Al Haqeeqa
India is a country that was born not of hate, instead, the country’s foundation is based on love, Supreme Court justice Sudhanshu Shulia said on Tuesday, December 3.
His remarks came during an event held by OP Jindal University at Sonipat in Haryana, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution.
Speaking about the establishment of the constitution, he said that during the early years of Indian independence, many scholars and statesmen of the time had written off the country would not survive, and would be ‘Balkanised’ into pieces, pointing towards the stark variations in the cultures, language, ethnicities, etc. in the country.
The SC Justice said that despite the challenges, the country survived as a nation and also as a democracy, proving the doubters wrong. He said that though the country has miles to GOP in terms of achievements, the mere survival and existence is a miracle.
Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said that the difference was made by the Indian Constitution, which vows to keep the country a secular, democratic and socialist republic.
He said that other countries that were formed mostly based on religion, during Indian independence, were later divided in terms of language, etc. He added that the Indian constitution protects its people from these circumstances.
Indian constitution framed with a social revolution in mind
Addressing the role of the constitution in binding every citizen of the country, the Indian Constitution is a social document, quoting the American historian Granville Austin.
Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said that the Constitution was framed by the drafters, including Dr BR Ambedkar, “with a social revolution in mind”.
Marking the inequality that existed in the country during the early years of independent India, which was divided by caste, religion, wealth, and social status, the justice said that the makers of the constitution wanted to elevate the country from these conditions, with the help of the binding document.
“Faternity is the most important value which is there in the Constitution. Without fraternity, no other principles, including equality and liberty, are useless. It is the concept of fraternity which is under threat and is vanishing in the country,” he further added.
