Are we becoming the country we wanted to be?

India achieved Independence in 1947 and hence we celebrated our first Independence Day on 15th August, 1947. We celebrated our first Republic Day on 26th January, 1950. Between the first Independence Day and the first Republic Day, India and Indians spent time thinking about what kind of country we would like to be.

Imagine trying to answer that question for a country that already had millions of people. A country that was incredibly diverse. A country that had lost a lot of its past glory. A country that had fought a 200 year war for its independence.

Some would say that, as a country, we are still trying to answer that question. The Constituent Assembly that had some of India’s brightest minds at that time wrote the Indian Constitution and because they knew there will be people who won’t have the patience to read the whole thing, they wrote an executive summary : The Preamble to the Constitution.

The Constitution of India is a masterpiece and the Preamble encapsulates its ideals beautifully. Each and every word, comma, and capitalization, is a statement of intent from the people in that era to future generations.

They made a lot of choices at that point of time. Deciding from Day 1 that all Indians will have the right to vote — irrespective of gender, cast, creed, race. Deciding to be a democratic republic. Deciding that justice, equality, fraternity, and liberty were going to be the values we stand for as a country.

Every reading of the Constituent Assembly debates will give you incredible insight into the thinking of the members. They defined what ‘being Indian’ was meant to be. The debates, the Preamble, and the Constitution were the north star based on which our country’s governments and laws were formed. It is where ‘India’ began.

It has been 73 years since the first Republic Day. We have made a lot of progress as a country. Overall, the majority of Indians are now better off than they were in 1950. We have improved on most metrics inspite of growing in size quite significantly.

This is not to say that there are no challenges. While it is true that a lot of people in the country have prospered, there is still a long way to go. A vast majority of people in the country still don’t have their basic rights. Justice, equality, fraternity, and liberty are values that are still a long way away from being actualized for a lot of citizens of our country.

It raises the questions:

• How might we ensure social, economic, and political justice to ALL citizens of the country?
• How might we ensure that access to opportunities is a right enjoyed by ALL citizens?
• How might we ensure that ALL citizens enjoy the freedoms that are enshrined in the Constitution?
• How might we ensure that ALL citizens are treated equally by other citizens irrespective of their backgrounds?
• How might we remain a thriving democracy?

It is difficult to keep these questions front and center all day every day given the challenges we face in our everyday lives. Hence, days like today, act as reminders for us to stepback and reflect.

Are we going closer or further away from the India we wanted to build?