Page 108 - Constitution

70 Years of Indian Years of Indian

Constitution
Constitution

Empowerment of the individual; respect for
The history of India does not begin 70 years ago with the
human rights; recovery of a culture of inclusivity
passage into law of the Constitution of India. This history
is more than a thousand times longer in historical length, and tolerance. These are the foundations for
and has succeeded because it has based itself on the the future that have been indicated by the
ancient traditions of individual rights and freedoms that are
presented in ancient texts that are once again emerging Constitution of India
from the cellars into which they had been consigned by the
confidence is high that India will soon emerge among the
former colonial masters of our country.
top three economies of the world, along with China and
The discovery of India means the re-discovery of the
the US. This is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
history of India, all of it, and this is the grand task that is
in mind when he set a target for himself of achieving a
now being attempted. Whether it be in Italy or in Greece,
GDP of $5trillion by 2024.
or even in Egypt, there is pride and knowledge of the
Empowerment of the individual; respect for human rights;
ancient past of those great civilisations. The heroes of
recovery of a culture of inclusivity and tolerance. These
the past are celebrated and the remnants of that period
are the foundations for the future that have been indicated
preserved.
by the Constitution of India. It was not by accident that the
Only in India was there, for some inexplicable reason,
country in Europe with the most liberal monarchy (Britain)
a refusal to recover the entire history of India rather than
emerged as the foremost power in the world. It was not
follow the colonial pattern of paying attention to only
a surprise that the US, with its constitutional foundations
a small segment of it, that too a segment that saw the
of free speech and individual rights became the biggest
steady decline of the country in terms of welfare and the
economy. In the Knowledge Economy, with the recovery
economy.
of its traditions, it will be the Republic of India that will be
India had more than a quarter of global GDP even
in the front line of protecting democracy and ensuring a
as late as1820, only fall to less than 2% just a hundred
peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific as the fulcrum of
years later. Slowly the gauge is moving upwards, and
a better world.

Professor Madhav Das Nalapat is an academician and columnist. He is
India’s first Professor of Geopolitics, Vice-Chair of the Manipal Advanced

Research Group and UNESCO Peace Chair at the Department of Geopolitics
and International Relations at Manipal University, India.

108 70 Years of Indian Constitution