Former Union Law Min Ashwani Kumar on Constitution, democracy and more

With India celebrating Constitution Day on November 26, ETV Bharat spoke to former Union Minister of Law and eminent lawyer Ashwani Kumar, who elaborated on his idea of the present state of the Constitution and the challenges posed to the spirit of this all-important document that laid the foundation of our country.

New Delhi:As India celebrates Constitution Day or Samvidhan Diwas on 26th November to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly in 1949, questions and concerns pertaining to the state of our republic, and whether the essence of our Constitution is under threat, have been looming large.

It is in this context that ETV Bharat spoke to former Union Minister of Law Ashwani Kumar, who elaborated on his idea of the present state of the Constitution and the challenges posed to the spirit of this all-important document that laid the foundation of our country.

Sanctity of the Constitution

When asked if he thinks that the sanctity of our Constitution is or has eroded over the past few years, Kumar said that though the vast majority of the Indian populace still treats the Constitution and its values as sacred, there have been certain aberrations, distortions in its spirit and values.

He further said that there have been certain disappointments, so far as implementation of constitutional values is concerned, not because of the lack of sanctity, but due to the distortion of political processes, "where victory in the electoral battle at whatever cost" has become more important than sticking to the core values.

Stating that nowhere in the World has any Constitution delivered a utopia, he said, "Yes we have a long way to go."

Constitution and India's diversity

Stressing that Amendments to the Constitution were imperative to keep it in tune with the spirit of the time, Kumar said that the Constitution should be like a "living document, which is not anchored in the past."

Adding that the principle aim of the Constitution was to preserve India's diversity, Kumar said, "If 70 years later, we are still a democracy, secular, and largely liberal, the Constitution has served its purpose."

Kumar further opined that the biggest challenge to the Constitution is India's "dwarfed polity", where attempts are made to bypass constitutional schemes.

On whether he feels disappointed over an issue that the Constitution tried to address, but failed to do so, the former politician added, "One of my personal disappointments is the perpetuation of the caste system"

Constitution and democracy

On the present state of democracy in the country, Kumar said that he feels that the "democratic temper of the people cannot be questioned", and democracy is a "non-negotiable" part of the Constitution.

The former Rajya Sabha MP, who represented the state of Punjab, however, pointed out, "Only time will tell whether our democracy retains its quality, and continue to be resilient, or it gets eroded from within."

"At one stage democracy has been deepened in our country, and in another stage, it has been hollowed-out," added Kumar.

Critiquing that instead of looking at democracy in larger perspective, the country only views it in terms of elections with electoral results being substantially decided by the 'muscle and the money power of the candidates", Kumar said, "I don't think we can justly and legitimately claim that we have improved the quality of our political democracy."

Stressing on redefining the values of Indian politics, he added, "political democracy in India will lose the quality that it used to have even till the '60s and '70s."