Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Be Free

You speak of system being rotten. So do I. And I am going to take up this beaten up topic once again.


For analysis sake, I’ll assume the system to be same as The Constitution of India. The constitution is above all. It is supreme that I firmly believe. You can call me a constitutional extremist but that’s what I am. Today that’s what I need to be. That is my only hope today of the system, from the system. It is my holy book. No system or institution stands above it. Even the Supreme Court. As a citizen of India, you and I have a written fundamental duty to abide by that written document. You should know that per Article 51A clause (a) you will be duty bound to respectfully disagree even with the Supreme Court if it’s interpretations are not abiding with the constitution.


Makers of the constitution were not dumb. They made the checks and balances in the system to avoid getting power concentrated in the ministers. Refer to the recorded debates of the constituent assembly which was making the constitution before 26th Jan 1950. Their concerns raised then look almost prophetic today.


Only assumption that the makers of the constitution made and did not write in the constitution is that the written constitution will be followed and made to be followed by the institutions it is creating.


Obviously you and I do not expect the wily politicians and their cohorts to follow the constitution out of their own sweet will. Those guys are not that great.


Besides following the constitution to the dot makes them loose their powers big time.


Do you know that government claims that all the day to day powers of the President are actually that of ministers because of article 74(1) which binds the President to accept ministers’ advice?


But why hasn’t the government ever highlighted the clause right next to the above clause in the constitution which says that no court can assume existence, let alone the nature, of such an advice? Effectively, highlighting the second clause means giving a lot of leeway to the Prez.


Do you know that constitution allows all orders only in the name of the President? Then why has the Supreme Court declared this clause as non-mandatory. Orders made by ministers have thus been taken as orders of government. Hence this laxity by court has invited even more corruption.


Do you know that constitution says that all transfers have to be consulted through UPSC? And if the suggestion of UPSC is not followed then the government has to explain that with a memorandum in the Parliament. It does not happen though you may like to think it does.


I can go on and on. But that’s not the point I want to make today. Since it’s the Supreme Court itself which is not taking the constitution seriously enough for the sake of “not only delivering justice, but also appearing to deliver justice”, there’s little you can expect from them, though the court is still our best institution. The point is that the written constitution has to be followed.


Do not underestimate your power of expression. You earned the right to express after 26th Jan 1950 even though the right to vote had already come in before that date(Provincial elections existed even before independence). Freedom gave us the everyday right to express. Freely and fearlessly. Use that power and scare the hell out of the institutions that are taking your silence for granted.


Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Better pay that price now. Or else you will be forced to pay against your will. The least you could do is make them follow the constitution. Everything else will fall in place.

1 comment:

Nischal said...

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