Fundamental Rights has always been regarded as the ‘conscience’ in The Indian Constitution. This section shows that there are certain ideals that the Indian government believes the citizens of India should uphold. Shockingly enough, the people are only becoming more ignorant, though they are fully aware of what lies in this Constitution. For example, a regular passerby would just stand and watch the usual anomalies struggling to live a normal life. Is this proof that a new era of ignorance has made its way into the world? Some have expressed worry that the principles of justice are hidden behind a veil of ignorance. So as I write this, I shall think hard on the extent of the law protecting the exploited ones.
The presence of the term ‘secularism’ to the Constitution of India is a social myth. Secularism, generally, is defined as a belief that religion and religious bodies should play no role in political or civic affairs or in running public institutions. A prominent political party in India, ’Bharatiya Janata Party’, practices the concept of ‘Hindutva’. This is an ideology sought to define Indian culture in terms of Hindu values. The establishment of another religion-based political party, Indian Union Muslim League, has proven my claim that India has failed as a secular nation. No political parties there favour the nation as a whole. The local citizens are growing tired of the heated arguments between these political parties. They are demanding for a change, a freedom to practice their religion without being labelled to a party, but what can actually spark for change to happen?
Every Indian citizen is granted equality in the eyes of law, mentioning the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. However, history has left us a question, jeering the legal system of the unserved justice for what happened in the 1984 Anti-Sikh Bloodshed. It has raised questions and doubts, only deepening the public’s distrust in India’s justice system. Automatically, a clause called ‘Protection of Interests of Minorities’ has failed here. Discrimination is a long term issue that has existed even before Mahatma Gandhi had to point it out. Although this problem has been brought up countless of times, discrimination towards minorities is still strongly felt, unfortunately.
Another futile clause, ‘Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc’ explains that children must not be exploited in the working environment. Even so, some children are still seen taking orders and washing dishes for the society in public places. They would instruct a child as how they would to a regular waiter. Putting a blind eye to this issue, clearly that shows how little people believe in freedom for children, regardless of their mental capabilities. I do believe that we can curb this problem. Instead of merely donating money, we can help with providing education. After all, the first step to freedom is gaining knowledge.
Here is one more acclaimed yet rarely practiced clause, - ‘Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion”. Society, sadly, had mistaken freedom with restriction. Many Muslims living in India were forced to convert into Hindus, with the reason that the amount of Hindus there needs to be kept constant. Yes, this is wrong and nobody should be restricted from practicing their own religion. This event only creates fear instead of love for God. Now, does this not contradict with the main principle of religions that we should live in peace and love God? Even security measures are taken based on religion and skin colour. In what book does this portray freedom?
With all that is happening right now, there should be moral panic. Anything that goes against the law is considered a crime. However, we, as normal citizens, often make the mistake of not reporting a crime when we witness one. This could be under many excuses, such as crimes that are deemed as private matters in which the police should not be involved. But imagine if you were to be robbed and nobody would admit as witness, would you be granted with justice? The legal system only works efficiently and serves its purpose when society joins forces to curb crimes together. Therefore, we cannot afford to live in a society where ignorance is bliss. So if we all become more aware and stand together to fight for justice, there is no doubt that all laws enforced will finally be practiced. The Constitution will not only serve as a mere composition, it will be utilised as a ‘Holy Book’ by the nation.
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