I disagree, partially and utmost humbly.
Perhaps, by virtue of being a lawyer, the word 'Constitution of India', has acquired romantic mysticism in life. An obvious extension of that is my new found (not so new, now) respect for the Republic Day. For the uninitiated, the Republic Day, truly marked the end of the freedom struggle and along with it the power struggle that it did eventually become. The transition from being a quibbling and fragmented 'kingdom' to an imperial colony and finally into a 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic' was definitely not easy, and much life and love was lost. It is the Constitution that gives India its unique identity. Nations need an identity.
In an insightful article (here) that I stumbled upon sometime ago, Aatish Taseer delves into an autoptic testimony of the failure of Pakistan and alludes much of that failure to the lack of a positive identity. The transformation of kingdoms and fiefdoms, into the modern day nation-states recognize a unifying identity as an event pre-conditional to the formation of a nation. As discussed above, it is the Constitution that gives us our national identity, ingraining the 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic' as traits indispensable to our national conscience.
Democracy, is governance by compromise, and that I believe to be true. This belief is simply derived from the fact of dependencies created in a democratic institution. Equally true (and corollary), is the idea that a 'compromised-democracy', is in effect a failed (or failing) democracy. Failed democracies are not a rarity, and if one is to judge by performance of former colonies, failure is a rule. India has been a partial exception to the said rule, so far. Our neighbors on each side (Pakistan and China) provide grim pictures of what may lie at two opposite ends of such compromise. In each case, needless to say, at the expense of its citizens.
Not less, but more is required.
For those who see the Republic Day as an exercise both boisterous and pretentious, I plead before them to embrace the day as the only opportunity to reaffirm our collective faith in a national identity. An identity that we chose a few decades back and which lent the grit to withstand external aggressive and character to resolve an internal dismissive. While Independence Day gave us our freedom - the 'right to be free', the Republic Day marks the day that taught us how to exercise that freedom. It is indeed the latter that gives a meaningful sanctity to the former, for it is simply not birth, but rather the series of events (and choices) thereafter, that makes life purposeful.
This Republic Day, while I will not be one of the many thousands who would brave the bitter cold Delhi winter morning to witness the military prowess that we have acquired (you, may see that here), I will also not be the one lending my ear to the (lacked) leadership (you, may do that here). But, I will think about what it truly takes to constitute India into a ...
And while we think our thoughts, here's the national song (composed by A R Rehman, and for some reason titled Missing) to fall in love with the country, again:
Wishing you all a Happy Republic Day.
Love,
ReviewKaka
