We can see the 5 Philosophies of Indian Constitution in the Preamble of the Constitution. Each State / Country have their Philosophies, some mention it explicitly some may not, some change these some have strong hold on philosophies.
If we look at the origin of humans and different human perspectives then we will find a strong conceptualization of philosophies. For example the concept of Biological Evolution given by Darvin, which explains the history of human evolution and also creates multiple futuristic perspectives.
Even the life of Individual is driven by Philosophies which is termed as ideology (can be a mixture of Philosophies). It helps in building the character of an individual. In the same way the architects and builders of India had decided some foundational values, which are believed to have a strong hold on the various Dimensions Humanities of the Nation. These Foundational values are termed as “5 Philosophies of Indian Constitution”.
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5 Philosophies of Indian Constitution
Drawing some words of the Preamble of Indian Constitution:
“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”
The words in italic in the above paragraph are the core 5 Philosophies of Indian Constitution. Here the arguments are placed with the perspective of a State or a Nation. Let us discuss each one by one.
SOVEREIGN
Sovereign means “We are the Ruler of Self”. Here all the decisions of any State are taken by the King in a Monarchy or by the Elected Head in the Democracy. There should be no interference of external powers on the matters of policy formulation or implementation, on matters of external affairs or on the matters of internal affairs.
On the other hand suzerainty is a concept which stands just opposite to Sovereignty. suzerainty means there is a presence of any external interference in the decision makings of a country. The concept of ‘Dominion State’ and ‘Colonization’ are examples of Explicit suzerainty.
SOCIALIST
Pioneer to socialism is Karl Marx. The USSR was the first country to adopt this concept. For India, the idea was taken from the Russian Revolution. The core philosophy of socialism is “Equal distribution of Resources”. But India adopted some other definition. According to the Indian concept, Socialism means distribution of resources through policy implementation.
So, we can say that, in India, the Government has the Power and Responsibility to implement socialism. This concept was explicitly introduced with 42nd Amendment of Indian Constitution 1976. The Socialist nature of Indian Constitution can be seen in Directive Principles of State’s Policy. Some of them are:-
- Article 41: To secure the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disability.
- Article 42: The State shall make provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.
- Article 43: The State shall endeavor to secure to all workers a living wage and a decent standard of life etc.
SECULAR
This concept was also introduced with the 42nd Amendment of the Indian Constitution 1976. Indian Secularism means India as a state doesn’t have any religion. In India each religion is treated equally.
The credit of innovation of this concept should be given to the French Revolution. The core concept of secularism means, there should be separation between Religion and Politics.
The Indian renaissance didn’t enter the grassroot level. So, Architects of the Constitution found that religion can’t be separated from politics in India. Hence, they defined their own Secularism.
DEMOCRATIC
Democracy means, People’s participation in the politics of the Country / Nation. The Core Element of Democracy is Election, which should be at regular intervals of time. There are two concepts of Democracy. These are:-
Direct Democracy
Here, with elections some more power were given to the people in the form of:
- Referendum:- Direct Voting by the people on legislative matters.
- Recall:- the Elected individual can be recalled by the people of the Constituency.
- Initiative:- The legislative initiative can be taken by people, it means the Bills can be Introduced by people of the country.
- Plebiscite:- it is a kind of referendum but here the matter must be separationist or secessionist.
Indirect Democracy
India adopted this concept of democracy because of the huge population and also because of the lower literacy rate of India. Here the Government is elected for the fixed term. And the representatives from each constituency represent the issues of the people.
REPUBLIC
It is the last philosophy among the 5 philosophies of Indian Constitution. Here republic means the head of the state must be an elected individual. On the other hand, in countries like the United Kingdom the head of the state is hereditary, we call it monarchy.
Although, the head of state of India, The President, is not directly elected but indirectly elected by Members of Parliament and members of Legislative Assemblies.
The Horrifying Constraints
There are two mindsets, one is ‘Conservative’ and the other is ‘prepared to change’. Change is the nature of society. With respect to the 5 philosophies of Indian Constitution, if someone has conservative mindset then the change will be horrifying. On the other hand if changes are not in the right direction then changes are horrifying for both the mindsets.
It is an element of rationality and logic. If changes justify the just of society then it may be horrifying but will be good for a larger section. But if it is not just then, changes may support someone but not good in long terms.
So, the constraint in front of 5 philosophies of Indian Constitution is a matter of perspective.
The List of Constraints
The constraints will be discussed with respect to each philosophy one by one.
CONSTRAINT IN FRONT OF SOVEREIGNTY
- The international laws, it may be just but these laws have the tendency to create pressure on the Government.
- The Concepts like ‘Ease of Doing Business’. These are the concepts which indirectly enforces the Government to change their policies and laws.
- Occupation of territory by other countries like Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).
- Secessionist movement within the country.
CONSTRAINT IN FRONT OF SOCIALISM
These constraints are linked with corruption and display a compromise with the nation’s interest.
- Crony Capitalism:- The link of mutual individual profit between Bureaucracy / Elected Head and Businessman.
- Inefficient Policy Implementation:- the resources are not transferred to the eligible one.
- Tax rebates to a fixed section of the population.
CONSTRAINT IN FRONT OF SECULARISM
Secularism can be seen as the most questionable philosophy among the 5 philosophies of Indian Constitution. The elements which act as constraints are:-
- Stronghold of Religion in the Politics of the Country.
- Inter Religious conflicts between Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs etc.
- Intra Religious conflict can also be seen on the basis of Caste groups.
- Irrational resource distribution.
- Minority and Majority issues.
CONSTRAINT IN FRONT OF DEMOCRACY
Democracy is the most vulnerable philosophy among the 5 philosophies of Indian Constitution. Because Democracy can be challenged on two fronts on the participative as well as distributive front. The constraints can be:-
- Malpractice on elections by the participating candidates.
- Lack of transparency in the election process in India.
- Lack of employment opportunities, which questions economic democracy.
- Perpetuation of Untouchabilities found in some places and other kinds of discrimination and social exclusions also found.
- Riots, internal conflicts etc can be seen as constraint to Democracy.
CONSTRAINT IN FRONT OF REPUBLIC IDEOLOGY
This is the least affected philosophy among the 5 philosophies of Indian Constitution. Idea of the Indian Political system is taken from the British political system where the Political Head is monarch which is ceremonial head. In the same way In India the responsibilities and Power lies with the Prime Minister, not with the President.
Biasness of the President and Vice President towards Government and against opposition can be seen as a Constraint to the Republic Ideology. Because opposition is not from out of the world.
Conclusion
I believe that these Philosophies still have importance with the developmental perspective of India. I believe that the change is Important but with respect to the present scenario these ‘5 Philosophies of Indian Constitution’ Suits the most.
The most important thing to understand is that, with technological advancement we should adopt new philosophies. Going back to older philosophies may draw the nation into backward direction.
Rather focusing on self gratification, we have to focus on innovation and discovery in the field of Philosophy too.