On the eve of Constitution Day, celebrated on November 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during the 50th episode of Maan Ki Baat that ‘it is a day to remember those great personalities who drafted our Constitution’.
The Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, and came into force on January 26, 1950. Constitution Day was first celebrated four years ago in 2015, when the government decided to mark the day as a tribute to B.R. Ambedkar, who played a seminal role in the framing of the Constitution.
Mr. Modi said the constituent assembly took “two years, 11 months and 17 days to accomplish the stupendous task of drafting the Constitution”.
“Just imagine, these luminaries gave us such a comprehensive and detailed Constitution within a period of just less than three years. The extraordinary pace at which they drafted the Constitution is an example of time management and productivity to emulate even today,” the Prime Minister said.
A “unique point” in the Constitution, he remarked, is that the rights and duties have been very comprehensively detailed.
“If we respect the rights of others, our rights will automatically get protected. Similarly, if we fulfil our duties, then too our rights will get automatically protected,” Prime Minister Modi said in his monthly radio address, broadcast on the last Sunday of each month.
“I still remember how in 2010, when 60 years of the adoption of the Constitution were being celebrated, we had taken out a procession by placing the Constitution atop an elephant,” Mr. Modi said, noting that it created awareness about the Constitution among the youth.
For the first time in India, a joint project by the Buddhist Association For the Blind (Nashik) along with Saavi Foundation and Swagat Thorat, who started India’s first Braille newsletter Sparshdnyan , will make the Constitution available in five parts in Braille.
The Constitution comprises 90,000 words carefully handwritten in English and Hindi, and 271 men and women were part of the constituent assembly that drafted it. There were no foreign consultants involved in framing of the Constitution as the founders were adamant that Indians should have full control over the drafting procedure.
The books were also illustrated with events from Indian history, exquisitely prepared by Indian art pioneer Nandalal Bose of Santiniketan.
Through its unprecedented abolition of untouchability, the Constitution serves as a powerful emancipation proclamation ending centuries of caste-based discrimination and social exclusion.
Published - November 26, 2018 02:12 am IST
