‘Legacy of colonial laws still stands strong in Constitution and used in the favour of state’

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: To celebrate 22 years of Alternative Law Forum’s work in the field of social justice and critical lawyering Dr. S Muralidhar - Chief Justice, Orissa High Court, and Du Saraswathi – activist, writer, and theater artist presided over a lecture and shared their insights on the theme “Constitution of India as a document for Social Reform: The Challenges Ahead”.

The Constitution of India is an aspirational document that reflects collective dreams. At a time when the country is reeling under inequality and injustice of every kind, the Constitution represents renewed hope and acts as a new, egalitarian foundation on which to build the society.

It guarantees equality, dignity, and personhood especially to those communities that have historically faced oppression. The Constitution has thus been successful in radically reconfiguring the norms according to which our society operates.

However, 75 years after the Constitution came into force, there continue to be constant challenges to the fundamental promises. The constitutional vision of democratising social relationships, achieving socio-economic justice and dignity, and upholding diversity remain unfulfilled dreams. It, then, becomes increasingly imperative for all to strive towards the realisation of its transformative vision.

In this lecture, the speakers asked questions about how one can strive toward fulfilling the transformative potential of the Constitution. Addressing the gathering, Justice Muralidhar referring to the chief architect of the constitution BabaSaheb B R Ambedkar said, “The lived experience of discrimination and humiliation over the years is what saw certain propositions made in the constitution.”

While the constitution has borrowed many of its features from neighbouring countries, Articles such as 15, 17 and 23, which address trafficking, forced labour, untouchablility and discrimination on the grounds of religion and caste, are unique and incorporate the Indian context.He quoted Ambedkar and said, “Ask those who are unemployed what fundamental rights are to them.

If a person who is unemployed is offered a job of some sort with promised wages, and no fixed hours of working…can there be any doubt as to what his choice would be? How can it be otherwise? The fear of starvation, losing a house, losing savings, of being a recipient of charity, and being burned or buried at public cost are factors too strong for a man to stand out for his fundamental rights.”

The unemployed are thus compelled to push their fundamental rights for the sake of security privilege. “These words echo strongly in today’s time and are questions we need to ask ourselves and carry ahead of us,” he said. He added that while laws have been used as an instrument of social change, they have also seen much resistance.

The legacy of colonial laws still stands strong in the Constitution and have been used in the favour of the state, he added. He explained that intense campaigns by people’s movements have led to a push for new laws to be formed, for example, the Right To Information act. He added that several court interventions have also been made in order to curb certain practices that are discriminatory.

For instance, Right to Education was shifted from the Directive Principles of State Policy and made into a fundamental right to ensure the education of children. Du Sarswati noted that the entire language of the law must be changed and the penalties must be given with the lens of empathy, which will bring about a change in the convicted and the society on the whole.

She added that cultural nationalism is on the rise and one must differentiate between religion and caste from culture and look at it from a rational perspective. She explained that hegemony is on the rise and the feeling of ‘Bahutva’ is the need of the hour