In her address to the nation on the eve of this Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu said, “Our Constitution is our guiding document”. At this time of great political and ideological contestation, it is reassuring to hear the Head of State forthrightly say these words. This is because they connote that neither the ideologies nor the politics of different political parties and formations should go beyond the boundaries set by the Constitution. Besides, this crucial sentence in the address was a simple and lucid declaration that India would steadfastly remain a constitutional democracy.
President Murmu struck many notes in her address which represent India’s current national needs as well its aspirations for a better world. Among these she focused on living in harmony with nature, the empowerment of women, and the value of education in social transformation. Her words on education were based on her own experience. As she put it, “Having been a teacher also, I have realised that education is the greatest tool of social empowerment”. The President also dwelt on India’s economic progress. More importantly, even as she encouraged the nation, she reminded it of the long distance that remains to be covered till we achieve the aspirations of the leaders of the freedom movement.
Ideological contestation
Amidst points covered in her address, two deserve special analysis. One goes to the heart of the present ideological contestation; the other to the Constitution as a “guiding document” and the aspiration, as the President eloquently said, of moving forward towards “making India an inclusive and developed nation by the year 2047”.
The first point. Government leaders have mentioned, both in domestic and foreign forums, that India has suffered 1000 years of slavery. This is in keeping with the ruling dispensation’s interpretation of Indian history of what is commonly referred to as the ‘Medieval Period’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day speech: “...Our country was invaded 1,000-1,200 years ago. A small kingdom and its King were defeated. However, we would not have known that this event would lead India into a thousand years of subjugation”. It is not clear which invasion Mr. Modi had in mind. What is important is the reference to “a thousand years of subjugation”.
In the past, government leaders did not venture into stigmatising the medieval era as one of foreign domination and enslavement. Such a categorisation was limited to the colonial period. Consequently, liberation from foreign rule meant freedom from British rule. President Murmu seems to have favoured this traditional interpretation. She avoided any mention of “a thousand years of subjugation”. Her choice of words indicates that, for her foreign domination means the period of British rule. This is illustrated by the following formulation in her address: “India is the mother of Democracy and since ancient times we had democratic institutions functioning at the grass roots. But long years of colonial rule wiped them out... We won freedom from foreign rule... With our independence began the era of foreign rulers withdrawing from many colonies and colonisation drew close to its end”.
Now, the second point. President Murmu wisely reminded all Indians that their identity as “citizens of India” was above all their other identities. At the same time, she recognised that “each of us has many identities”. In view of the vastness of India and its huge population — we are now the world’s most populous country — it cannot but be so, but as the President said, they are subsumed within our Indian identity. Indeed, can there really be a higher status for those who live in this great land than that of “citizen of India”? Among the identities the President mentioned were caste, creed, language, region, family, and profession. What was significant was that she omitted religion as an identity marker. She did not even use the word faith. It can be argued that creed embraces religion or faith. However, while a creed may form part of a religion, the two are not synonymous. This is also made clear by the President’s speech in Hindi when she used the word “panth” instead of “dharma”.
The guiding document
The use of these different words is part of the ideological contestation underway. As the President said, the Constitution is the nation’s guiding document and the terminology used in it should prevail. This writer would humbly submit that as the first citizen of the country, she should follow the words used in the Constitution. The Constitution mentions religion and faith, not creed. And the Hindi translation of religion in the official Hindi version of the document is dharma, not panth. Dharma is also the word used in Hindi for faith, which finds mention in the Preamble to the Constitution.
Can the submissions put forward here regarding the use of words be categorised as merely quibbling or nitpicking? This writer believes that this is not so because some words acquire the position of ‘code words’ and become markers for ideologies. Besides, words matter, especially when used by the highest constitutional authority of the country. The President’s life story is truly inspirational. In the midst of great personal tragedies, she has maintained a calmness that reflects that she has imbibed what Krishna taught Arjuna before the war began. The nation needs from her equanimity, care and constitutional precision amid the raging political and ideological battles.
