Context

• The parliamentary debate on the Constitution often descends into a partisan contest between political parties, with each accusing the other of undermining constitutional values.
• While such debates ostensibly reflect democratic accountability, they often fail to inspire confidence in the preservation of these values.
• Amid these debates, it is important to explore the core principles of modern Indian constitution, its challenges and paradoxes, and the future actions to navigate these challenges and paradoxes.

Core Principles of Modern Constitutionalism

• Protection of Individual Rights
  • The cornerstone of constitutionalism is the safeguarding of individual freedoms and dignity.
  • The Constitution enshrines fundamental rights that ensure every citizen's freedom of speech, expression, religion, and association, among others.
  • These rights serve as a bulwark against oppression and discrimination, empowering individuals to lead lives of autonomy and self-respect.
  • The framers of modern constitutions understood that preserving these freedoms was essential to human dignity and societal progress.
• Equality Before the Law
  • Political and legal equality are central tenets of constitutionalism.
  • The principle of equality ensures that all citizens, regardless of caste, creed, gender, or economic status, are entitled to equal protection under the law.
  • This equality is fundamental to developing an inclusive society where every individual can participate in public life without fear of prejudice or exclusion.
• Checks and Balances
  • Constitutionalism emphasises the separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
  • This division ensures that no single entity wields unchecked authority, creating a system of mutual oversight.
  • Institutional checks and balances are designed to prevent the concentration of power, promoting accountability and transparency in governance.
• Limitation of Government Power
  • Another core principle is the formal limitation of government authority through clearly defined laws and procedures.
  • Constitutional frameworks describe the scope of government functions, ensuring that power is exercised within the bounds of legality and reason.
  • These limitations are vital to preventing authoritarianism and preserving the democratic ethos.
• Promotion of Political Agency
  • Modern constitutionalism envisions a society where citizens actively participate in shaping their collective destiny.
  • By guaranteeing universal suffrage and free elections, the Constitution empowers individuals to act as political agents with the ability to influence governance.
  • Political agency is further reinforced through mechanisms for public accountability, such as free speech and a free press, enabling citizens to challenge decisions that affect their lives.
• Commitment to Democracy
  • At its heart, constitutionalism is a commitment to democratic governance, where collective decisions are made through deliberation and consent.
  • The Constitution establishes the rules and processes through which representatives are chosen, laws are enacted, and disputes are resolved.
  • This commitment ensures that governance remains responsive to the will of the people while respecting the rule of law.
• Inclusion and Justice
  • While modern constitutions abstract away from specific social forms, they often incorporate provisions for justice and inclusion.
  • For instance, the Indian Constitution acknowledges the historical injustices faced by marginalised communities and provides mechanisms for affirmative action.
  • This balance between universal principles and targeted interventions underscores the Constitution’s commitment to fairness and equity.
• Creating Collective Decision-Making
  • Constitutionalism emphasises the importance of political justification in public decision-making.
  • It requires that decisions affecting common life be subjected to public reasoning and scrutiny, ensuring legitimacy and fairness.
  • This principle reinforces the idea of governance as a collective endeavour rather than a unilateral imposition. 

Challenges to Constitutional Ideals

• Tension Between Individual Rights and Group Rights
  • A central challenge in constitutional democracies is reconciling individual freedoms with the recognition and accommodation of group identities.
  • The Indian Constitution exemplifies this tension by granting fundamental rights to individuals while also acknowledging the historical injustices faced by specific communities, particularly marginalised caste groups
  • Measures like caste-based reservations aim to promote social justice but have also sparked debates about fairness, meritocracy, and the perpetuation of identity-based politics.
  • These policies, while necessary for inclusion, sometimes conflict with the constitutional ideal of equality, raising concerns about creating new forms of exclusion.
• Entrenchment of Identity-Based Politics
  • Modern constitutionalism aspires to liberate individuals from fixed ascriptive identities, enabling them to act as autonomous political agents.
  • However, in practice, political systems often exploit identity-based divisions for electoral gains.
  • The Indian Constitution envisions a society free from permanent majorities or minorities.
  • Yet, identity politics has entrenched divisions along religious, caste, and regional lines, with majority groups asserting dominance and minority groups demanding constitutional recognition as distinct social forces.
• Subversion of Checks and Balances
  • The principle of institutional checks and balances is crucial to preventing the concentration of power. However, in practice, these safeguards are often undermined.
  • Both at the central and state levels, governments have frequently attempted to consolidate power, sidelining the legislature and judiciary.
  • This erosion of institutional autonomy weakens the accountability mechanisms envisioned by the Constitution.
  • While the judiciary is a vital guardian of constitutional values, instances of judicial overreach, where courts venture into policy-making, blur the separation of powers.
  • This trend, while well-intentioned, risks undermining democratic processes.

The Puzzle of Constitutional Permanence

• A critical paradox of constitutionalism lies in its relationship with time.
• The Basic Structure Doctrine, which asserts the inviolability of certain constitutional principles, effectively arrests the Constitution in a quasi-eternal framework.
• While this doctrine safeguards core values, it also raises questions about whether the Constitution becomes a matter of mere invocation rather than genuine adherence.
• The Basic Structure, like a secular Sanatan Dharma, acts as an immutable truth, yet its practical significance depends on the sincerity with which political actors uphold it.
• Historically, constitutions represented real social power, serving as mechanisms to channel and balance competing forces.
• In contrast, modern constitutions, including India’s, operate as legal constructs detached from fixed social forms.
• This abstraction is both a strength and a challenge: it allows for adaptability but also risks alienation from the societal realities it seeks to govern.

Way Forward: Navigating the Future of Constitutionalism

• The survival of constitutional democracy depends on addressing these paradoxes.
• The Constitution must continue to function as a framework for individual freedom and collective governance, resisting the pull of ascriptive identities and permanent majorities.
• This requires vigilance against the forces that subvert constitutional ideals, whether through executive overreach, identity-based discrimination, or economic inequalities.

Conclusion

• The Indian Constitution is a remarkable testament to the vision of its framers, who sought to create a framework that transcends partisan interests and ascriptive identities.
• However, its enduring relevance depends on the collective commitment to uphold its principles in the face of evolving societal challenges.
• By addressing the paradoxes of modern constitutionalism, between abstract ideals and practical realities, between permanence and adaptability, India can ensure that its Constitution remains a living document, safeguarding freedom, equality, and dignity for all.