Need for new Constitution is more urgent than ever

One rarely comes across people who, closing in on age 90, find the time, energy and enthusiasm to ponder on matters relating to this life, and after life. Bhimeswara Challa, the author of the absorbing narrative, “India – the Road to Renaissance – the Vision and an Agenda” is one such person.

Alexander Sorokin, Russian-American sociologist and activist, in his ‘Reconstruction of Humanity’ laments the fall in moral values, and ethical degeneration sweeping across western countries. He points out that India, soon after independence, lost a golden opportunity to reconstruct its societal fibre, and, regrettably, chose to ape western systems in areas such as the philosophy behind the provisions of the Constitution of India and the judicial and administrative systems while failing to imbibe highly desirable traits, such as a concern for the fellow human being.

With a bleeding heart, the author revisits, in the book, the socio-economic and psychological degradation during the imperial rule in India, leaving the country underdeveloped, and its people illiterate and impoverished. In a scintillating display of erudition, Bhimeswara quotes from sociologists, educationists, economists, political scientists, and philosophers, modern and ancient, while describing the moral decline, that pervaded the Indian milieu, be it in culture, literature, education, administration, sports and games or the entertainment industry.

Having served from the grassroots to the global level, in the Indian Administrative Service, the author has had the advantage of observing, closely, the struggle of the common man in India to fulfil his aspirations. In all his assessments and conclusions, he displays a remarkable knack of drawing parallels from ancient practices. For instance, the tendency, in recent times, to disregard the need for environmental protection, while pursuing growth and development.

Bhimeswara notes, with concern, the fall in the moral and ethical values in the country, and the erosion of the spirit of federal polity in the governance structure. He asserts that the Constitution of India is unequal to the situation. In its present form, and content, it is incompatible with the aspirations of the country as a democratic and socialist republic. Its provisions largely serve to perpetuate the spirit and the approach of colonial attitudes and institutions, albeit with some modifications consistent with India’s emergence as an independent nation. No amount of tinkering with it, he feel, will suffice. A new Constitution will have to be written. I, personally, feel that, in doing so, one ought not to throw away the baby with the bath water. Whatever the British bequeathed to us by way of sound and robust governance principles, should be preserved, with, of course, adjustments that answer to contemporary imperatives.

The challenges the country is facing, the opportunities, and how sustainable development, and rapid growth, must be attempted, while taking advantage of the positive aspects, and overcoming weaknesses, are all addressed in the book.

According to the author, the extant arrangement, by which most of the authority and power is concentrated at the national, state and district levels, needs to be turned on its head. The pyramid of the power structure, needs to be turned on its head. All power, he points out, belongs to the people, and only such portions of it, as are required by the imperatives of governance, should be placed in the hands of elected representatives. That paradigm should be followed by firm steps to ensure that, all constitutionally mandated functions are entrusted to the bodies at the grassroots level, such as the Gram Panchayats and the Nagar Palikas, and the functionaries, and funds required placed at their disposal, for the efficient discharge of the duties. Thomas Jefferson said, “the government you elect is the government you deserve”, Bhimeswara echoes a similar sentiment, pointing out that elected representatives of the people cannot be of a mettle which is superior to that of those who put them there, thus making out a case for enhancing levels of the political consciousness of people.

I have known the author since I was a child. Our families were very close and Bhimeswara was, and remains, very fond of me. I have always told him to be deeply concerned with the welfare of the country and its people. But I could never have imagined that he would, even when nearly 90 years old, pen a 400 page book presenting a comprehensive analysis of the travails of the nation, together with solutions to the problems it is facing. It is indeed timely and significant he should have chosen to offer it, as a gift, when the country is celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of its independence. ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, as it is being called. After reading the book, I was able to appreciate how deeply the author loves his country and the precious legacy, of the value system which tt has inherited from times immemorial.

What really struck me was the manner in which the author has describes, the highly disturbing feature of mediocrity in the people of the country, a quality that the image of India has become synonymous with. Noting that the history of India is a saga of celebrating humiliations, he observes that centuries of rule, by invaders and imperialist forces, had denied them their own understanding of history, thus, effectively, destroying their identity as a people.

Reconciliation to mediocrity, the author notes, is particularly evident in public servants. The author also observes, rather cynically, and in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, that the spectre of mediocrity seems, somehow, to have spared areas such as cheating! Little wonder, then, that most of the programs intended for the welfare of the needy are subverted by political leaders and the bureaucracy.

Recognising the value of non-government organisations and community based organisations as watch dogs, advisers, organisers, mobilisers, or mediators, the author strongly commends steps to promote and strengthen them. Noting the power, and value, that voluntary initiatives carry, the author observes that no campaign in India has ever failed after 3.5% of the population, or five crores of people, embraced the philosophy thereof. As an illustration of this principle, he points to the success of the freedom movement in India.

The author’s recommendations are also supported by clearly suggested destinations, with roadmaps thereto, duly marked off by milestones and signposts. A very instructive comparison is also made with neighbouring China.

Bhimeswara notes, with alarm, the continued exclusion, of the majority of the people, from the benefits of development, and the alarming lack of access to basic human needs, such as health, education, housing, and security. Strategies for the future, he advises, focus on mainstreaming the needs of the backward region and the unprivileged sections of society. As one critic said after reading a truly great work such as this, I wish to stop here, by merely saying, “I wish I had written this!”

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)