Delivered Extempore
ADDRESS BY SHRI K.R. NARAYANAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, AT THE ZAKIR HUSSAIN MEMORIAL LECTURE AT CONSTITUTION CLUB
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY,NOVEMBER 12, 1994
Justice Venkataramaiah, Justice Khanna, Shri T.N.Chaturvedi, Shri Radhey Mohan and distinguished friends,
It has been a great educational experience to listen to the learned former Chief Justice of India to express his views on fundamental constitutional issues in a manner that is relevant to the current situation and problems. Through his erudition experience and insight, he has thrown up several ideas on which we and the whole nation ought to reflect.
I recall that Dr. Ambedkar in his final speech while presenting the Constitution to the Constituent Assembly said that if this Constitution fails, it is not because we had bad Constitution but because man was vile. I think that is particularly relevant today because if there has been deviations distortions from what has been laid down in the Constitution it is largely because those who have to implement it, those have to abide by it have not risen to the occasion.
We have, I think, one of the most magnificient constitutions in the world. As Ambedkar said when the charge was made that this is an electric constitution, picking up various things of various other constitutions of the world, he said that at this late day in history, it was not possible to produce a brand new constitution, different from all others. Therefore, what we could do was to learn from the experience of other constitutions, avoid some of the mistakes committed by them and adopt the best in the constitutions of the world in a manner that is applicable to India.
I think the thrust of Justice Venkataramaiah's lecture was on values behind the constitution. These values I think are the one which really sustain the constitution and give it vitality. Dr. Ambedkar again talked about constitutional morality, constitutional culture and that utmost reverence should be given to the forms of the constitution. Forms may not be as important, may not appear to us very important, but observing certain forms in the constitution is of paramount importance. What we like in this country is really the basic reverence to certain fundamental things in the constitution and our disability or inability to follow certain forms and norms.
We as nation are not able even to respect our national flag or our national anthem. I think this is not a small thing. Whenever I find that a great nation like the United States, very powerful, very free nation, find that even at press conference you find the American flag fluttering next to, not only the President but may be a spokesman who is making a statement on behalf of the nation. We do not pay that respect to any of the forms whether it is flag or it is the anthem or a head of state or some of the basic features of constitution and that essential education in constitutional culture, constitutional morality is something that is required in a very basic sense. Much of the debates over the evolution of constitutional practice has been around the conflict between Part III or Part IV of the constitution, the fundamental rights and the directive principles of the constitution.
This was envisaged right from the beginning because Pt. Nehru when he introduced the resolution on objectives in the Constituent Assembly said that we have the directive principles which are dynamic movement and we have the fundamental rights which are static in the sense they are eternal principles and there will be times when we when these two dynamic movement and the static standstill as he put it may not fit in with each other. I think much of the judicial intervention as well as the legislative action on the constitution has been around this basic clash of conformity between and the social objectives put in the directive principles and the freedom of speech and other basic freedoms put in the fundamental rights in the constitution. The manner in which, I think, the legislature and the judiciary have dealt with this problem, I think this is something very creditable to the nation. We have arrived at a certain degree of balance between these two and of course social justice and economic justice is the objective.
Dr. Ambedkar's speech which Justice Venkataramiah quoted and Zakir Hussain had said something about it because he said somewhere in one of the speeches that for me the index of advance of our society is the position of women and the backward classes. This encompasses the entire deprived and dispossessed section of Indian community. Zakir Hussain said that the index of the advance of our society is that whether these people, these sections have risen up in the social ladder and the economic ladder. Of course there are so many problems with which constitutional practice and political practice are bristling with today. I do not like to make any remarks on them.
I do not think I am allowed to make any remarks on these issues. But one thing we have to understand is immensity of working out the very glorious principles and the very adornable social, economic objectives enshrined in our constitution in this immense country of immense diversities, immense disparities, inequalities and to work in such a situation, a democratic constitution is one of the most difficult things and therefore whatever may be the imperfections in this, we can be proud of our achevement in having such functioning democratic system which reflects our constitutional principles. I was very much struck by the phrase used from Bhagwad Gita about corruption. It would appear that it is divinely gifted heritage in this country if Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna thought of it this way I mean there is something very very deep rooted in the roots being above and the branches below. But that is where as Dr. Ambedkar again said that constitutional culture is something natural. It has to be cultivated and we have to make a terrific effort to diseminate constitutional culture, obedience to the norms and forms of our constitution.
One thing more I would like to suggest this was also pointed out by Dr. Ambedkar who was a great devotee to the parliamentary form of Government and he said that from now on we have to forget about the extra constitutional methods which have been used for gaining our independence - Satyagraha, fasting, dharna and entire armoury of non-violent struggle we adopted for winning our freedom. He said that these are no longer relevant to the new situation when you have a constitution and procedures and methods have been laid down . It may be true. I think I would go long way towards what he said, but often wonder considering the great problems of this country whether some of these extra constitutional peaceful methods, if they were not available to our people, whether the constitution would have worked, because for some reason, may be due to lack of discipline among our people or may be due to lack of responsiveness of those in authority there has come up certain frustration in individuals may be or among sections of people and they are really not left with any kind of method of dealing with it.
Then they resort to fast or some other way of expressing their dissent. This to my mind, it has been greatly abused I agree, but this probably is an addition which the Gandhian tradition has added to our western type of constitution. They are ultimate, peaceful, non-violent methods of asserting one's views when all other methods fail. But often it is used as a first method and not as a last resort unfortunately. Therefore, I think the democracy which has developed in our country had many streams, the parliamentary stream, western liberal stream, a social stream and also a Gandhian stream which has given certain depth to it which has also given certain value basis to it. Therefore, I feel that may the combination of all these have made it possible for our constitution to function in this immensely difficult , complex situation in which you have governed the country accordingly to the rule of law. Justice Venkataramiah has enlightened us on many of the fundamental issues and also some of the current issues in which these fundamental issues are reflected and I am grateful to him and I would like to thank him on behalf of all of you for this great lecture that he has delivered today.
Thank you.
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