India’s Independence Day: A Call to Reclaim Democracy

• Independence Day serves as a reminder of India’s current state and the need to resist any attempts to undermine its constitutional principles.

• The celebration of Independence Day is a reflection of the long journey that united millions for democracy, secularism, harmony, and social progress.

• The nationalist struggle aimed to achieve a prosperous nation with equal stature before the law and access to all resources.

• The living standards of the least counted in the nation have not improved, with wealth increasingly accumulated in the hands of a super minority.

• The larger minority is suffering from rising inflation, unemployment, deprivation, and malnourishment due to policies favoring the ultra-rich.

• A new socio-economic order has emerged, with individual competition dominated by a market-driven economy.

• Farmers, who were once considered the’soul of the nation’, are struggling to sustain agricultural activities due to neoliberal policies.

• Public opinion on pressing issues affecting commoners is often framed as detrimental to national integrity by regressive forces.

• The rise of majoritarian communal politics, framed as the basis of the nation, exacerbates societal polarisation and dissent.

• The current Indian scenario is a stark reminder of the state we are in and the need to resist any moves to undermine the constitutional principles.

Constitutional Framework and Federalism in India

Constitutional Framework and Federalism

• The Constitution envisioned cooperative federalism, where the Centre and States strengthen each other through constructive exchanges.

• The Union has authority in defence and foreign affairs, while States have autonomy in public order, agriculture, education, and health.

• Mechanisms like State legislatures, the Governor’s role, and fiscal sharing were conceived to ensure cooperative governance.

Shift from Constitutional Equilibrium

• Recent years have seen a systematic shift away from this constitutional equilibrium.

• The central government has advanced measures to diminish State autonomy, including aligning State Assembly terms with the Lok Sabha and potentially truncating popular mandates.

• Critics warn that this could reduce States to administrative implements of the central executive, rather than equal partners in the federal Union.

Manipulating Governor’s Powers

• Governors are being misused as political agents of the Union to block, delay, and obstruct governance in Opposition-ruled States.

• Governors have withheld assent to bills passed by the State legislature, nullifying the legislative will of the people and disrupting policy implementation.

• This interference has been particularly acute in the higher education sector, leading to a freeze in appointments and paralyzing key academic institutions.

Recommendations for Independence Day

• Recommitting to a constitutional order that cherishes federalism, democratic pluralism, and popular constitutionalism.

• Building a union of free peoples, each with dignity and voice, held together by shared ideals of constitutional democracy.

Independence Day Democratic Values is important topic for Civil service exam (WBCS).

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