As the 75th Republic Day of this nation arrives, we must look back at our history and all that happened since the Constitution of India was brought into force almost 75 years ago on 26 January 1950.
As stated in the Preamble, the Constitution of India was adopted and enacted by us, the people of India, as we gave ourselves the power of self-rule or ‘Purna Swaraj’ and sought to make the country a “Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic” (the term Secular being added in 1975).
The Constitution laid out a framework for how the country would function, specifying the separate roles of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, and allowed for equal distribution of powers among the three. It also gave the citizens a set of fundamental rights that each one of us is entitled to.
All of us are aware of those six fundamental rights, which includes the Right to Equality, Right to Religion, Right Against Exploitation, Cultural and Educational Rights, Right to Constitutional Remedies and the most important right which is the Right to Freedom.
The last one is practiced by one and all as we go about our lives and live the way we want, safe in our bubble of “meri marzi” while disregarding any responsibilities that we may have and completely unaware that there is also a set of fundamental duties assigned to us. Most of us probably do not even know that there are fundamental duties assigned to the citizens of India in Article 51A under Part-IV A of the Constitution.
The fundamental duties, borrowed from the constitution of USSR, were added in the Constitution in 1976 under the 42nd amendment by the Indian Government led by Indira Gandhi who sought to make people equally conscious of their duties as they are of their rights, a vision which still remains a far-off dream nearly 47 years later.
Although, the fundamental duties are non-justiciable and do not invite legal sanctions in case of their violation (with some exceptions), they reflect the values and ideals of the India and we, the citizens, are still obligated to follow them as it will contribute to the betterment of our society and country.
Divided into Moral and Civic duties, the eleven duties cover a wide range of responsibilities that includes the basic duties of abiding by the constitution and respecting its ideals, along with the National flag and the National Anthem, and cherishing the history and the noble ideals of the freedom struggle, which make up the first two fundamental duties.
Then comes third duty of upholding and protecting the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, followed by our duty of defending the country and volunteering for service to the nation when required, and promoting “harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and, renouncing practices derogatory to the dignity of women” which became the fifth duty and probably the one which is least followed.
The sixth duty is to “value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture”, while the seventh fundamental duty is to “protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures”, followed by the duty to “develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform” as the eighth duty.
The duty to “safeguard public property and to abjure violence” and to “strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement” make up the ninth and tenth duties.
The final fundamental duty of providing educational opportunities to children between the age of six and fourteen years was added in 2002 in the 86th amendment.
The list of duties is not exhaustive as it does not include several other duties of the citizens like the duty to vote or to pay taxes, etc., and some of the duties are phrased in a manner which is difficult for people to understand their meaning.
However, the fact still remains that Indians have mostly failed at fulfilling these basic duties that were expected of us as we hear every day of some incident or the other which makes us lose a little hope as we question the base and ideals of this great nation and what kind future it holds.
The future will be shaped by our actions in the same manner that the actions of the people living in the past few generations have shaped and influenced our time. If they had been as complicit and silent during the corruption and atrocities committed by the British, like we are today when a politician is doing the same, we may not have attained independence at all in 1947 and January 26 would have been just another day instead of the Republic Day of the largest democracy of the world.
It’s time that we reflect upon the same and take into consideration the ramifications and impact of our actions today instead of lamenting about the past and what could’ve been.
(The author is a media professional. All views and opinions expressed in the article are the author’s own)
