26 November is being celebrated as Samvidhan Day or Constitution Day. The Indian Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on this day in 1949. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first and only President to be elected twice, presided over the constituent assembly. Dr. BR Ambedkar, the first Law Minister of India, who was chairman of the drafting committee of constitution, presented the final draft of the constitution on that day and was approved by the CA (Constituent Assembly) on the same day.
The Constitution formally came into force on 26 January, 1950. That is why Amrit Mahotsav or completion of 75 years of working of our Constitution will be celebrated on that day. As India became a Republic on that day, we are celebrating 75 years of the Indian Republic on that day. Till that day of 1950 India had dominion status. C. Rajagopalachari was the first and last Indian Governor General of India.
India has remained a democracy till this time. Eighteen general elections have been held. The basic needs of a majority of 1.5 billion Indians are fulfilled. That is, food, clothing, and shelter of a common man are by and large available. That is the plus side.
The negative side is: There is still a large number of people who are not able to make ends meet. The air quality in cities like Delhi is very poor. There are suicides by farmers. There is no security for women. Manipur is burning with Kuki and Meitei tribal conflict. Indian political parties are mainly dominated by a few families.
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But the merits are more than the demerits of working in a democratic nation. Liberty, equality, and fraternity, as mentioned in the preamble, are still the goals of the Indian republic. By and large, people are happy. But unemployment among educated Indians is a stark reality. There is no war with Pakistan now, though terrorist attacks continue in Jammu and Kashmir. India is one of the countries that possess nuclear weapons.
The Indian Republic has made advancement in eradicating poverty, disease, and ignorance to some extent during the last 75 years. But the fight against superstitions is to continue. The Republic is yet to become a great sporting nation, though we have approached the IOA (International Olympic Association) to hold the 2036 Olympics.
India has advanced in many fields during the last 75 years; we have yet to become a nation free of hunger, disease, and ignorance. The Narendra Modi government has promised to make India a developed country by 2047, when we will celebrate a centenary of our independence. There is a ray of hope that every common man will be able to make both ends meet by that time.
