HEALING TOUCH: STRENGTHENING INDIA'S CONSTITUTIONAL FABRIC

As we stand on the eve of Constitution Day, marking 75 years since India adopted its Constitution, it is an apt moment to reflect on the legacy of the document that governs our democracy.

- TULLA VEERENDER GOUD

For far too long, the Constitution, once the beacon of hope and aspiration for millions, had been reduced to a mere token of political convenience. A political class, obsessed with power, gradually undermined its sanctity, and over the years, we saw repeated instances where the constitutional fabric was torn apart. The very idea of democracy and the rights it bestows on the people was systematically weakened by those who should have been its guardians.

The Congress party, in particular, has a dark history when it comes to tampering with the Constitution. One of the most blatant examples of this was the misuse of Article 356, which allowed the central government to dismiss democratically elected state governments at will. Between 1950 and 1975, Article 356 was invoked 90 times, an astounding misuse of power that reflects how centralization took precedence over the autonomy of states. In many cases, Congress governments in power used this provision to crush opposition in states, disregarding the democratic will of the people.

But perhaps the darkest chapter in this history was the Emergency of 1975, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi suspended fundamental rights, crushed dissent, and took the country closest to dictatorship in modern times. The Emergency was the ultimate affront to the Constitution, and it shook the very foundations of Indian democracy. Furthermore, the Congress systematically undermined the independence of the judiciary, evident in the notorious instances where judges who were not in favour of the government were superseded, all in an attempt to control the judicial system for political gains.

In contrast, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the country commemorated the Samvidhan Hatya Diwas to honor those who fought against this grave subversion of constitutional values, such as Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Krishna Advani, and others who preserved the democratic spirit of the country in the face of tyranny.