India marked its 75th Republic Day amid customary fanfare and ceremonial grandeur with the traditional parade at Raj Path, New Delhi. However, this year the Republic Day was preceded by the “Ram Lalla Pran Pratishta Day” on 22 January, which was celebrated by the entire government machinery and our pliant mainstream media with equal, if not more, fanfare. Writing for the Indian Express, Bhanu Pratap Mehta says, “This event (22 January) has almost no precedent in history. It is a watershed moment. The pranpratishtha following the foundation stone of Ayodhya, marks the consecration of Hinduism as a political religion pure and simple. It is not just a moment where the state, which has pulled all its mighty power behind this event, ceases to be secular. It is also the moment where Hinduism ceases to be religious.” All those who understand democracy and constitutional values see that the Republic of India is facing its severest test to survive as a functional constitutional democracy.
The dictionary meaning of a republic is “a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.”
Furthermore, we are a constitutional republic that has committed itself to certain goals and values as indicated in the Preamble to our Constitution. It says: “We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens: justice, social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; equality of status and opportunity, and to promote among them all, fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation, in our Constituent Assembly this 26th day of November 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.”
Anticipating unmanageable backlash if they criticized the government and their cohorts for politicizing, patronizing, and using the Ayodhya Mandir ceremony to polarize society, many conscientious citizens of the country displayed the Preamble of the Constitution on 22nd January in their social media posts. It was a simple, silent, and yet powerful message that the country needed to go back to following the principles laid down by the Constitution rather than metamorphosing into a state that is biased in favor of those who follow the Hindu Dharma.
Delivering the Friday sermon on the topic “Republic Day and the Current Situation in our Country” at the Ishat-e-Islam mosque in New Delhi, the Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Malik Moatasim Khan said, “Despite the beautiful things mentioned in the Constitution of India, our socio-economic-political situation is (extremely concerning and) before all of us. This means that merely making good laws and having a good constitution is not enough. Things work only if we transform the soul and thoughts (of people) according to those laws and constitution. Today whatever is written in our laws, and constitution is not being followed, and the people of this country are suffering because of that. The rulers and the politicians have abused human rights.
“What is the solution to the difficulties created by the communal and sectarian elements in our country? The solution is that Muslims must engage in a collective struggle for a mission and an ideology according to the Quran and the Sunnah. This will take care of the growing communalism as well as the other challenges of our country.”
Indian National Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge took to X (formerly Twitter) and reminded people “Our Constitution was based on the values of our Bharatiya civilisation, that is, Nyaya, Maryada, Samata, Samabhaav. The Constitution ensured fundamental rights, social justice, and political rights to every citizen. Today, these pillars are under attack from the government itself. The year 2024 is a very important year for India. This year will decide whether we will be able to save the values of the Constitution and Democracy or go back to the age where not all people are equal.
Well-known human rights activist, Teesta Setalvad also tweeted, “In a democracy, the government is by the majority. But the individual rights stand absolutely sacrosanct and sanguine and that cannot be dented by any kind of majoritarian social philosophy or social guidance. That is what he (Ambedkar) exactly meant.”
Commenting on the state of our republic, political activist, Yogendra Yadav in the Print says, “We now have a new Constitution, not in the form of a new document but in the form of a new grammar of political power that captures the changes that have taken place over the past decade. In the original Constitution, the rights of minorities have been accepted as a boundary line, which decides what a democratically elected government cannot do. However, in the new Constitution, the will of the majority community is the “Lakshman Rekha”, which cannot be violated by any institution of the state, no matter what is written in the original Constitution. Now there will be a system of dual citizenship in our country in which Hindus and co-Hindus are the landlords while Muslims and other religious minorities are like tenants. Parliamentary democracy has been replaced not by a presidential-centric system of governance but by one-man rule, a king elected by the people. We live in a new political system in which the people elect their supreme leader and in such elections; everything is entrusted in the hands of the supreme leader.”
So, what is then our role as citizens of India? We have two responsibilities. The first immediate requirement is to keep a keen eye on their activities and resist their agenda, using all peaceful and democratic methods.
The second task is long-term and continuous, which is to cleanse our society from the poison of polarization, communal hatred and fascism that has entrenched at the social level.
In parallel, we should cultivate a new kind of politics. Ideological affinity should gain precedence over short-term electoral gains. Larger national parties must display magnanimity to smaller regional parties. The republic will have to be regained from those who have morphed it into a ‘majoritarian and illiberal’ state. It will be a decisive phase for “we the people of India.”