Save constitution?

Tamal Sen

Many a political party of our country have been vociferous in recent period shrouding round the point of save-constitution policy. Even a Naxalite revoutionary left party has joined the cry. The rightwingers might have the address of the heavenly bliss in the lines of our constitution and as such naturally they rally in the utmost line to save the constitution. It’s nothing unnatural. It’s their political diet. The age-old communist parties of our country had discarded their past political stances and had been wedded to the constitutional way of movement, rather than the revolutionary one, with a view to forming government and to have the people a taste of socialism ! They have bade good-bye to revolutionary political culture, they had their pet once. and have pledged to bow down to the election oriented constitutional politics. The once fondling slogan eh azadi jhuta hyay has pitiably been turned to eh azadi sach hyay ! Now they have running a partnership business of political power within the periphery of constitutional abyss. But the revolutionary one, who came in the fore through the Naxalbari uprising in the late sixties of the bygone century, called and inspired the thousands of youths, students and even lower and upper middle class blues to come down on to the open road of struggle against the armed goons of the government in power, now harbinger something alien to it. What the people in numbers petting the dreams of a new and emancipated motherland so long today have the message of it now? Once who in the seventies breasted forward to rear the dreams of a dreamland now shake hands with the once-branded semi-fascists, social democrats and even social fascists and hoist national flags, read the preamble of our constitution on and in the eventide of the republic day! It brings forth something worse in the days to come. Today they voice for the save constitution, tomorrow they shall cry for save system and in the day after tomorrow they shall rally for save government! Is it something but dipping into the electoral politics and acting watchdog of the existing system?

What’s there in the preamble of the constitution?
We, the people of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens justice, social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;  equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all  fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation...

What have happened in the meanwhile that after a long lapse of fifty years  it now appears quite possible to turn this country into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic ? What the ruling class failed to so long is now appears possible to do the needful by de novo pledge in the event of republic day! And as such farewel to arms now have turned into a new dictum as farewel to revolution—and a new beginning runs with embracing constitution so warmly and to cite the preamble so solomnly in public on the republic day! What message does it harbinger after fifty years to the people continually facing bloody struggle so long with not pause at all? The Tebhaga movement had been withdrawn. The Telegana revolution had been withdrawn. Now this kowtowing constitution upholds a question : is there any guarantee that the uprising of the Naxalbari peasants in 1967 will not be discarded in near future? The scorn enemies have now been united and befriended with each other so warmly in the arena of the constitutional movement to face an another enemy! The fight on the street is going to be reshaping into a fray of the election! Is is not something treachery to the people?

It must not be forgotten that Jawaharlal Nehru himself drafted the preamble. He drafted it on December 13, 1946 and submitted it in the constituent assembly and it had been accepted. B R Ambedkar averred that this constitution was nothing but a way of living which helped cementing the sense of independence, equality and fraternity in the country. But for fraternity the sense of independence and equality did have no entity at all.

In the event of Berubari presidential reference case our Supreme Court declared that this preamble might not be an integral part of our constitution and as such it could not be accepted as court of law. But in the Kasavananda case in 1973 this Supreme Court set aside its prior decision and in a case between LIC and the Government of India in 1995 this very Supreme Court asserted this preamble to be an integral part of our constitution! Verdict differed in a same point of question in different time—what it means for?

The two particular terms socialist and secular as are found in the lines of preamble was absent in its prime text. During the emergency period under Indira Gandhi regime of bygone century, the 42nd amendment was inducted on December 18, 1976 these very two terms were incorporated in the preamble text. It’s interesting enough that an autocratic and semi-fascist like the infamous Indira Gandhi pleaded for these two particular terms to have been incorporated in the text of the preamble to make it more democratic! And now along with the various colours of right and left political parties one of the Naxalite revolutionary parties enjoins the fest of upholding this preamble, cite it and pledge to save our constitution! Surprises at times do have no limit.

While taking part in a debate in the Rajya Sabha on September 2, 1953 Ahmedkar enunciated that people always kept saying to him to be the maker of our constitution. He would have felt pestered to these oft-sayings; because he pleaded that he was just a hack and was bound to do against his will. The Home Minister Katju charged him to be responsible for drafting the constitution! Ambedkar then alleged Mr Katju saying that he wanted to accuse him (Ambedkar) of their blemishes and then made a historical statement:
Sir, my friends tell me that I have made the Constitution. But I am quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not want it. It does not suit anybody.

Interesting enough that Ambedkar himself declined to take the responsibility of drafting the constitution and wanted to burn it as it did not suit anybody of the Indian public, but after a lapse of sixty seven years a revolutionary left party of the Naxalite movement now embraces that very constitution and pledges to save it heartily! Their sudden being Ambedkarite, citing slogan like joy bhim along with inquilab zindabad is amusing enough! They have now accepted questions of caste and set it above the Marxist sense of class which buzzes rough to have it being fit for election politics! The demarcation line with the rightwing politics appears to be evaporating. Now all the way is ending to the blind lane of election politics and this revolutionary left also follows the suit to start a partnership business of power politics through the open road of elections! Now they are agreeable to shake hands with even the reactionary Congress and the CPIM led so-called left front and the other rightwing parties to replace BJP from power in Delhi by this rainbow front to have achieved the taste of the ideology of the ruling class! Empowered by their party congress held last in Punjab in 2018 this save constitution outcry had its genesis and now it has become their guideline of all political milestones. They have forgot the tyranny of the Congress in the last seventies and that of the CPIM during last long thirty-four years since 1977 and now have befriended them their considerable allies to defeat fascism! Now fascism has to be met with the constitutional way apart from the lines practised before under the leadership of comrade Stalin. They now have come in contact with all the electioneering parties far from the other revolutionary left throughout India. A clear line has been drawn—the right-wingers and the so-called and pseudo left diving deep into the constitutional politics only and the other side of the horizon left discarded! Peaceful co-existence is back again, constitutional politics under the save constitution theory has become dominant; the thought of revolutionary politics is now being shelved under gigantic lock and key and might not be open ever!

Constitution is now being a new and adorable institution wherein democracy will be a stone-icon putting in a shine. The new save-constitutionists will act the watchdog of this constitution, system, state and the Governments from the inroads of ultra left revolutionaries with the state armed forces and party hooligans!

Feb 11, 2020

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