Republic Day and Responsibility Day

India would be celebrating its 72nd Republic Day today. Since 1950 when our Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, we have been celebrating Republic Day which was also declared a National Holiday to enable citizens to participate in celebrations in the states where they live or work with National capital Delhi we not only showcase our unity in diversity culture but also our Military might. We must note that our Constitution makers then met 166 days in public sessions spanning over two years, 11 months, and 18 days before adopting the constitution which has become a model for many other countries that got their independence much later.
In his final speech to the Constitutional Assembly on 25 November 1949 Dr. B R Ambedkar remarked about the potential pitfalls of life after January 26, 1950 “ On the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics, we will be recognizing the principle of one man one vote, and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, because of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which is Assembly has to laboriously build up”.
It looks like, after 72 years since our constitution was adopted, Dr. Ambedkar’s prophesy seems to be turning correct. However, the fundamental of the Constitution drafted and adopted by us are what is keeping us strong. If we compare us with Pakistan which also became an Independent country in August 1947 and adopted the same constitution had made the fundamental mistake of declaring their country as an “Islamic Republic” unlike ours which stood by secular principles, though “secular” was added by 42nd Constitution Amendment Bill in 1976. With the assertion of the word “Secular,” we have become much stronger than Pakistan which until today continues to struggle under the grip of “Islamic Fundamentalists” who are running their country from behind. If we want to continue to remain strong, we should strongly stand united against any move to tamper the preamble to give India a religious shade which can be disastrous not for us but for generation next.
The Constitution adopted by us guarantees all legitimate freedom and rights, there are also lines of duties and responsibilities. Duties and responsibilities are not merely paying our taxes as per laws framed from time to time, we also have social and democratic responsibilities. When our fundamentals are curbed or tampered with without reason, it is our responsibility to raise awareness among citizens through peaceful methods. We should remember that we have fundamentals that guarantee freedom but violence has no place while asserting our rights.
The elected representatives who take oath under the Constitution also have the same duties and responsibilities like the citizen elect them to represent and speak for us. We the voters have all the right to raise questions against representatives if they fail to honor the constitution or cross lines. Though we are yet to get the power of the “right to recall” our representatives, our right to reject them through national franchise still holds strong in our hands.
As for celebrations, Republic Day is slowly turning “No Public Day” ever since security has overtaken people’s participation. In the beginning, Republic Day was for and by the people, when a large number of people were allowed to witness the event in the national capital and the rest of the country, This has changed over the years under the pretext of “security” threats and whatnot.
Whether we the people should demand changes and make people’s participation instead of selected VVIPS, VIPS, and elites. Maybe by the time when India celebrates its 75th Republic Day in 2025, we may see a change like some of the Armed forces days have moved away from Delhi to some other parts of India when every year National events move to states in alphabetical order of names of state. While celebrations can and will continue, it is time to remember Republic Day as “Responsibility and Duties Day” for our nation to make India strong and powerful. Long live India’s REPUBLIC..