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The Indian Constitution - What, in your opinion, is the primary strength and the primary weakness of the present Indian constitution?
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Dr. Khilnani's Response:
The framers of the Indian constitution were wise enough to recognize
that given the great complexity and diversity of Indian society, it was
sometimes necessary to avoid strict logical consistency in order to
arrive at more prudential and pragmatic solutions. The great strength of
the constitutional document they drew up was that it gave this
diversity and complexity a modern political form through a commitment to
pluralism in various domains: in the political domain, through
democracy; in the cultural domain through federalism; and in the
religious domain through secularism. Any document which tries to
encompass as much as the Indian constitution (it is one of the longest
in the world!) is bound to be imperfect: it promises too much. But it
sets standards as well as providing workable laws and rules and there
is more wisdom embodied in the Indian constitution as it exists that
there is among those who are currently pressing to try to "reform" it.
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Dr. Kak's Response:
The primary strength of the Indian constitution is its affirmation
of equality for all citizens. Its primary weakness is its form and size.
It is more than a thousand pages long and perhaps only high court
lawyers have seen the entire text. It is a recipe for bureaucratic
control of the state. The constitution has a lot of empty verbiage on
things like socialism, without defining such terms. It also has the
infamous Article 30 that has caused much resentment and may be the
underlying cause of religious discord in India. According to its current
interpretation by the courts, the state must financially support schools
run by minority religious groups but not those by the majority religious
groups. It is a marvel that things are quite peaceful in India in spite
of this Article 30. Imagine what would happen in the U.S. if the federal
and the state governments gave funds to Islamic schools and not to
Christian schools. I bet there would be bloodbath.
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Dr. Kak's Rebuttal:
The constitution as it stands is responsible for the current bureaucratic tyranny. It needs to be simplified and shortened. In my view, the reforms that the BJP is espousing, even if they were to be enacted, are not substantive enough to lead to real change.
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Dr. Khilnani's Rebuttal:
The constitution actually says very little about socialism --
indeed the word "socialism" did not appear in the original text of 1950,
and was only added by amendment in 1975. Dr. Kak distorts the picture
regarding the Indian State's responsibilties with regard to protecting
the rights of religious minorites. It is a complex issue which cannot be
dealt with in a few words. It is important to remember that every modern
state should be judged by how well it treats its minorities and weakest
citizens, not its strongest members.
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