The Constitution of a nation should reflect the fundamental and long-term aspirations of the people. It should also represent the unanimous will of the people, not the wishes of any section thereof. The Constitution should enshrine “the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.”[1] 

The Constitution is not, and ought not to be, made or amended everyday. However, since fifty years had elapsed after the adoption of the Constitution, the Government of India appointed the National Commission for the Review of the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) in the year 2000. There was much controversy at the time with some people questioning even the need for it. Resultantly, the term of reference of the Commission were somewhat constrained. In the event, both the critics and the Government have lost a golden opportunity to help reshape the Constitution with a new vision for India of the twenty-first century.

The book takes the position that Indians who are not guided by sectarian or sectional considerations have three fundamental aspirations for the new century:

·         No Indian would go to bed on an empty stomach, nor would he have to beg at a temple entrance or a traffic junction to secure food;

·         India would become a major power in the century and take its rightful place in the comity of nations; and,

·         India would bring about a synthesis between the Western and Eastern thought, utilising its rich intellectual, philosophical and cultural heritage.[2]

In their report submitted in 2002[3], NCRWC have highlighted the following main areas in which the successive governments have failed to meet our expectations under the present Constitution:

Ø      There has been a fundamental breach in our faith in the Constitution. The dignity of the individual enshrined in the Constitution has remained an unredeemed pledge. Consequently, there is a loss of faith in the Governments and “the governance”. 

Ø      The state of the infrastructure for the enhancement of the society is disturbing. There are 380 million children below the age of fourteen. The arrangements for their education, health and well-being are inadequate, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Ø      With an ever-increasing cost of governance the size of fiscal deficits has gone out of control. India is well on its way to a (domestic) debt-trap.

Ø      Political corruption, criminalisation of politics, and the underlying politician-criminal-bureaucratic nexus, have reached unprecedented levels needing strong systemic changes.

Ø      The foremost area of concern, by far, is the present nature of the Indian State and its inability to anticipate and provide for the great global forces of change ushered in by the pace of scientific and technological developments.

The thrust of the Preamble to the present Constitution is the pledge to secure the dignity of the individual, and social and economic justice for all. The first two deficiencies noted by NCRWC are a damning indictment of our performance in this regard. If the majority of our children were to grow up with inadequate nutrition and without education, there would be no chance of India becoming a great power in the twenty-first century.

The third deficiency shows total lack of fiscal discipline on the part of the successive Central and State Governments. This is very contrary to the Indian tradition of rectitude in financial matters in both private and public lives.

The fourth deficiency, the mal-functioning of our political system, is a complete negation of the moral values India has stood for over the ages. During the freedom struggle, Gandhiji said: “By political independence I do not mean an imitation of the British House of Commons, or the Soviet rule of Russia or the Fascist rule of Italy or the Nazi rule of Germany. They have systems suited to their genius. We must have ours suited to ours. What that can be is more than I can tell. I have described it as Ramaraj[4] i.e. sovereignty of the people based on pure moral authority.” The makers of our Constitution made every effort to incorporate the best features from different Constitutions in the Western world. If, in addition, the Constitution reflected the Indian concept of dharma (see Chapter Two and Chapter Ten) we may, perhaps, have avoided the catastrophic decline of moral values in public life.

The fifth deficiency, lack of our preparedness to meet the challenges of globalisation, is a reflection of –

Ø      our failure to reconcile the commitment made to our people in the matter of social and economic justice with the dominant political and economic philosophy of globalisation;

Ø      our inability to get the best out of every Indian by adopting a ‘human-centric’ approach to governance and development; and,

Ø      our incapacity to build the national consensus and solidarity required to deal with international and global institutions whose functioning is based more on the law of the jungle and less on a humane view of the mankind.

Gandhiji also said: “I am humble enough to admit that there is much that we can profitably assimilate from the West. Wisdom is no monopoly of one race. My resistance to Western civilization is really a resistance to its indiscriminate and thoughtless imitation based on the assumption that Asiatics are fit only to copy everything that comes from the West.” However, ‘indiscriminate and thoughtless imitation’ is what we have been doing not only before Independence but also thereafter. That at times we imitated the Eastern socialist countries instead of the Western capitalist countries has made no difference.

The Western countries place emphasis on individual ‘liberty’ for historical reasons.[5] On the other hand, ‘equality’ is an emotive issue in the Eastern countries because it was emphasised during the freedom struggles to enlist mass support thereto. “Economic equality is the master key to non-violent independence,” Gandhiji then said. The need of the hour is to take a balanced view of the two.

India has paid a price for curbing individual initiative and enterprise while pursuing policies of limited soundness towards equality and removal of poverty. However, in jettisoning such policies, we cannot afford to sideline the principle of equality. That will be like throwing away the baby with the bathwater. We do need political and economic reforms. But, we need to synthesise ideas, build a national consensus and carry the people with us. Only an enlightened and self-confident people, who are proud of their heritage and of being what they are, can do so.

India needs to make up for the opportunities lost not only during the colonial era but also in recent times. “India had more than a fifth of the world’s wealth and a quarter of world’s trade in textiles in 1700. It has seen its share decline to less than five per cent of world income and to less than half per cent in world trade.”[6]  And, in the post-cold-war globalized world, as shown in Table 1, the per capita income of China which was less than that of India as late as 1988 has become almost double our per capita income in 2001. It is high time we sat up and did some introspection. Constitution is where we should begin. 

While the NCRWC have rightly focused on the shortcomings in the working of the present Constitution the remedial measures suggested by them fall short of the requirements of the situation. This book suggests how certain further improvements can be made in the Constitution towards fulfilling the fundamental aspirations of our people.

Ø      At the outset, in Chapter Two, we take the position that the Preamble to the Constitution as it stands today adequately represents the aspirations of the people. It also fully accords with Indian values and traditions. Hence, in suggesting improvements in the Constitution the Preamble is taken as its basic feature, nay its very soul. The fundamental aspiration of equality inscribed in the Preamble is construed as -

·         providing a minimum standard of living for every citizen as befits a civilised society;

·         ensuring equality of opportunity for acquiring the minimum capabilities required to get on in life; and,

·         avoiding gross inequalities. 

Ø      In Chapter Three, we suggest integrating the Fundamental Rights, the Fundamental Duties and the Directive Principles of State Policy into a Social Compact. This is in keeping with the age-old Indian concept of dharma entailing reciprocal and mutual obligations on the part of everyone.  The Social Compact is to be binding not only on the state and the citizens but also on all the social institutions to which the citizens belong. It is a humble attempt to suggest a framework for delineating the yuga dharma[7] of twenty-first century India.

Ø      Chapter Four suggests a scheme of primary level governance to secure the aforementioned objectives of minimum living standards and equality of opportunity for all. Establishment of units of primary level governance with direct or near direct political participation of the people is suggested. They are to be provided with an equitable and assured source of financing. The Chapter also suggests that party-based politics be replaced by consensus democracy at this level of governance as well as at the national level, the two ends of the spectrum.

Ø      Chapter Five suggests that administrative jurisdictions at the district and lower levels may be aligned with electoral constituencies. This would enhance the accountability of the legislators as well as the officials and improve the quality of governance. The Budget of State governments may incorporate District-wise Demands for Grants. The Governor may be assigned the role of overseeing the relations between the State government and the local authorities.

Ø      Chapter Six suggests certain structural changes in the scheme of governance at the national level to promote governance by consensus –

·         Lok Sabha may elect the Prime Minister instead of merely expressing ‘confidence’ in him.

·         Rajya Sabha may be re-oriented as a non-partisan body of ‘elders’. Its members should be persons of unimpeachable integrity with significant professional contributions in the past but no political ambitions in the future.

·         The ‘whip’ system may be abolished in both the Houses of Parliament.

·         The President may be assigned a proactive role in overseeing the Union-State relations. A body called the Constitution Council may assist the President.

·         The Constitution Council may also oversee the functioning of all the Constitutional authorities.

·         The Planning Commission may be completely reoriented in the changed context and made an independent Constitutional body to monitor and guide 1) the progress of the economy and 2) the achievement of socio-economic objectives set out in the Constitution.

Ø      Chapter Seven deals with Public Finance. A fresh approach to business taxation and income taxation is suggested. In order not to put undue fetters in the process of economic growth, ceilings are proposed on the tax rates for the principal taxes.

Ø      Chapter Eight discusses the problems of managing the economy in the emerging context and elaborates the reasons for the socio-economic content of the Social Compact suggested in Chapter Two. Inequalities are to be contained within an acceptable range by utilising the net proceeds from the Personal Income Tax solely for this purpose.

In making the suggestions we take note of the historical and cultural context in which the Western political and economic institutions have evolved over time. Chapter Nine elaborates. We also take due cognisance of the Indian values and traditions[8] especially as propounded by Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Shri Aurobindo, Babasaheb Ambedkar, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Chapter Ten elaborates. We prima facie look at the values and traditions of over 80% of the population who are broadly categorised as Hindus. However, the term Indian has been used for the reason that there is nothing like a ‘pure’ Hindu tradition.[9]

Governance should not be construed as conferment of powers, privileges and perquisites. In a dharmic society, governance means duties, duties and duties, individual, reciprocal and collective. There is no wall of separation between the governed and the rulers. The scheme of governance promotes equity and inclusiveness and upholds human dignity. The most suitable persons with relevant knowledge, skills and competence fill public offices. Appointments are made in a transparent manner following legitimate procedures.[10] The role of every one of the public offices is clearly demarcated and the holder personally held accountable for performance. Finally, the holders of public offices treat the people as their own children. That is the essence of Rama Rajya. 

 

Comparative Progress by China and India

 

Index	Reference Year	China	India
Gross National Income per capita ($)	1988 1992 1997 2001	330 470 710 890	340 320 410 460
Population with income below One Dollar a day	1999/ 1997	18.8	44.2
Infant Mortality rate	1940-45 1987	290 12	192 99
Under Five Mortality rate	1960 1983	340 55	300 165
Death rate of children (one to four years)	1960 1981	26.1 7.2	26.2 17.0
Adult literacy rate (male)	1985	82	57
Adult literacy rate (female)	1985	56	29
Enrolment in primary school (male)	1982-84	100	100
Enrolment in primary school (female)	1982-84	93	68
Daily per capita calorie supply (as % of requirements)	1961-65 1982-84	78.8 111	95.6 96
Daily per capita protein supply (grams per day)	1961-65 1980	49.6 66.8	53.6 46.6

 

Note: Compiled from Vincente Navarro (ed.), The Political Economy of Social Inequality, Amityville, New York: Baywood (2002), Chapter 20 “Development and Quality of Life: A Critique of Amartya Sen’s Development as Freedom”, pp.461-474