A nation and its citizens that sets out to govern itself have a monumental task before it. India too undertook such a task 63 years ago, but we Indians had to wait another 3 more years of time to have a constitution of our own, to define who ‘We’ are, the rights, duties, responsibilities of the individual citizens, the groups of social life and the State.
The institutions of government, be it Executive, Judiciary or Legislature, have come through many stages of co-existence, fight and understanding. Since Indian Executive system is not totally independent, it still remains in peace with Legislature but many a times we have witnessed scenes of fight between Judiciary and Legislature. The period from 1951, the first year of framing up a constitution, till the first a few years of 1990s was eventful. During this period the Judiciary and Legislature went their own way ahead, sometimes forgetting other institutions, to interpret the nuances of our constitution and / or to modify / change it altogether. All these were proved as just signs of growth to maturity in the body polity of our nation, and still are considered so. [ To quote a few such creative fights, please refer to Kesavananda Bharathi Vs. State of Kerala-1973, 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act(C.A.A.), and amendment to article.368]
As we have accepted a federal system of governance with strong centralizing tendencies, the relation between the Union and the states have become a matter of contest, especially when opposite political parties catch power at each levels. And this problem then creeps into many issues - freedom given to each level of government in their own spheres, resource sharing, developmental issues and a lot. Many committees, Commissions, Councils, either constitutionally thought out or otherwise, like Inter State Council, National Developmental Council, Zonal Council, etc., play their role to find an answer to such issues from time to time. There are certain extremes crossing which would endanger the peaceful co-existence of governments at Centre and State, which we have witnessed more than once. President’s rule in states is like a knife in the hands of a surgeon at times but at some other occasions it becomes a knife to stab an enemy. To find answers to numerous questions of Centre-State relations government of India set up a commission under the chairmanship of Justice Renjith Singh Sarkaria in 1983. The recommendations of this commission were thought to be setting a new set of guidelines but many of them still remains unmet.
We have accepted principles of high moral values, both in social and political life and in personal life as well. Our constitution reflects the thoughts of Gandhiji, the most beloved father of our nation. As the society never remains static we have new set of challenges to be addressed in the way to reach our dream, to construct a society worth living for all. Poverty, Un-employment, Quality of Life, Quality of Education, Food for All,....we have a huge list of issues which requires to have a prudent look. Strengthening the whole system from grass-root through local self government shows some result, especially in taking the developmental efforts of the State to the farthest corner of our nation. This kind of a social action legislation – 73rd and 74th C.A.A. of 1992 – have brought the previously unrepresented section of society into national life. This is a step towards harmonizing a larger section of society with the main walks of life.
The noted political thinker Andre Beteille said : “ a constitution may indicate the direction in which we are to move, but the social structure will decide how far we are able to move and at what pace.” It is true in Indian conditions too, as we have enshrined in our constitution in the form of ideals and aspirations. Our ideals and aspirations set out a direction, right at the preamble itself, to which we have to take our nation. In the attempt of social up-lifting process the State have the full scope of freedom as mentioned under article 39(b) and (c).[Even the fundamental rights as mentioned under articles 14 and 19 can be overlooked in this matter if they stand to violate social equity]
Through the six decades, we have a system of our own government – Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. Irrespective of the heated moments of co-existence a widespread faith in our constitution prevails among its constituent elements. This makes the internal political structure of our nation as a model before the rest of the world, a system that can remain unchallenged in the ages to come. The very same reason makes India a model democracy, catching the attention of the world, for its unique features of blending the best of the world to frame a new one of its kind. Remember, our forefathers gave us a constitution which is not borrowed from any part of the world but a mixture of the best features of democratic existence that still prevails in the world.
The institutions of government, be it Executive, Judiciary or Legislature, have come through many stages of co-existence, fight and understanding. Since Indian Executive system is not totally independent, it still remains in peace with Legislature but many a times we have witnessed scenes of fight between Judiciary and Legislature. The period from 1951, the first year of framing up a constitution, till the first a few years of 1990s was eventful. During this period the Judiciary and Legislature went their own way ahead, sometimes forgetting other institutions, to interpret the nuances of our constitution and / or to modify / change it altogether. All these were proved as just signs of growth to maturity in the body polity of our nation, and still are considered so. [ To quote a few such creative fights, please refer to Kesavananda Bharathi Vs. State of Kerala-1973, 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act(C.A.A.), and amendment to article.368]
As we have accepted a federal system of governance with strong centralizing tendencies, the relation between the Union and the states have become a matter of contest, especially when opposite political parties catch power at each levels. And this problem then creeps into many issues - freedom given to each level of government in their own spheres, resource sharing, developmental issues and a lot. Many committees, Commissions, Councils, either constitutionally thought out or otherwise, like Inter State Council, National Developmental Council, Zonal Council, etc., play their role to find an answer to such issues from time to time. There are certain extremes crossing which would endanger the peaceful co-existence of governments at Centre and State, which we have witnessed more than once. President’s rule in states is like a knife in the hands of a surgeon at times but at some other occasions it becomes a knife to stab an enemy. To find answers to numerous questions of Centre-State relations government of India set up a commission under the chairmanship of Justice Renjith Singh Sarkaria in 1983. The recommendations of this commission were thought to be setting a new set of guidelines but many of them still remains unmet.
We have accepted principles of high moral values, both in social and political life and in personal life as well. Our constitution reflects the thoughts of Gandhiji, the most beloved father of our nation. As the society never remains static we have new set of challenges to be addressed in the way to reach our dream, to construct a society worth living for all. Poverty, Un-employment, Quality of Life, Quality of Education, Food for All,....we have a huge list of issues which requires to have a prudent look. Strengthening the whole system from grass-root through local self government shows some result, especially in taking the developmental efforts of the State to the farthest corner of our nation. This kind of a social action legislation – 73rd and 74th C.A.A. of 1992 – have brought the previously unrepresented section of society into national life. This is a step towards harmonizing a larger section of society with the main walks of life.
The noted political thinker Andre Beteille said : “ a constitution may indicate the direction in which we are to move, but the social structure will decide how far we are able to move and at what pace.” It is true in Indian conditions too, as we have enshrined in our constitution in the form of ideals and aspirations. Our ideals and aspirations set out a direction, right at the preamble itself, to which we have to take our nation. In the attempt of social up-lifting process the State have the full scope of freedom as mentioned under article 39(b) and (c).[Even the fundamental rights as mentioned under articles 14 and 19 can be overlooked in this matter if they stand to violate social equity]
Through the six decades, we have a system of our own government – Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. Irrespective of the heated moments of co-existence a widespread faith in our constitution prevails among its constituent elements. This makes the internal political structure of our nation as a model before the rest of the world, a system that can remain unchallenged in the ages to come. The very same reason makes India a model democracy, catching the attention of the world, for its unique features of blending the best of the world to frame a new one of its kind. Remember, our forefathers gave us a constitution which is not borrowed from any part of the world but a mixture of the best features of democratic existence that still prevails in the world.
