The Constitution still thrives, let it show India the way

Context: This month marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption by the Constituent
Assembly of the draft Constitution of India, on November 26, 1949. The drafters
had made provision for relatively easy amendment, to permit the document to
keep up with the needs of the times. But the rest depended on the way
successive generations of its custodians chose to implement it. Today, 75 years
later, it is well worth asking what progress we have made to achieve the aims
of the Constitution’s drafters, and to fill the lacunae that Dr. Ambedkar
identified. Equality has advanced, no doubt, with the abolition of
untouchability being accompanied by the world’s oldest and farthest-reaching
affirmative action programme, in the form of reservations, initially for
Scheduled Castes and then for the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Key points

·       The Constitution
Day, also known as National Law Day or Samvidhan Diwas, is celebrated in India
on 26th November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of
India.

·       The Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment on 19th November 2015, notified the decision of
the Government of India to celebrate 26 November as 'Constitution Day'.

·       Constitution
of India: The Constitution of India is the longest-written constitution of any
sovereign country in the world. The Constitution of India was handwritten by
Prem Behari Narain Raizada in a calligraphy font, and each page was decorated
by artists from Shantiniketan under the guidance of Nandalal Bose.

Ø  The basic
structure of the Indian Constitution stands on the Government of India Act,
1935.

Ø  The Constitution
of India declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic
republic and assures its citizens justice, equality, and liberty, and
endeavours to promote fraternity.

Ø  The Constitution
of India was drafted by a committee of seven members, headed by Dr. B. R.
Ambedkar, who is regarded as the father of the Indian Constitution.