From Promises of Democracy to Practices of Democracy.

The discipline, curation mechanisms and method adopted by the Indian drafters to craft their glorious product, hold lessons for contemporary lawmakers and politicians.?Concurrence and prudence have been indispensable while forming this enduring instrument. On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted our Constitution. Hence, every year we celebrate this day as Constitution Day or ??????? ????. It is also popularly celebrated as Law Day. India’s Constitution has now lived through for decades. While we celebrate this day, it may be pertinent for us to recall the solemn resolve outlined in the Preamble of Our Constitution. 'We the People' which signifies that power rests in the hands of the people. It is ‘Our’ Constitution after all.?

Now, even if most of us agree that it is ‘ours’ how many of us believe it to be? We often overlook the power of the fact that the Constitution is of nobody in particular and yet belongs to each one of us. It gives each and every individual the right to call it ‘my’ Constitution. This is the true power that democracy bestows upon its citizens. One of the challenges of our democracy has been to translate the promises of democracy into practices of democracy. The idea of democracy is intensely ingrained in the minds of the citizens as something unbending. And that is how it is supposed to be but we also need to absorb and analyse the deeper layers of it and let the essence sink into ourselves in it’s true sense.?

I often wonder, have we limited ourselves to just being an Electoral Democracy? What are we doing to make it a more unrivalled democracy aside from the population spike? Time has shown that for citizens of this country, the essence of democracy has been?justice and welfare. The question is, what is the active role that we are playing as citizens to promote justice and welfare. Is this a duty to be taken upon just by the law makers and policy makers or each and every ??????? The Preamble also delineates the ideals of ???? - a 'Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic'.

India declared itself a sovereign nation with the adoption of the Constitution. Most experts are arguing about the fact that in the light of globalisation, the term requires to be reassessed. Although I believe that Globalisation and Digital Revolution has only redefined the term and evolved it for good. We have come to a point where we get to be self reliant while having a larger scope and endless boundaries for development and fast pace the execution of our vision of ?????????? ???? and make the best of the the next 25 years which is our ???? ???.?Without Globalisation, the citizens and the architects of the development of any Nation become prisoners without any exposure to external ideas and beliefs. Globalisation has given us the potentiality to draw out strength and pride from our inventiveness, vision and innovation, be self-reliant, preserve our uniqueness and yet expand the horizons and prism of our growth.?

Similarly, the term socialist has been getting second thoughts and questionable expressions with liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation making a strong imprint. Socialism has been a left-wing economic philosophy directed towards social ownership. Taking into consideration it’s scope, It is increasingly becoming relevant with time and all the more evident after the pandemic that the scope of a state is not limited to being a facilitator, but a provider.

A noteworthy number of citizens depend on the state for some of the most basic needs. This is not just during economic crisis and emergencies but immensely in the day-to-day as well. All in all, this showcases how the term is a strong pillar of our political architecture.

Secularism means the separation of religion from political, economic, social and cultural aspects of life, religion being treated as a purely personal matter. One of the post- independence India’s defining characteristics is that the nation has managed to sustain democratic governance in the face of striking ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity. It has ensured that the spirit of the 'Right to Religion' which is boldly enshrined in the Constitution is protected conceptually and practically. India has?created a persistent biosphere for a genuine multiethnic society.

India, being a Republic, has time and again proven and showcased our commitment to have practiced and adopted the values of a Republic. We became a Republic with the inauguration of our Presidency. We have an elected Head of State and that in itself is a strong representation of the strength of our democracy and us being a Republic, not just in the ideals stated by the Constitution but also our conduct. Citizens choosing their leaders to articulate their interests. While a lot could be ‘Work In Progress’, because opportunities and avenues for citizen participation between elections needs a tremendous amount of work. That, however, does not change the fact that India has lived upto being a Republic consistently and in a determined manner.?

This is a great day for us to pledge as a nation and as people, and to adopt the ideals of our Constitution and not lose a track of them. To not just be aware of what we expect out of our policymakers but to actively understand our role too. That is when we will celebrate the Constitution Day in it’s true sense and do justice to the ideals and glory of ???? ?? ???????.?

-Shraddha Shenoy

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