Witness to History

By – Pamarty Venkataramana

As we, the people of India arise to welcome the seventieth anniversary of the adoption of a Constitution,the Republic sighs.

Why so?

Because although the occasion is all about equality before the Law and equality of laws,the pomp and pageantry of a nation that prides upon naming the proud peacock as its national bird is left overawed by the singular display of strength of armed forces as well as by the various tableaux depicting cultural ethos of a land diverse as the skies but united like the ocean waters!

Today, most definitely, is an apt time to take stock of the truth of it all.

So, we see…

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Righteousness is wrong. Wronged ones lose. Able ones act as the handmaidens in hands of the wrong-doers. The whole system is faulty. Riddled by spectre of unequal distribution of rights,the wrongs remain hidden behind veil of righteousness and myth of ‘social justice ‘. Might assumes rights. Money is might. Muscle power too bends on all fours when fiscal prowess is displayed. Good conscience goes for a toss. Morality stays dumb witness to travesty of justice. The just and right seem to lead a ghost like existence – never absent yet always present. Perception outshines reality. Propaganda is everything. Good or bad is judged not by legal principles or morality but by sheer brashness and the ostentatious displays exhibit the figureheads of a decadent society rather than bury the obnoxious devilry at play.

Bad apples adjudge. Wicked sidekicks rule. Evil reigns everywhere. So much so that the Constitution is mouthed more by the devil incarnates than by high priests of Law. Set rules do not apply to the privileged brigands but to hapless, honest and quiet suffering masses.

Being naive, innocent, honest is not just a sin but a crime today. Civilian issues are governed by criminal ghouls. Criminality lies not in psyche of pathological sinners but has spread throughout the membranes of institutional democracy.

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The republic mourns. The voter class wails, in meek submission. Anguished cries of conscientious victims of a defunct system of democracy are muted by shrill deep-throat screams of villainous masters. The masters are always self-appointed. Whereas the slaves are born and adapt to servility per force. Compulsions may be domestic, private or public. The Republic remains a witness to burial of the very foundations and premises upon which a Constitution was embraced. We are a federal structure with a unitary form of Government. We have a bicameral legislature. We regale in the fact of hundreds of kingdoms having been merged into one whole nation. But, pause to ponder and you have a thousand kings who have proliferated from the one king. At whatever level of governance, one finds multiple dilemmas which negate a good idea or hard work emanating out of sincere efforts of a given representative of the people. Reasons are not very far to seek. Be it the bogey of ‘caste-based’ reservations or privileges for ‘minority’ communities in society, there is a patent loss of honesty the very moment an yardstick of birth based or ancestry based conferment of rights and privileges is applied. Eligibility conditions for study as well as work fields are tweaked. But, would the very legislator who bats for such lowering of standards be willing to be operated upon by one such ‘under privileged’ doctor and self attest a death warrant ? Not at all. Would the voters still believe you when you scream corruption on entry of a housewife into the political arena but extend Z-category protection to her allegedly criminal land-grabber spouse?

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Whither the Republic?

Unless India adopts a fresh perspective to the original sentiments of a limited duration for privileged provision and such provisional considerations are viewed in the correct perspective of a dispassionate Mother India, the essence of the signature-tune of the Preamble to the Constitution fails, falters and falls badly. On all fours!

Rewrite the Constitution of India.

Incorporate the -‘ India that is BHARAT ‘ mentioned in the original book of Constitution of India. Announce it as a -‘ Hindu rashtra’ . Hindu here does not refer to a religious divide but a most specific definition and reference to the character and true nature of India belonging to all humanity (not restricted to enjoyment by few to detriment and adverse interests of the vast majority).

Enact an uniform civil code. Knit the nation as a proud Republic which frowns upon parochialism and narrow-mindedness of vested interests.

Ban regional parties. Let there be only a lotus and the hand or whichever symbols are allocated (including that of the elephant and a donkey).

Make education free, universal and of an uniform syllabus countrywide, irrespective of creed, gender, background of parents and children.

Link up rivers. Embark upon a climate control awareness campaign.

Ban political contests based or led by caste factors. End dynasty politics, beat in the regional levels or on the all – India level. No immediate heir of a leader in power be permitted to succeed in the mantle of power.

Criminal justice system ought to be reviewed. We no longer live in the medieval times. Nor,are we enslaved to foreign colonialism any more. Albeit letting ourselves be made puppets by own ilk.

We must ensure union cabinet ends the VT (Victoria territory ) tag of registration of all our civilian aeroplanes. Let national pride be restored. Not in weekly broadcasts or annual melee of Republic Day parades.

Build a rubber dam across length and breadth of the country at every ten kilometres.

Corruption is not a Loch Ness monster but the very appointments made in key posts across the wide spectrum of Government whistles at whistleblowers and meekly submitting ,suffering servants of the faceless governments.

Not to mention that no one man or woman can seek to lay siege over a one hundred and fifty billion plus souls by bandying about being the messaiah sent by God Almighty to be adored and praised day in and day out by the paraiahs of a Republic!

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India must fight back. Not as a mass supporter or impulsive voter class. The Constitution must be redeemed, not deemed. Unless repaired,this very sacred book of all citizens shall become the epilogue and the epitaph of an entire civilisation. So, awaken, arise and be made aware of the doomsday which nears all who only revel, ogle and clap at the parade and march past in the nation’s capital today. Pledge to lend muscle as well as vision to Constitution and all Laws as would not differentiate or discriminate between citizens. India is no public market but a cauldron of bonds created by jade like Buddhism or Emerald like Islam or Ruby like Christianity or Topaz like Sikhism led certainly by the golden aura of Hinduism. Let the Constitution be regarded as the breath of a nation.

If not, decimation of the Republic is not a far cry or a remote eventuality.

May we all pledge to salute honesty,dedication and sincerity of purpose of not one individual or a few coteries of merchant class but of the entire spirit of Indianness.

Jai Hind!!!

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Pamarty Venkataramana

Pamarty Venkataramana (PVR) is a distinguished and eminent international Jurist, Poet, Author, Speaker and Thinker based in India. His many books are published.

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