Millions of people across Karnataka joined Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in reading the preamble of the Indian Constitution on September 15. The day is celebrated worldwide as the ‘International Day of Democracy’.
Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Social Welfare Minister H.C. Mahadevappa, Home Minister G. Parameshwara, other Ministers in the Congress government in Karnataka, and a large number of government employees and students attended the programme held at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.
The programme began with the Naada Geethe (State song), a Kannada poem composed by the celebrated poet Kuvempu.
Schools and colleges, government offices from the Chief Minister’s office to gram panchayat offices across Karnataka organised the programme to read the preamble.
Minister for Youth Empowerment, Sports and Tribal Welfare B. Nagendra welcomed the dignitaries on the dais. Leaders paid floral tributes to B.R. Ambedkar, who was the chairman of the Drafting Committee which played a major role in writing the Constitution.
More than 2.31 crore persons, including bank and corporate employees, had registered for reading the preamble of the Indian Constitution.
Social Welfare Minister H.C. Mahadevappa, who played a major role in organising the programme, said the UNO declared the International Day of Democracy in 2007. All democratic countries started observing the day from the year 2008. The day is celebrated with the aim of eliminating inequality to achieve sustainable development.
The objective of reading the preamble of the Constitution is to create awareness about freedom of women, press freedom, communal harmony, protection of human rights, and dignity of life to all, Mr. Mahadevappa said.
The objective is to make people aware of the Constitution and its preamble. The reading of the preamble would encourage people to develop secular ideals, and ensure they practice equality in the midst of diversity among religions and castes, he said.
A photograph of the preamble of the Constitution was presented to Mr. Siddaramaiah. It would be placed in the Cabinet Hall, on the third floor the Vidhana Soudha.
An app was launched for creating awareness among schoolchildren about the Constitution and its values.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who presided over the programme, said many nations have accepted democracy and have been providing administration as per democratic systems. The democracy in India has evolved since ancient times. He recalled the contribution of social reformer Basaveshwara in fostering democracy. Democracy was rooted in the country before implementation of the Indian constitution, he said.
Dr. Ambedkar has clearly explained the objectives of the Constitution in the preamble. “The Congress government in Karnataka is making sincere efforts to provide social and economic justice to the people by implementing guarantees” to realize the aspirations of the Indian Constitution. “It’s each citizen’s responsibility to protect the Constitution and democracy,” the Chief Minister said.
“We should be careful against those who oppose the Constitution of India,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said while greeting the people of Karnataka on the occasion of the International Day of Democracy.
