India adopted the Constitution on November 26, 1949 although it became operation only on January 26, 1950. Several official functions are held to observe this day but in today’s date this observance has become merely symbolic. The latest example of trampling of the Constitution is the drama being played out in Maharashtra over who will form the government there. The turn of events since early morning on November 23 when Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister and Ajit Pawar as deputy Chief Minister in the wee hours before Uddhav Thackeray could get his act together, shows the kind of power games being played where the Constitution is violated in every sense of the term by applying emergency options of governance.
One reason why the Constitution does not work for the common man and woman is partly their own fault. Very few people read the Constitution with diligence. If they do read the Constitution then its only to claim their rights. The eleven Fundamental Duties are given short shrift. Indians in fact are experts at citing their rights but fail in their Fundamental Duties. An important Fundamental Duty in this day and age is to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry. This is critical to our democracy because most often we unquestioningly accept what our elected representatives do even if it goes against our collective interests. Schools, colleges and universities should encourage the spirit of enquiry so that no research is left unquestioned and all learning is challenged by new and better ways of fact-finding. Research conducted twenty years ago cannot hold ground in the present, yet many scholars continue to read and refer to such research to substantiate their own biases and prejudices.
Another Fundamental Duty is to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures. This is a much needed duty and has to be inculcated our daily living. Unfortunately, Environmental Science has become merely a subject in schools/ colleges/universities without any down to earth opportunity for students to experience what it is to care for their environment or to understand the cataclysmic future of a world engulfed by plastics.
Democracy in the hands of the uninformed can be a potent instrument of destruction. Elected representative need to be questioned and have to be questioned when they ride roughshod over Constitutional principles and hide behind legalese to carry out their ill-intentioned schemes. It is incumbent upon all educational institutions to devise means to make the Constitution compulsory reading.