Transforming India: RSTV – Big Picture

Rajya Sabha TV programs like ‘The Big Picture’, ‘In Depth’ and ‘India’s World’ are informative programs that are important for UPSC preparation. In this article, you can read about the discussions held in the ‘Big Picture’ episode on “Transforming India” for the IAS exam.

The Big Picture – Transforming India:- Download PDF Here

Anchor: Vishal Dahiya

Guest Name: Chakshu Roy, Head of Outreach, PRS Legislative Research; P.K. Malhotra, Former Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, GoI; Ashok Tandon, Senior Journalist

What’s in the News?

• 26th November of every year is celebrated as Samvidhan Divas or the Constitution day to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India.
• The Constituent Assembly adopted the Indian Constitution on 26th November 1949, and it came into effect on 26th January 1950.
• The Constitution lays down a broad framework of fundamental political code, structure, powers, procedures, and duties of the government institutions and fundamental rights and duties of the citizens. 
• There have been 104 amendments to the Constitution of India since it was first enacted in 1950, and the broad aim has been, to bring about a social and economic transformation in the lives of the people.

Indian Constitution: 

• India’s sustenance of democracy is an attribute to the strength of its Constitution.
• The Indian Constitution encourages the state to address the deficiencies present while providing space to build a framework for an equitable society.
• The Constitution of India is a tool for social change.
  • Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had commented that “The Constitution would be as good or bad as the person who is responsible for its implementation.”
  • He had also cautioned about three dangers to democracy which are the use of unconstitutional methods, hero-worship, and the prevalence of social and economic inequalities.
• The Constitution has components of both rigidity and flexibility and has evolved over the years to look at the societal needs of the country.
  • The judiciary has interpreted it; the government has taken direction from it and then the parliament has devoted a lot of energy to ensure that the constitutional values are protected. 
• The Indian Constitution is flexible: 
  • The right to vote was extended to both men and women from the very beginning of the enforcement of the Indian Constitution, unlike other countries where it was introduced after the 1960s.
  • The Indian Constitution also accommodates the young generation by allowing them to vote from the age of 18. This amendment was introduced in 1989 to enable more young people to have a say in democratic politics.
  • The Right To Education (RTE) was made a fundamental right.
  • Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a landmark taxation reform that was introduced.
  • The absence of fundamental duties would mean that a citizen would claim his/her fundamental rights but would have no duties towards the state, under the Constitution.  So under the 42nd amendment, a chapter on fundamental duties was introduced.
• The constitution helps in bringing governance closer to the citizens. 
  • The 73rd and 74th amendments ensured that a third tier of governance is available i.e. the Municipalities and Panchayati Raj.
  • Through these amendments, local self- governance was introduced in rural and urban India.

The Social and Economic transformation journey: 

• The Preamble of the constitution is the basic feature of the constitution. All the articles in the constitution carry forward the objective given by the preamble.
  • As per the preamble, “India is constituted as sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republic, wherein the citizens have the liberty of thought, expression, belief and worship, and equality of status and opportunities.”
  • The fundamental rights give effect to all these objectives. 
    • For example, Article 14 talks about the right to equality, while Article 15 and 16 talk about affirmative discrimination in favor of certain classes of people. 
• Education is a very important sector and accordingly:
  • The Right to Education (RTE) Act has been passed.
  • Article 21-A was added as the eighty-sixth amendment to the constitution declaring education as a fundamental right. 
• A lot of schemes have been promoted in accordance with the health sector.
• The zamindari and land reforms have evolved along with the provision of local self- government. 
• Right to Information (RTI) and the Lokpal Act have been successfully enacted. 
  • The RTI Act allows citizens to get information on how the government is functioning and in case of a deficiency, make a representation before the other authorities or go to the court. 

Role of the Judiciary:

• The judiciary plays a very important role in the interpretation of the Indian Constitution. 
• According to Article 142 of the Indian Constitution, in situations wherein the executive has failed to discharge the duty or if the legislature hasn’t passed a law, the judiciary steps in and uses the power given under the Constitution to give complete justice to the common man. 
  • For example, the ban of diesel vehicles in Delhi was also in accordance with the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in SC.

Directive principles:

• The Fundamental Duties were incorporated in the constitution under the 42nd Amendment in 1976. Gandhi wanted certain measures such as, a classless society and a ban on animal slaughter to be introduced as law under the Indian constitution along with the fundamental rights. 
• The Constituent Assembly members insisted that these measures would take time to be implemented and thus cannot be made as a law. Therefore the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs) were introduced.
• The DPSPs give directions to the state for removal of existing disparities.
  • The ideas behind Swachh Bharath Abhiyan, construction of toilets, and the ban of plastics were already present in the DPSPs.  
  • The concern here is that all of the issues stated in the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs) have been turned into political agendas, and are being used as promises by the political parties. 
  • The key to an equal and classless society lies in the effective implementation of the DPSPs.

Challenges:

• A lot of ideas in the Indian Constitution were adopted from the Constitution of Britain, which is not a written constitution. 

• Democracy in Britain depends on conventions. Conventions are unwritten rules of the constitution, which provides flexibility and avoids amendments. A necessary corollary to the unwritten character of the British Constitution is that conventions play a very vital role in the British political system.

• However, the Indian constitution evolves according to the needs due to the provision of amendments.

Way Forward:

• National Campaigns: Public awareness about the DPSPs, a classless society, poverty alleviation, and gender discrimination need to be made into national campaigns. 

• The political parties, local bodies, and the common citizens, all have an incumbent responsibility towards the constitution.

• • A comprehensive approach has to be adopted to obtain a change in social issues.
  • A comprehensive effort from both the citizens and the government is required.
• Connection between the Constitution and young people has to be enhanced. It would be an ongoing problem, as the level of enthusiasm between the young generation and the older generation would be different with respect to embracing the Constitution and trying to understand it. 
  • A private member’s bill which suggested that copies of the constitution should be given to a citizen when they attain 18 years of age to bring them closer to the constitution was mooted in the Rajya Sabha.

Note: A private member’s bill in a parliamentary system of government is a bill introduced into the legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch.

• Commitment to the provisions of the Indian Constitution must be emphasized. All political parties must commit to the Constitution and its provisions.

• Incorporation of amendments is necessary to allow the Constitution to evolve according to the needs and sensibilities of the time. However, a lot of efforts are needed in order to obtain a congenial environment for the social and economic development of the country. 

Conclusion:

The evolution of the Constitution and the evolution of society are interlinked. The state, the government and political parties are putting in efforts. However, it is the citizens of India who hold the key to bringing about social and economic change required. Thus combined efforts from the government and citizens should be adopted as the approach to bring a social and economic change in the society.

The Big Picture – Transforming India:- Download PDF Here

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Read previous RSTV articles here.