Call for 2nd Poorna swaraj: 72nd Republic Day

The 26th of January, the great Indian Republic Day. A day every Indian celebrates as the remembrance of the country stepping into a Republic by bringing the constitution of India into effect. 26th January was chosen by the constituent assembly to do so because 20 years back, on this very same day, the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru and Subash Chandra Bose announced for Purna Swaraj. From visionaries like Dadabhai Naoroji to the idealists like Nehru, Ambedkar, and revolutionaries like Subash Chandra Bose, Bhagath Singh, the idea of India kept evolving through two phases, Fighting the British imperialism along with the deep-rooted, ultra-complicated and inhumane caste-based hierarchy systems of India.

Throughout the colonial period, the Imperial powers fanned the fire of religious and caste-based differences, which had boiled over during the partition of 1947 and the subsequent years after achieving freedom. The main challenge faced by the leaders of that time were to expel the seeds of deep-rooted casteism and divisions which were watered by the British empire and to educate the society to embrace the differences among the people. Thus was born the great idea of Unity in Diversity, the child of whom we proudly call the Constitution of India.

With the death of the Mahatma and Netaji, India had lost most of its powerful pillars of unity and strength and many others who held the idea of India by the time of Independence. Thus, India needed a strong visionary at the helm to lead the process of creating a constitution that accepts and treats every human under the borderline of so-called India. In came Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, along with a team dedicated to the cause, who did an almost impossible task of defining the very soul of India and interpreting it in a way acceptable to all Indians across the country under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. With an effort lasting almost 3 years, the constituent assembly presented the sacred constitution of India. The preamble says:

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION”

On 26th Jan 1950, we essentially stepped into a fight to make our country SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC through enacting the constitution of India. It was complicated to unite around 300 princely provinces, 21 official and an infinite unofficial language-based groups, people of varied culture from extreme Adivasis residing in the hills of Nagaland to southern Brahmins and variety of religious backgrounded people Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs, Christians, Jews and sub-castes and categories inside them. India was complicated and the mission to grant the freedom to every last Indian was the most daring and humane action ever seen on the face of the planet and this very same aspect made the mission more complicated.

To be specific what was freedom here, it was the idea of India, which included the Right to education, human resources, Justice, information, expression, and the freedom to discover yourself and to embrace what you are irrespective of caste, religion, colour or any other dividing and judgemental factors. Thus this was more of a utopian concept for the majority of citizens where the idea of Brahmanical Ram Rajya propaganda was iron-branded to their minds. Such an idea of India was unacceptable even to the victims of casteism because they could not think of a scenario where they prevailed over their “Thakurs”. This explains how the mission became the barrier for accomplishment here, as history says revolutions were a result of people's desire to dominate. That was the mission which rested on the shoulders of Jawaharlal Nehru and his team. Here too, when we study the conversations in the constituent assembly to discuss the constitution closely, we can see that each person bargained for the betterment and upliftment of their dominance, pushing the rest, while Nehru was the only one holding them together and insisting on the fact that the country must stand united for the idea of India.

From Nehru, Abdul Kalam Azad and Ambedkar to Lal Bahadur Shastri and unknown names like VP Menon, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Kamara Raj, C Rajagopalachari, Sheik Abdullah, Rajiv Gandhi, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr Manmohan Singh and many more stalwarts of the Nation donated their life to build the very idea of a beautiful temple-like India, where everyone is treated fair and equal. Many comrades of fascist and communal blindness may point out the mistakes they have made but, let me tell you that no other modern era leaders could even be compared to them. For such were their actions and efforts to promote and nourish the soul of India.

Today, the reason why I’m writing this is to remind you that we are under attack. The threats our visionary leaders warned us about has taken control of our sacred country, destroying everything that we believe in and spreading hatred and division., What Ambedkar and Nehru tried to protect us from has finally made its way into the sacred grounds of India. So what do we do? Where do we look for help? To whom should we look for those wise words the country desperately needs?

The need of the hour is to look back, to the words of the very ones who shaped the country. “Educate, Agitate, Organise,” said B R Ambedkar, “The future depends on what you do today.” said Mahatma Gandhi, “One individual may die for an idea, but that idea will, after his death, incarnate itself in a thousand lives.” said the ever-living revolutionary Netaji, ” Where freedom is menaced or justice threatened or where aggression takes place, we cannot be and shall not be neutral.” said the great leader Jawaharlal Nehru. Yes, it's time to take a stand for us and our country. It's time to gear ourselves up for another struggle for freedom, freedom from the ghosts of communalism. The warning alarms are blaring right above our heads, The pillar of secularism down, through introducing CAB, NRC Bill 2019, Federalism down through Farmer’s bill 2020, Equality and Justice down through the illogical and inhumane treatment of the Hathras victim and Rising UAPA cases against students who speak out the truth. Adding on to Raped women in temples, our HDI, ECONOMY is shrinking to the lowest levels. Public agitations are suppressed by grit and power and sovereignty is being replaced by dictatorship. Ayodhya is becoming the National temple while the Indian Parliament has degraded to a mere formality. Cows get more protection laws while people are bludgeoned to death. Horse trading of elected representatives and Media being turned into rants of Anti-nationalism. Military secrets worth the lives of our honourable jawans being toyed over Whatsapp for PR rating. The honourable supreme court, turning into Barbaric puppets. AND over all these chaos, Indians still wish each other a Happy Republic day. The above-mentioned issues are just the tip of a gargantuan iceberg which will eventually break the country. The year of 2020 woke with an alarm of suppressing students who dared to raise their voices against draconian CIA, NRC bill and 2021 awakes in high alarms of Farmers agitation in Delhi against the farmers’ bill. While the country slowly realises its mistakes, let's take this as a call for second Poorna Swaraj from the violence, hatred and intolerance and let us pave the way to that great vision for the most humanistic idea ever introduced to the world, that of India.