Dt: 12/12/19
Amendments to India’s Constitution
Dr T.H.Chowdary *
Since 2015 the 26th of Nov is observed as the Constitution Day. In his address to the nation Sri Narendra Modi emphasized, among others the duties of citizens as enumerated in Article-51 of the Constitution - citizens must carry out their duties as much as exert their rights; indeed, the rights will follow only from duties.
2. Great men like Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr B R Ambedkar and Thomas Jefferson among others have held and preached that the constitution should be a living document to reflect the changes in society which arise because of science and technology being pressed into service to achieve human happiness. In the light of these observations the following changes, amendments, insertions seem to be necessary. Now that an intensely nationalism professing party and forces are at the helm of the Union government and are in a opposition to effect amendments (103 times so far ) to the Constitution, the following amendments/addition must be enacted.
Dr B.R Ambedkar on Constitution: The workability of a constitution is not a matter of theory . It is a matter of sentiment. A constitution like clothes must suit as well as please….we have a constitution which runs counter to the strong sentiments of determined section is to court disaster if not to invite rebellion.
Thomas Jefferson on Constitution : Thomas Jefferson one of the most prominent founders of the USA and writer of that Republic’s constitution said that, “every generation can be deemed to be a nation which is entitled to write its own constitution.
Nehru about Constitution: A Constitution must be held in respect but, if it ceases to represent or comes in the way of the spirit of the age or the powerful urges of the people , then difficulties and conquests arise. It is why therefore we have not only stability and fixity of purpose , but also a certain flexibility and pliability in a Constitution.
3. Articles 331and 333 refer to the nomination of Anglo Indians to the Lok Sabha and to some State Assemblies respectably. The Anglo Indian community is more or less non-existent . Over time, most of them have migrated to Australia, Canada and England and the rest are now indistinguishable from native Christians, having intermarried with them.
4. Article 51A refers to fundamental duties.
· 51A (F) has the words “composite culture”. This is a figment of imagination. Muslims have repudiated that overwhelmingly in the 1940s itself, leading to the partition of the country and creation of the Islamic state of Pakistan. If somebody be liger that a composite culture has developed in India, why is that the composite culture not there in Pakistan or Bangladesh? Instead of the word composite culture we may substitute millennial Bharatiya culture.
· A new clause 51A (K): India has been witnessing unbridled growth of population, especially among the sections that can ill afford them. India is spending increasing amounts of money on an increasing variety “welfare” schemes. This has been at the cost of development in the economy, industry, educational and health. The new class (K) should be that “to ensure the wellbeing and prosperity of all Indians, it is the duty of every family to restrict children to two whether they be boys or girls.”
· Sub clause-L : There should be a fundamental duty of citizens to refrain from carrying on religious propaganda denigrating some religions and extolling others and converting people as this leads to strife and separatism and disaffecting on the people.
· Sub-clause M should provide for the right of the state to enforce conscription in times of emergency declared under Article-352. The sub-clause should read” it is the duty of every citizen to accept conscription and served in the armed forces of the country for defense from external aggression or internal revolution”.
5. Article-30: This gives rights and privileges to religious (and linguistic) minorities to establish and manage educational institution of their choice”, The gives them exemptions from to rules and regulations that apply to educational institutions founded and managed by the Union & State governments. It means that religious minorities have more right and privileges that the majority has not. This is adverse discrimination against Hindus .Therefore discrimination must be abolished by restricting the nature of the educational institutions founded by minorities to subjects and content that makes them a religious minority. The history of the religion, their civilization, the contents of the religion maybe the subjects taught in the minority educational institutions and not engineering or medicine or business management or computers etc., all of which have no relation to any religion. Alternatively, the communities (castes) in the majority Dharma (Hinduism) must also have the right to establish, administer and manage educational institutions of their choice
6. Preamble: In the Preamble of the constitution the words “socialist’ and “secular” were introduced by an amendment during the Emergency rule of the late Indira Gandhi. There is neither a definition nor explanation for these two words. The state-owned corporations are being privatized while socialism as universally understood requires the State to own industries and businesses, at least those which are vital to the country’s defense and security and those that serve the social purpose of alleviating poverty .
Secularism as universally understood requires the State to have no concern with religions in shaping government policies ; equal treatment of all religions if the state wants to concern with them . However, in India the state’s revenues are being used to subsidise the pilgrimages of Muslims and Christians to Mecca and to Jerusalem respectively; construction of Haj Houses and churches; funding religious schools like madrasas and giving special rights and privileges to “minority religions” Islam & Christianity to found and manage educational institutions of their choice including engineering & medical colleges, computer and business management schools…which have nothing to do with any religion and denial of this right and privilege to the Hindus in which there are about 5000 castes each of which is much smaller than Muslims or Christians .
Therefore, these two words socialism and secular should be deleted from the Preamble as they are interpreted by the High Court and Supreme Court judges according to their own concept of these words.
Supreme Court has been now and then laying down that the “Basic Features” of the Constitution cannot be amended. These basic features have not been spelt out; much less explained unambiguously in any schedule of the Constitution. The judges will invoke, “basic futures” doctrine which is not in the Constitution but which they are invoking without defining. The doctrine of “basic features” must be given up or spelt out through an amendment of the constitution.
7. Article 25 as it stands every citizen is free to profess, practice and propagate his religion. Hindus traditionally and Buddhists’ and Jains for the last several centuries have not been propagating their religion. Propagation has no meaning if its aim is not to convert others. And with this understanding although the Supreme Court held that right to propagate does not give right to convert Christian missionaries and Muslims tablighi movements are engaged in propagating their religions with the firm aim of getting converts from Hindus, especially from the less informed and indigent sections of Hindus . Hinduism does not engage in converting persons of Islam of Christianity or Judaism to Hinduism . It may welcome the misguided converts to revert to the Hindu fold. So the right to propagate as impalement in India by evangelizing missions is aggression on Hindus who don’t indulge in retaliatory practices, that is missionary activity to convert Muslims and Christians to their dharma, Hinduism. So this word “propagate” must be removed and conversion of Hindus must be banned . Conversion should be confined from and to evangelizing religions between themselves.
8. Article 26: This gives the right to establish and manage religious affairs to different communities. Yet, inspite of secularism in the Preamble several state governments are taking over the places of worship of Hindus, namely temples and administering and managing them through government’s endowment department. This is an invidious discrimination because those very governments don’t take over, manage and administer Churches of Christians or Mosques of Muslims . Therefore there should be an explicit sub-clause to the effect, “ no government either of the Union or of the states shall make any law authorizing it to take over places of worship of the followers of any religion and dharma, that is Hinduism. The states which have taken over the Hindus places of worship (temples) should be immediately disengage from them and make a suitable law just like the Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee Act to enable the followers of dharma i.e Hinduism to establish proper management and administration of temples.
9. Article 27 &28 prohibit the imposition of taxes specifically raised through specific taxes in support of any particular religion . However, several governments of States and the Union have been using funds raised through general, taxes and loans support religious activities like Muslims’ Haj pilgrimage and Christians pilgrimage to Jerusalem ; construction of Mosques and Churches, paying Imams and Muezzins of Mosques of Muslims and Pastors of Churches of Christianity and this while not a rupee from the government funds is spent for the pilgrimages of Hindus or for the construction of temples or paying the Priests. Therefore the Article-27 must be amended to the effect that State governments and Union shall not use their finances in support of religious activity of any community – Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus which include Buddhist and Jains .
10. Article-28 must be changed to the effect that Governments of States and the Union shall not fund religious schools like madrasas or seminaries and missionary schools and Vedapatasalas where attendance for religious instruction is compulsory and cultural norms of respective religions are imposed. The degrees and certificates of these educational institutions should not be equated with examinations conducted by government bodies and Universities recognized by the University Grants Commission and AICTE for employment in government or Public Sector Undertakings. (1,671 words)
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