Articles
Essential Amendments to Our Constitution
Dt: 30/11/22
Essential Amendments to Our Constitution
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
We may consider each generation as a distinct nation , with a right , by the will of the majority , to bind themselves but none to bind the succeeding generation more than the inhabitants of another country.
-Thomas Jefferson
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 . If the Constitution does not please then, however perfect it may be it will not work. To have a Constitution which runs counter to the strong sentiments of a determined section is to court disaster if not to invite rebellion.
– Dr Ambedkar (P365, “Pakistan or Partition of India” .)
India’s Constitution adopted after nearly three years of labours from 1946 to Nov 1949 is the world’s longest with 395 Articles and 12 Schedules. While the 235 year old US Constitution was so far amended 26 times, ours has been amended 103 times in 73 years . The mother of parliaments and democracy, England has no written Constitution. Centuries long conventions are cited as its Constitution. One particular feature of our Constitution is Part-IV which is titled “Directive Principles of State Policy” with 16 Articles ( 36 to 51A) laying down objectives like Uniform Civil Code (44);
compulsory 8 years long free education to children ages 6 to 14 years ( 45); fundamental duties ( 51A); prohibition of slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle (48); living wage for workers (43); promotion of welfare of people (38) etc. These, unlike fundamental rights (Part-III) ( Articles 12 to 35) are not justiciable unless enacted into laws.
2. A number of Articles in the Constitution are either impliedly or expressively, adversely discriminative against Hindus. Some matters like the necessity to stop run-away growth of population, treating interstate rivers as national resources to be equitably shared by all states, setting a sun-set date for reservations so that their benefits don’t create new privileged hereditary classes, setting a definite limit on the proportion, as to which categories of the population qualify for special treatment as minorities, in which states, are some matters which should be introduced by way of amendments in to our Constitution . There is pressing need for following amendments.
3. Article-30 of the Constitution confers extraordinary rights and privileges to religious (and linguistic) minorities to establish and manage educational institutions of their choice. By an unfortunate judgment of the Supreme Court, this Article is being utilized by the religious ( and linguistic) minorities to establish professional colleges for engineering, medicine, dentistry, management, computer applications etc. There is no limit to the number and type of colleges a minority can establish. None of these subjects have anything to do with religion or religious culture or that religious civilisation. The admission capacity for these institutions is not at all related to the population of the minorities or more importantly & relevantly, to those who are eligible for admission to these colleges. 70-80% of the seats are being sold to Hindus. The result is minority colleges are for money-making; minority managements are selling seats to Hindus. It is estimated that the Muslim and Christian minority professional colleges in the two Telugu states alone are selling seats to make about Rs.500cr per year from Hindus. The monies are utilized to destroy Hinduism by conversion and by other aggressive activities. Governments have little control over the management of these institutions and selection and appointment of teachers and other staff. They are thus above the law.
Such a right is denied to Hindus . Hinduism is of several castes . Actually, every caste is a minority. Article-30 must be so amended as to confine educational institutions to which this Article refers, to be concerned only with religion and culture and language and history of these people and not for secular subjects like engineering, medicine, law, education etc. In the alternative, the same right and privilege must be given to Hindus also which should include Buddhists and Jains and every other sect.
4. Art -25 gives the right to profess, practise and propagate religion. Actually, all rights included in Articles - 25 to 30 ought to be to individuals but the rights are exercised by a group of people, call them minority or a religious group. The term propagate is interpreted to include convert also and so is being used by Christians and Muslims to decimate Hindus. Conversion is a full time business by Christian missions and churches and their NGOs with tens of thousands of full time paid propagandists. They receive money from several quarters of the world .They have targets. They have budgets and they have business plans. This cannot be said to be the freedom of an individual but is freedom to aggressive, proselytizing religious organizations to market religion and to gain converts just as any business gets customers. There are advertisements, there are shows and talks and rallies and assemblies just like companies launch their products and propagandize their services. This has nothing to do with spirituality. It is plain and simple aggression on Hindus who don’t believe in conversion. This one- way aggressive trade is obnoxious and amounts to war on Hindus. This article throws the lambs of Hindus as prey to the violent beasts of prey, violence-soaked semetic religions. Art-25 should be amended to restrict the freedom of religion to profess and practise and not to propagate. Propagation by multi -national conversion (MNC) enterprises is aggression on Hindus and imperils their existence. Opposition to this Article was eloquently and poignantly voiced by prominent Members of the Constituent Assembly, Sri Loknath Misra and Prof. K.T.Shah while speaking on this provision, Sri Loknath Misra, an eminent parliamentarian and scholar observed, “….to my mind article 19 (which became Art-25 in the final version of the constitution) is a Charter for Hindu enslavement. I do really feel that this is the most disgraceful article, the blackest part of the draft constitution. I beg to submit that I have considered and studied all the constitutional precedents and have not found anywhere, any mention of the word propaganda (propagate) as a fundamental right relating to religions…propagation of religion brought India into this unfortunate state and India had to be divided into Pakistan and India. If Islam had not come to impose its will on this land, India would have been a perfectly secular state and a homogeneous state. …if you accept religion, you must accept Hinduism as it is practised by an overwhelming majority of the people of India….”
Prof K T Shah was another eminent member of the Consembly. He too was opposed to have this fundamental right to propagate religion put in our constitution. While opposing this provision, he moved an amendment which ran, “ provided that no propaganda in favour of any one religion which is calculated to result in change of faith by the induvial affected shall be allowed in any schools or colleges or other educational institutions; in any hospital or asylum or in any other place or institution where persons of a tender age or of unsound mind or body are eligible to be exposed to undue influence from their teachers, nurses or physicians, keepers or guardian or any other person set in authority above them and which is maintained fully or partially from public revenues or is in any way aided or protected by the government of the Union or of any state or public authority therein”.
The word propagate must be removed from Article 25.
5. Article 26 is about Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs subject to publci order, morality and health. Every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right
(a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes.
(b) to mange its own affairs in matters of religion
(c) To own and acquire movable and immovable property
(d) To administer such property in accordance with law
In compliance with this article the places of worship of Muslims’ mosques and churches of Christians are left free to be established, managed and administered by organizations of respective religions. But the temples of Hindus in India, especially in South India are managed and administered by Trust Boards appointed by the state governments and Endowment departments of the states. This is a gross adverse discrimination against Hindus . The members of the Trust Boards are changed every time a different party comes to power in the state . Financiers of the winning party, party men not accommodated as ministers or Directors and Chairmen of state-owned corporations are accommodated as members of the Trust Boards. The Endowment Department compromises of any government servant, whether he is a Christian or a Muslim or a pseudo-Hindu ( that is, who produce a false certificate as SC) . The resources financial and other, of the temples are not used for the propagation and defense of Hinduism against its predators that is, Islam and Christianity .They are also not used to establish and maintain schools and hospitals to render service to people; other religious bodies establish them and service through them gain converts. It is therefore necessary that this Article should expressly state that the places of worship and their assets and incomes should not be managed and administered by government. A law should be made prohibiting state governments from managing and administering the places of worship of all religions and their denominational sects. The Supreme Court may be approached to rule that all state governments should disengage themselves from managing and administering Hindus’ places of worship.
6. Article 27 is about Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion. During the rule of imperialist, colonial Muslim rule in parts of India a tax, Zezia was imposed on Hindus who did not convert to Islam. The Union and Several state governments are having Minority Welfare Departments . There are Minority Finance Corporations and minority welfare departments to these, from the general budget allocations are made and those funds are utilized for subsidizing Muslims’ pilgrimage Haj to Mecca, construction of mosques and Haj Houses; subsidies to Christian’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem and construction of churches . Minority welfare departments’ budget funds are spent specifically to the advantage of Muslims and Christians. This is indirect taxation of Hindus as the largest contribution to State and Union governments funds comes from Hindus. A PIL was moved in the Supreme Court to stop the spending of budgeted tax and debt revenues specifically for the religious groups Islam and Christianity. It was not successful. This is indirect subversion of the Constitution. Party governments indulge in this practice purely for garnering minority votes. This Article should be amended to the clear effect that budgeted funds of Union or State government should not be utilized for promoting religious activities of minorities like subsidies to pilgrimage, construction of mosque, Haj Houses and churches and so on.
7. Article 28 is about freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions . Because of this Article, in schools run by governments or aided by them are not giving any instruction about religions and their tenets / philosophies and this affects the bulk of Hindus. Hinduism is not a religion in the sense that the exclusivist Christianity and Islam are . Its basis is dharma. There is absolute freedom for worshiping any god or goddess are not at all and there is no institution to dictate how to worship etc. It is pure morality and ethics. These are expounded in the contents of Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagawata, Upanishads etc. Even during the British rule, in government schools there used to be in the language text book stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagawata. This was to inculcate moral, ethical and dharmic behaviour and duties and responsibilities. In the schools run by Muslim and Christian organisations their scriptures Koran and Bible lessons are given. These two Abrahamic religions are opposed to one another and also to Hindu Dharma and are competing to convert people of other faith, especially as they are numerous . The Hindus going to government schools are left with no instruction deriving from the sources Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagawata which explain dharma .
This article-28 must be suitably amended so that even in government schools Hindu dharma expositioning instruction can be given.
A amendment should also provide for the right of the State (Union Government) to delete all passages in the scriptures of every religion which promote hatred and intolerance for other religions, faiths, beliefs and traditions.
8. Article 51A of the Directive Principles lays down Fundamental Duties . The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes duties. 51A should be amended to include the duty of every citizen to have only limited families for which the State will, from time to time depending upon its economic status can alter the size of the family ( as in China).
9. In the Preamble, two words “socialist and secular” were smuggled during the Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency (1975-77) . Socialism has no definition even in the communist states which implement dictatorship of the proletariat . Yet their system was called socialist system. One- party ruled China talks of socialism with Chinese characteristics. So the word socialism is like a hat which is worn by several people and worn out and shapeless . It defies definition.
Secularism is a western concept, according to which States should make no laws which promote or penalize any religion or laws derived from religious injunctions. The Constituent Assembly debated about this issue on April 3, 1948 and decided the principle of secularism in the following terms:
“Whereas it is essential for the proper functioning of democracy and the growth of national unity and solidarity that communalism should be eliminated from Indian life, this assembly is of opinion that no communal organisation which by its constitution or by the exercise of discretionary power vested in any of its officers and organs, admits to, or excludes from, its membership persons on grounds of religion, race and caste , or any of them , should be permitted to engage in any activities other than those essential for the bonafied religious , cultural , social and educational needs of the community and that all steps legislative and administrative necessary to prevent such activities should be taken”.
(Page- 206; Pilgrimage to Freedom, Vol-1 by K.M. Munshi, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan publication)
The Constituent Assembly very wisely decided not to include either socialism or secularism in the preamble. These were introduced under the influence of communists on Indira Gandhi who sought their support in her struggle to defeat and decimate the official Congress presided over by Nijalingappa in 1969. Another gift that Indira Gandhi gave to the communists was the Jawaharlal Nehru University which has by now become a Marxist madrasa.
10. Finally we may recall the Bhagawadgita’s words on change:
vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro 'parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi
- BG 2.22
(As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. )
Our constitution will take a new vigorous life with every amendment to alter, add or remove . (2, 45 words)
END