Judiciary is for the rich, so is justice in most of the cases. All are equal before law is a farce. Many verdicts echo the Orvelean principle, ‘all are equal, but ‘some are more equal’.

·         Security to one’s life and property does not sound constitutional any longer. This Constitution claims to be providing the same. But it does not.

·         Inequality of all types is rampant throughout the nation. Your rights and privileges are decided not by constitutional safeguards, but by what you actually are; economically, socially, politically and religiously.

·         Constitutional safeguards like right to deserving education, freedom of expression, right to information, right to question etc are for a privileged few.

·         The rule of law is the law of the ruling. Many laws of the land applies only to the landless.

·         And India as a Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic has ceased to be sovereign, socialist and democratic.

·         What we have is a nation under the clutches of imperial forces and internal squabbles. We have a social order that is not at all socialistic, and a democratic process, which every time is a ridiculous routine.

·         What is remaining is its being a republic on the basis of a constitution. What a Constitution in such a republic can claim to safeguard? The most misinterpreted and mismanaged and the least understood and appreciated document of the nation is our constitution and it is for the pick of any Political Tom, Dick and Harry.

And in order to be a Republic of some order in this time and age, a nation has to have a constitution, which is relevant to the needs of the times, recognising the realities and above all, it should sound reasonable and be understandable to the last voter of the nation, no matter that voter is an MP or an MLA or a common man.

Tail piece: The constitutionality of the Indo-US nuclear agreement, the no-confidence motion it brought to the fore, and the trading of MPs involving crores and core political posts, the conventional Indian political horse-trading that have been alleged prior to the no-confidence motion and the eventual political uncertainty that nation suffered could have been avoided to a great extent if we had a constitution of the times.

This present document is to be scrapped with immediate effect. The rising nation needs fresh blood and young brains. For such a change of guard, we need a new Constitution. Or I would say, it is this Constitution, or its  parochial and vested politically motivated interpretations, which are the stumbling blocks that stand on the way of the nation’s march to a new true Indian order and a modern Indian Constitution itself.

Jai Hind.