Reflections on Republic Day

After successfully putting down the 1857 uprising, the British started working on various fault lines in Indian society. Subsequently, they found natural allies in their divisive endeavour in Communists. No wonder during the Quit India movement, the Communists spied on freedom fighters and joined hands with Muslim League and forced a Partition on the country. Ironically, after Independence, the same Communists managed to become the high priests of secularism. This contradiction - robbers donning police uniforms - has been the bane of Indian social and political life since Independence.

As we celebrate the 74th Republic Day, it's an occasion to reflect, review and introspect, count our blessings and to focus on where we could have done better. Our biggest achievement is: We continue to exist as one sovereign nation, a vibrant democracy, and a secular state, with ever improving global profile.

When India gained freedom, there were many prophets of doom, at home and abroad, who didn't give much survival chance to the nascent republic because of its diversity. The worrywart theory held that India was never a country, and was an artificial construction put together by the British, as a part of their colonial agenda. With the British glue holding it together gone, it wouldn't take long for the fissiparous tendencies to prevail, and rip the country apart.

We have proved them wrong. In spite of a plethora of visible differences in a variety of culinary tastes, languages spoken, sartorial preferences, faiths pursued and climatic variations, there's an invisible silken thread that binds us together and provides us with a distinct identity.

Prior to the arrival of the British (first as traders, and later as invaders), India was a huge tapestry, dotted with numerous principalities which lived in peace or at war with each other depending on the whims of local potentates. India was one nation, joined by shared cultural ethos, history and divided into various autonomous or independent units. This confusion and uncertainty was not peculiar to India - it was the norm during those times the world over since it was impossible for a central authority to hold on to a large area for long in absence of modern communication and transportation.

Germany became a reality in 1871 when 39 small principalities were brought together by Otto Von Bismarck. Before 1861 Italy was a congregation of several kingdoms, duchies, and city-states. And so France was divided into different independent entities or quasi-independent states prior to the 1789 revolution and establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870.

India's story of freedom struggle is a mix of many varied strains. It wasn't an entirely Congress or Gandhiji's non-violence enterprise. Sanjiv Sanyal, an economist of standing and an established writer, has brought out this fact in a succinct manner in his latest book 'Revolutionaries - The other story of how India won its freedom'.

In an introduction to his seminal work, Sanjiv says, "The history of India's struggle for freedom is usually told from the perspective of the non-violence movement. Yet the armed resistance to colonial occupation is just important... In reality the revolutionaries were part of a large network that sustained armed resistance against the British empire for half a century... Even the internal dynamics of the Indian National Congress of the time cannot be understood without the revolutionaries, who enjoyed widespread support within the organisation." I couldn't but agree with him.

What sustains democracy and secularism in India, particularly when most of the neighbouring countries are completely bereft of plural ethos? Constitution? No. A constitution is not even worth the piece of paper on which it's written, if it's not in sync with the culture and ethos of the people it's supposed to serve.

In 1980-90, we witnessed complete decimation of a culture and near genocide of a community in Kashmir valley. None, neither the Constitution nor any of its organs - Executive, Legislature, Judiciary or independent media, could come to the rescue of the beleaguered Hindus minority. India's Constitution is live and vibrant because it mirrors the ethics and virtues - Indians have believed in since aeons.

Why is pluralism central to the Indian belief system? It's because of Hinduism. Hinduism's basic commitment is to Dharma and not to any fixed dogma, belief, book or prophet. This fact distinguishes Hinduism from the semitic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - which are static and monolithic insisting upon strict conformism.

There has been no such thing as a uniform, stationary, unalterable Hinduism whether in point of belief or practice. Buddhism, Jainism, Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Sikhism and a horde of other lesser-known sects and "panths" have emerged out of the running cultural stream of Hinduism, to meet changing emotional needs and suit inquisitive minds.

Hinduism is thus a movement, an ever-evolving philosophy and not a prisoner of a fixed revelation, unalterable beliefs and static traditions. The inherent intellectual flexibility and operational freedom, central to Hinduism, is reflected in various facets of Indian socio-cultural life.

The common factor which binds the different sects growing out of the "Commonwealth of Hinduism" is insistence on adherence to Dharma, the code of righteous conduct. The common strains running through various sects include emphasis on universal brotherhood, love for nature, self-effacement, restraint on self-indulgence, consumption and respect for family values. Our tradition emphasises on harmony, and is neutral to uniformity.

It's against this backdrop that residual India didn't declare itself a Hindu Rashtra, though the breakaway part, Pakistan, became an Islamic Republic in 1947. It couldn't have - because pluralism is central to Hindu value system. In the entire Indian history, though the Hindu rulers lived by their faith, they hardly ever used force or state resources to pressurise or persuade their subjects to follow the deity or creed they believed in. Ashoka, however, was a noticeable exception to this tradition. Use of force in matters of faith is abhorred.

The Indian Constitution is drawn from a number of sources. Mindful of India's needs and conditions, its framers borrowed features of previous legislation such as the Government of India Act 1858, the Indian Councils Acts of 1861, 1892 and 1909, the Government of India Acts 1919 and 1935, and the Indian Independence Act of 1947.

The Constituent Assembly didn't adopt a printed copy of the Constitution. The members of the Constituent Assembly signed the original, calligraphed copy which was sent to the artist Nandalal Bose and his students at Santiniketan, who decorated each of the 22 parts with elaborate art. When placed in sequence, the art reveals a narrative of the Indian subcontinent from the Indus Valley civilisation to the birth of the Republic.

The artworks include the Mohenjo Daro period, Vedic period, scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata, Mahajanapada and Nanda period (covering Mahavira and Buddha), Mauryan period, Gupta period, medieval period with scenes from Odisha and the South, portray Akbar, Shivaji and Guru Gobind Singh, Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Gandhiji and Subhas Chandra Bose. For its proper understanding, apart from the written text, the Constitution has to be seen along with the pictorial depictions, for they convey the ideas and personalities that have inspired India for ages.

After successfully putting down the 1857 uprising, the British started working on various fault lines in Indian society. Subsequently, they found natural allies in their divisive endeavour in Communists. No wonder during the Quit India movement, the Communists spied on freedom fighters, abused them in the vilest terms and joined hands with Muslim League and forced a Partition on the country. Ironically, after Independence, the same Communists managed to become the high priests of 'secularism' and since been pontificating on who is 'secular', and who's not!

This contradiction - robbers donning police uniforms - has been the bane of Indian social and political life, since Independence. The aliens left in 1947, and were largely replaced by the alienated, leading to disastrous consequences. By 1990, India was on the verge of becoming a basket case, and had to pledge its gold reserves to meet its global financial obligations.

The process of decolonisation of Indian minds started in 2014, after Modi was voted to power. India's profile in the world has since been going up. An Indian passport is respected in most of the global capitals. The Indian economy is surging ahead, and has surpassed that of the United Kingdom in terms of size. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister called for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' or a self-reliant India. India won its grim battle against the pandemic because of this strategy.

Modi's biggest success is setting up a system which ensures leakproof delivery of funds to the beneficiaries, running into crores. The number of persons covered by various welfare schemes is mind boggling, surpassing the entire population of most of the countries of the world.

Under PM KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) Yojana, the Centre provides an income support of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments to all land holding farmer families. Rs 2 lakh-crore has since been transferred to 10 crore farmers in 12 instalments. Close to five crore gas connections have been released under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. Over 37.76 crore loans amounting to Rs 20.43 lakh-crore have been disbursed since inception of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

Such success stories are galore, beyond the scope of an article. However, enemies within and without are active to derail India's march towards progress. False narratives of 'intolerance' are being manufactured by Jihadis, Commies, evangelical forces and frustrated politicians who suffer from a deep sense of entitlement. BBC's latest documentary on Gujarat riots, is a part of this diabolical plan.

(Mr. Balbir Punj is a Former Member of Parliament and a Columnist. He can be reached at: [email protected])

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.