By Robert Clements
Disrespect to the Constitution..!
Ah, how easy it is nowadays to be guilty of “disrespecting the Constitution!” No need to burn it, tear it, or spit on it—just ask a question, raise a doubt, or show a mildly raised eyebrow, and boom—you’re branded as a criminal, a rebel, or worse, an anti-national.
Today, it’s Rahul Gandhi. Tomorrow, it could be you. The day after, it could be the fellow selling sugarcane juice at the corner, who dares to ask why power bills are higher than his profits. Disrespecting the Constitution, my friends, is now the easiest crime to commit in this country—mainly because the definition changes depending on who is in power and who feels offended.
And who are the judges of such weighty accusations? None other than the very men and women drawing fat salaries from our pockets—our bureaucrats and also our elected representatives. The same leaders who often confuse the Constitution with their party manifesto, and the people with their vote banks. The same worthies who, while swearing by the Constitution, use it as a doormat when it suits them.
I watched, amused and alarmed, as the Election Commission thundered back at Rahul Gandhi’s charge of fraud, saying he had shown “disrespect to the Constitution.” Disrespect? My dear sirs, what dictionary are you consulting? Because the last time I checked, questioning authority is the very soul of democracy, not its downfall. The Constitution was written precisely to allow such questions—to guarantee freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and yes, freedom to call out those in power.
If asking, “Are you doing your job right?” becomes sedition, then the Constitution has already been quietly buried, and we are merely attending its funeral in silence. The tricolour still flutters, the anthem still plays, but the spirit of democracy lies stiff in a coffin, while we stand solemnly around pretending everything is fine.
And this isn’t new. We have grown used to phrases like “anti-national” being hurled at students, journalists, and opposition leaders. “Sedition” slapped on those who refuse to clap loudly enough at government functions. Or “disrespect to the army” when the poor jawan is sent to fight a battle he wasn’t equipped for, and someone dares to ask why. In fact, the ruling elite has turned these phrases into a toolbox—pull out whichever hammer fits the head that dares to rise.
These phrases are not arguments; they are smokescreens. They are meant to make you forget the question and glare instead at the questioner. Like a magician who waves a glittering cloth in front of your eyes while the real trick is happening elsewhere, our leaders have mastered the art of distraction. Instead of answering the tough question, they accuse you of disloyalty. And sadly, too often, it works.
It works especially on the uneducated, who are fed slogans instead of facts. It works on the easily misled, who prefer a WhatsApp forward over a newspaper editorial. And it works, tragically, even on the educated, who should know better but would rather enjoy the comfort of a political fairy tale than the discomfort of truth.
If you, dear reader, find yourself fooled by such dramatic declarations, then pause a moment. Hold up a mirror. Ask yourself if you’ve lost the ability to discern right from wrong. For when we cannot tell the truth from propaganda, we are not merely victims—we are accomplices. By nodding along, by cheering slogans without substance, we hand over our voice, our rights, and eventually, our Constitution.
Rahul might be right or wrong, and so also you or me, but democracy gives me the absolute right to express my thoughts, without being branded with names, or accused by anyone.
Let us be clear that when such accusations are flung at us, this is not just disrespect to the Constitution. This is disrespect to the people of India. To you, to me, to every taxpayer who pays the salaries of these solemn-faced leaders and commissioners. They draw their monthly pay from our sweat and toil, and in return, they fling words at us—their paymasters—like schoolyard bullies. Instead of serving, they sermonize. Instead of answering, they accuse. Instead of governing, they gaslight.
And while they lecture us about the Constitution, let us remind them of a simple fact: the Constitution belongs to us, the people. It was written in our name, with our mandate, and for our protection. It does not belong to a party, a commission, or anyone who boasts of having a 56 inch chest.
It is not a toy to be picked up and dropped depending on convenience. And if it is being disrespected, it is not by those who ask questions, but by those who silence them.
It’s high time this game stopped. Not with more words, but with action. If an elected representative misuses language to mislead, let us haul him to court. If an institution hides behind grand phrases instead of answers, let us remind them who gave them their chair. And if they still persist, then let the people themselves pass the verdict—not in Parliament, but at the ballot box.
Because democracy, at its heart, is not about power, but accountability. Our leaders are not monarchs; they are employees. And employees who fail, who lie, who insult their employers, should be sacked. Not coddled, not celebrated, not decorated—but dismissed.
Because, dear sirs, it is not us disrespecting the Constitution. It is you. And unless you stop, you may find yourselves impeached—not by lawyers in courts, but by millions of ordinary Indians who have finally opened their eyes.
Now that would be true respect for the Constitution…!