The biggest test of constitutional responsibilities and decorum are matters of civil rights, so it is important to see where we stand today.
On the eve of the Republic entering its seventy-seventh year, the Election Commission’s declaration of “I am India” in its newspaper advertisement logo for National Voters’ Day on 25th January attracts attention. On January 26, 1950, “We the people of India…” proclaim the Republic. In the current advertisement, ‘I’ instead of ‘we’ and ‘India’ instead of ‘people of India’, is it telling any story about the 76 years of the Republic? What do other developments of the present time say, which reveal the current form of the republic and its story? The question is also how should we judge the conduct, face and character of the republic. Are the indications given by recent developments short-term or are they giving any long-term signals? Whatever may be the case, the Republic has gone through many stages and turning points over the years, whose marks and undoubtedly its light are also visible on its face and body language. Have these also changed its direction or has it continued to move forward in its direction with some obstacles and deviations? One way to assess this could be to look at which promises and commitments our Republic had made and which fundamental principles were made its foundation in the Constitution. Let us first see what today’s circumstances are indicating and which direction they indicate.
There is no doubt that in many matters we seem to be standing at two crossroads. Not only the situation in the country but also the international situation seems unstable and creates two paths where wherever you go, there is no less danger. Donald Trump, the new President of the America in which we have been moving with some rapid steps since the nineties and in the new century, is bent on changing the map of the world on his own terms. Not only India but the whole world is wondering which way to turn. On this Republic Day, the Chairman and Commissioner of the European Union came as our guests and many trade and defense agreements were signed with a view to finding some other credible path in the face of America’s threats. But how much support this will give to our economy, it seems difficult to say right now.
how many ways are there
The other side of America is Russia and China, which challenge it to some extent, which also has its own conditions. Under these circumstances, a few months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin came to New Delhi after a long time and made many agreements and promises, but neither Russia is the same as before, nor our conditions are the same as before. So, how can we invoke the friendship of old times i.e. the Cold War era? It is also worth noting here that during the last few years, we have curbed the purchase of about 30 percent cheaper oil and petroleum products from China, so that a bilateral agreement can be made with America and Trump’s additional 25 percent tariff as a penalty can be avoided. However, that agreement remains a mirage.
Well, last year, after many years of Galvan Valley tension in 2020, we also turned towards China to find a way out against America. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last September and also held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But China’s imports increased by more than 100 percent and our exports increased only by 3-5 percent. That means our economy did not get much relief.
state of the economy
Similarly, agreements with some other countries, such as New Zealand, cannot provide the value and quantity to our exports that we have been getting from America. Its marks are visible in many areas. Those who add the most value to exports and generate millions of jobs in the country, those in the gems, jewellery, electronics, pharma, etc. and many service sector enterprises are gasping for the US at an average 50 per cent tariff. They do not get that value in other markets and are lagging behind the competition, especially from countries in East Asia.
Our economy is said to be around 40 trillion dollars, which grows naturally with time due to increase in population and market. It is also that we are the fourth largest economy in the world and as per government claims, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is also showing the fastest growth among major economies. In the current year, the government estimates to achieve growth of more than 8 percent. But recently international agencies like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have placed our figures in a less reliable range. A recent report of the International Monetary Fund also warned that the country’s foreign debt is touching the limit of its GDP, which could have a long shadow on the economy. Apart from this, the rupee has crossed 90 against the dollar.
Whatever be the case, many well-known economists also express many doubts on the government figures. A major reason for this is that the GDP growth figures seem to be mismatched with the agricultural sector and production sector and especially the inflation data of food items. Again, more than half of this GDP is corporate net worth, which is not linked to production and investment. Private investment has been continuously decreasing for many years. Then, there is continuous selling in foreign institutional capital also. The problem is also that there is no systematic system to collect data on the unorganized sector which has the largest share in the economy and especially in terms of employment and it is assumed that the growth seen in the corporate sector will also be there. Apart from this, due to postponement of census every ten years, the real situation is not being known. Instead, most domestic consumption figures and multidimensional indices are able to give only a rough estimate. Our per capita income is also said to be Rs 2 lakh 63 thousand, but more than half of it belongs to the top one per cent of the population and if we subtract the income of the top 10 per cent of the population, then the income of almost 90 per cent of the population is below Rs 70 thousand annually. That means both paths are difficult.
condition of institutions
Just a few days ago, senior Supreme Court Justice Bhuyan surprised everyone by revealing at an event in Pune that the Collegium had recorded that a judge was transferred to the Allahabad High Court on the request of the executive. That judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court was earlier transferred to Chhattisgarh, where he would have been second in the order of seniority to become the Chief Justice, but Allahabad being a big court, he would have been in the bottom row. Similarly, a judge of the lower court of Bulandshahr was transferred allegedly due to an adverse judgment and was also allegedly demoted. These recent cases raise concerns. Recall that in 2014, a bill was passed by the Parliament regarding the role of the executive in judicial appointments, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2015. Then, in 2016, for the first time in the history of independent India, four senior judges of the collegium held a press conference against the unilateral decision in deciding the roster of the Chief Justice. It is a different matter that later when one of those judges, Ranjan Gogoi, became the Chief Justice, he too was criticized.
He was also criticized because he accepted the government’s proposal of appointing him to the Rajya Sabha just a few months after his retirement. Although this has happened or has happened in many cases before. Especially during the emergency period, many examples of this are clearly visible. But questions about the dignity of the judiciary have been continuously raised and the dignity of conduct of judges has also been said to be necessary for impartial justice. But in recent times, the dignity of not being seen with people from the ruling party or the opposition has seemed to be becoming redundant.
rights issue
The level of criticism being raised on court decisions today also raises concerns. There have been criticisms in the past as well, but from time to time the courts have been creating new history by giving many progressive judgments and new interpretations to extend constitutional values to civil rights. But in the case of civil rights, such contradictions have been seen less than before, which have been seen in the recent times, especially in the case of people imprisoned under PMLA and UAPA or similar laws. Recently, at the Jaipur Literature Festival, former Chief Justice D.Y. In response to a question, Chandrachud said that the trial not starting even after five years means that the accused should be granted bail immediately, of course conditionally, but not doing so is against the principles of justice. He also said that two criteria cannot be set in the same case, otherwise the entire concept of civil rights would become contradictory. The reference here was to two JNU students accused in the Delhi riots, whom the Supreme Court bench recently refused to grant bail to, citing it as a separate case and asked them to file a bail application after a year, while the five people lodged with them were released. There are more such cases.
Not only this, negligence in implementing court decisions also creates problems. For example, in the matter of Election Commission’s SIR, despite the instructions of the Supreme Court, there are reports of notices being issued to ask for other documents from voters apart from Aadhaar card, are coming from West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh etc. Well, many kinds of allegations and counter-allegations on SIR have taken the form of uproar. All these things seem like restrictions on civil rights, whereas the Constitution promises that the rights will not be at anyone’s discretion, but will be universal and will only expand, they cannot be curbed.
Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to exist, live and earn a living and ensures equal weighting of everyone’s rights. It does not even discriminate against a person from another country and assures him that he can live a life here with complete freedom. An example of this was Mark Tully, who had achieved a unique reputation as a BBC correspondent, who recently died in Delhi at the age of 90. In such a situation, it is very important to know the condition of those guarantees of the Constitution in the present times, only then we will be able to make our republic what our sages and constitution makers had desired. Here perhaps some people may remember the discussion of those adversities which have come before the Republic in this journey of 76 years and which have changed its path (for that see the travelogue on the next pages). Still, it is important to look at the current situation to see how the path of the republic can be smoothened.
