From Article 370, to Ram Temple, to Bharat Nyay Sanhita, second Modi terms draws an ideological arc

The three Sanhitas, as they are commonly referred, have replaced the Cr.PC, the IPC and the Evidence Act, and are a large part of what the government has termed its decolonisation project

A huge poster carrying an image of the envisioned Ram temple, put up along the Dharm Path to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Ayodhya, on December 30, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI

If the current tenure of the Narendra Modi-led government began with the abrogation of Article 370, one of the three core objectives of BJP’s ideology, it is bookended by a more fundamental change, that of the statute books themselves in the shape of the new Bharatiya Nyaya and Nagarik Surakhsha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Saakshya Adhineeyum.

The three Sanhitas, as they are commonly referred, have replaced the Cr.PC, the IPC and the Evidence Act, and are a large part of what the government has termed its decolonisation project.

While the three “core issues” of the BJP – abrogation of Article 370, construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code - are front and centre in any discussion of BJP’s ideology, the decolonisation project as the BJP understands it has been the quieter meta narrative running through it.

The BJP’s understanding of decolonisation stems from its belief that despite independence from British colonial rule, the country continued to be ruled by a Westernised elite which perpetuated the systems through which privileging of Western ideas and education continued.

While superficial changes such as emphasis on local languages and referring to India as “Bharat” in government communication in English has been around for some time the most fundamental change has been through the Sanhitas.

Responding to the debate on the three Bills in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Bills “stressed justice rather than punishment”, and “had been designed to last for the next century”, keeping technological advancements in mind. “This is a pure Indian law after removing all the British imprints,” he said.

What are these changes from British to Indian law? Sedition or offence against the government has been replaced with ‘deshdroha’ (offence against the country), thereby easing out the provisions laid in place by the British Crown. Terrorism has also been defined under the Sanhita, as is a new provision to deal with the crime of mob lynching. Significantly, intent to endanger the unity, integrity and sovereignity of India through defined acts of terror in Indian and in any foreign territory is also included in the Sanhitas.

According to Mr Shah, the new Acts catch up with the fact that India is now a sovereign nation, and the remnants of being a colonial subject state have been removed, reflected, according to him by prioritizing sections on crimes against women and children, over the protection of the treasury and sections on treason, which a foreign power would do.

Its not of course been without criticism,Congress leader P Chidambaran, also a senior advocate, saying that the three new criminal justice laws are “draconian” with “new provisions for arrest and police custody (that can extend custody upto 60 days or 90 days) will only lead to police excesses and custodial persecution.”

The changes are yet to be operationalised, it will take some time for it to be visible on the ground. What it has done, according to Rahul Verma of the Centre for Policy Research, is move the needle on bringing a fundamental shift to Indian politics.

“Some political observers have described the changes being brought about as the dawn of India’s Second Republic. Beginning with abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, and perhaps concluding with the inauguration of Ram Temple on January 22, the second term of Prime Minister Modi creates an ideological arc in its attempt to re-imagine a new India. The decolonisation of Indian history has remained a constant theme throughout this term, and re-christening the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 is part of a larger meta-narrative,” he said.

The Winter Session was the last “working session” of Parliament as India heads into an election year, for the second Modi government, one that began with one legacy legislation being read down, the replacing of the Cr.PC, the IPC and the Evidence Act with its own “Indianised” version, is an ideological stamp that closes the circle.