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Thursday, January 29, 2009

[mukto-mona] On the Remembrance day of the Father of the Nation: Mahatma Gandhi,

On the Remembrance day of the Father of the Nation: Mahatma Gandhi, my suggestions in the larger interest of Indian Democracy.

 

In response to my Emails, I have received messages asking me to lay down the agenda and program for the Group, I am envisaging or in my mind.

 

Before coming to the point of my suggestion, I must say that time has come to reexamine the Constitution of India, by the People and not by the establishment itself, to find out the various hidden roots, responsible for the sufferings arising out of the problems being faced by the masses, and caused due to various administrative lapses and lacunas in the establishment. In this respect, I have made my own assessment of the Constitution of India, which is totally different from the evaluation being made time and again by the Politicians, and is also totally different from the Review Commission. On the basis of my own assessment, based on my own experiences, sufferings and studies made by me, and in view of its direct relationship between the following:

(1)        Constitution of India and Government of India Act, 1935;

(2)        Government of India Act, 1935 and the Act of 1919 enacted as a result of the Montague Chelmsford recommendations;

(3)        Act of 1919 based on the recommendations of Montague Chelmsford and Act of 1909, following the recommendations of Minto Morley reforms;

(4)        Act of 1909 enacted based upon the Act of 1892 and;

(5)        Act of 1892 and the Act of 1861.

 

We should not forget that after 1857 (Gadur) revolution, the British Emperor took over the Powers of the Government of India, from the East India Company and brought in the Act of 1861, along with several other Laws, taking into account of the findings regarding the core of Unity amongst Indians, irrespective of their different religion, cast, creed, language etc., in a Report submitted by Sir Hume to Queen Victoria. Remember that all the aforesaid laws, enacted since (1860) 1861 including the Government of India Act 1935, were enacted in the garb of reforms, but the basic object of the British Imperialism, behind the enactment of each such law, were to divide Indians so that they may be able to continue their Rule over India, without any let or hindrance. However, after the Second World War, the British Government came under insurmountable pressure of the debts that had been incurred from their respective colonies, during the two World Wars, and was further accentuated by the acute pressure being brought upon the Imperial Power to transfer the Powers to local people of various countries, including India. Since 1942, the British Government had been showing its keenness to transfer the powers to Indians, keeping its interests protected. That is the basic reason we were under compulsion to adopt the Government of India Act, 1935, as basis of our Constitution, under the agreement with the Cabinet Mission from Britain and the Congress Party. With the Result that today, in India, there is neither a single leader who could be called a National Leader, nor any Political Party a National Political Party. Unless and until, we not able to provide foolproof scope for the honest people to get elected to Parliament, how we can expect that we can make good laws?  

 

The basic root of the all the problems lies in these very aforesaid facts. Even after 61 years of Independence, we Indians are made to believe that Indian Constitution was prepared by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. But, Dr. Ambedkar himself, on 2nd September 1953, has strongly contradicted this very story, by making a statement in the Rajya Sabha (Parliament) that "People always keep on saying to me, so you are the maker of the Constitution. My answer is I was a hack. What I was asked to, I did much against my will. I am quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it. It does not suit anybody." Now the question that arises and is required to be answered that who asked to finish such job against his own will, and a job which does not suit anybody? The Chairman of the Constituent Assembly of India and 1st President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad is said to also have to refused to sign the Constitution in the first instance, after its completion, observing that this Constitution cannot fulfill the aspirations and requirements of the people and the nation and signed only after a long persuasion. Some thing was hidden from the people by our then leaders, which needs to be unearthed out of this historical background.

 

Shri M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, during the debate as the then Member of Constituent Assembly of India (who subsequently elevated as the First Speaker of Loksabha) described the Article 32 of the Constitution that "the Supreme Court according to me is the Supreme guardian of the citizen's rights in any democracy. I would even go further and say that it is the soul of democracy. The executive which comes into being for the time being is apt to abuse its powers, and therefore the Supreme Court must be there, strong and un-trammelled by the day to day passions which may bring a set of people into power and throw them out also in a very short time. In less than three or four years during which a parliament is in being, many governments may come and go, and if the fundamental rights of the individual are left to the tender mercies of the Government of the day, they cannot be called fundamental rights at all. On the other hand, the judges appointed to the Supreme Court can be depended upon to be the guardians of the rights and privileges of the citizens, the majority and the minority alike. So far as the fundamental rights are concerned, my humble view is that there is no difference between the rights and privileges of individual citizens, whether they belong to the majority community or to the minority community. Both must be allowed to exercise freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, must be allowed to exercise their language and use the script which naturally belongs to them. These and other rights must be carefully watched and for this purpose the Supreme Court has been vested with the supreme ultimate jurisdiction."  Whereas on the basis of my own experiences, I can claim that such rights now is reserved for the Powerful People only.

 

In this backdrop of my study, though I am not a Journalist, during the period 1996-2001, I have written about 250 Articles, mostly published in Hindi and a few in English Newspapers(*), covering almost all the four corners of the country. My each article had a focus on separate issues relating to the specific problem, with suggestions for appropriate changes, in the Constitution as well as in the respective laws, to counter such problems. There were very Good responses from the readers. I could even make a compilation of the aforesaid suggestions in a Book form and got it registered with the Name and Title of "A MODEL OF NEW CONSTITUTION FOR INDIA", vide Regn. No. ROC No. L-23522/2005, under the Copy Rights Act, 1957. My all the suggestions are based on the following basic fundamental principle that without adhering and translating into practical system, through appropriate administrative mechanism, a democracy cannot survive :-

1.         Truth shall always prevail;

2.         Justice must be above all;

3.         Reins of powers should rest in the hands of the people;

4.         Unity, based on self-reliance, self-respect and self-dependence amongst the people must be the supreme object;

5.         Each, including the Constitutional Authority, should be accountable before the law and system, irrespective of his status or position;

6.         Justice delivery system should be easy, affordable and above all within reasonable time;

7.         In the Election mechanism, value should be given to the Voters not to the Voting;

8.         Individualized Politics should not be allowed at any level and at any cost;

9.         Promotion of the aspirants to the political leadership, should be based on experience, competency and performance;

10.        Distribution of the benefit of the progress and the economic betterment of the country, should be stressed horizontally, without any Government control;

11.        System should not allow finding the ways to discriminate one to protect the powerful by skills or expertise; and

12.      Each Individual should be kept away from the democratic process, if he is not prepared to follow these principles in letter and sprit.

 

Such findings can be made by the People itself representing almost each area of the country and from each segment constituting a "Peoples Constituent Assembly" to examine the hidden root causes of the various problems, suffered by the citizenry, at the hands of the establishment and to formulate the suggestion to bring appropriate changes or a Draft of New Constitution for India, competent to meet the aspirations of the citizenry of India. Since we have adopted the British system of democracy, the present election process is full of all the potentialities to keep the Indians divided as a legacy of the British Empire and keep allowing the wrong doers to continue to rule over the people, the same way as the Britishers did, with the only difference that earlier it was the Gora Saheb, whereas now it is the Hindustani Saheb. Therefore, the people who want to participate as a member of the `People's Constituent Assembly', can also consider those suggestions made by me or prepare their own suggestions, as they deem fit.

 

The People's Constituent Assembly should function in a Village, if possible accommodation is made available free of any charges;

 

The People's Constituent Assembly would be an open forum wherein discussions and debate would take place to reexamine each prevailing provision of the Constitution and to make suggestion for appropriate changes by formulating a Draft of a New Constitution for India.

 

In this context, I may please be permitted to say that if need be I could make my humble contribution, if required, to hold the event of the "People's Constituent Assembly", by approaching the respective Owners of the Havelies, for providing help in arranging such facilities, at my Village in Tamkore, situated in the District of Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, to accommodate the delegates in "Rajasthani Havelies", Free of any charges. It may not be out of way to mention here, that I hail from `Tamkore', which is also the Birth Place of the well known all over the World, the great spiritual leader and Saint Acharya Mahapragnyaji, who is respected by all the section of the people irrespective of their cast or community or religion or region, in India as well as abroad. Before, taking Diksha in the sect, His Holiness's was Nath Mal Choraria, son of Shri Tola Ram Choraria. Recently, Acharya Mahaprgnyaji co-authored a book with former President Dr. A. P. J. Kalam. I can also recall that Dr. A. P. J. Kalam, during his tenure as President of India, at the Eve of the Independence day of 2003, while addressing to the Nation, specifically made a mention of the name of His Holiness's Shri Acharya Mahapragnyaji;

 

If the "Peoples Constituent Assembly" is constituted and had its functional activities at my Village, I do hope that in that event, appropriate space for functioning of People's Constituent Assembly could be also be made available and in such an event a Preparatory Committee is required to be constituted which could decide all the modalities along with specific terms and conditions, enabling the "Peoples Constituent Assembly" to submit before the Nation, though a resolution along with `A Draft of New Constitution for India', demanding thereby to ensure and obtain good, transparent and accountable governance as a true functional democracy in India.

     

 

(Milap Choraria)

 

(*) Names of few Newspapers in which my articles were published (Appx. Numbers of articles published)

Dainik Jagaran (60); Rajasthan Patrika (200); Dainik Sanmarg, Kolkata (150); Choutha Sansar, Indore (150); Dainik Aryabarata, Patna (150); Nav Bharat, (100); Dainik Hindi Milap, Hyderabad (50); Dainik Aaj (100); Dainik Tribune, Chandigarh (25); Dainik Ajit Samachar, Punjab (25); Nai Dunia, Indore (20); Dainik Lokmat Samachar (Maharashtra) (25); Danik Jansatta (20); and several others including Dainik Hindustan, Nav Bharat Times, Free Press Journal, Central Chronicle, The Nation etc.

        

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Mukto Mona plans for a Grand Darwin Day Celebration: 
Call For Articles:

http://mukto-mona.com/wordpress/?p=68

http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=585

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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190




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