Namaskar!
Chief Justice N.V. Ramana ji, Justice U.U. Lalit ji, Law Minister Shri Kiren Rijiju ji, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ji, Attorney General Shri K.K. Venugopal ji, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Shri Vikas Singh ji, and ladies and gentlemen associated with the judicial system of the country!
I spent the morning with my colleagues in the legislature and the executive. And now I am among the scholars associated with the judiciary. We may all have different roles, responsibilities and ways of doing things, but the source of our faith, inspiration and energy is the same - our Constitution! I am happy that today our collective spirit is being expressed in the form of this event on Constitution Day, strengthening our constitutional resolutions. All the people associated with this program deserve to be congratulated.
Excellencies,
In the light of the dreams of the people who lived and died for freedom and cherished the great tradition of India for thousands of years, our Constitution makers gave us the Constitution. Hundreds of years of servitude had plunged India into many problems. India, once known as the Golden Bird, was battling poverty, hunger and diseases. Against this background, the Constitution has always helped us in taking the country forward. But today in comparison to other countries which became independent almost at the same time as India, they are much ahead of us today. A lot remains to be done and we have to reach the goals together. We all know how much emphasis is laid on ‘inclusion’ in our Constitution. But it has also been a fact that even after so many decades of independence a large number of people of the country continue to face ‘exclusion’. Millions of people, who did not even have toilets in their homes, who were living their lives in the dark due to lack of electricity, whose biggest struggle in their life was to get some water; I think understanding their troubles and pain and expending oneself to make their life easier, is the real respect to the Constitution. And I am satisfied that a massive campaign is on to convert ‘exclusion’ into ‘inclusion’ in the country and in accordance with the basic spirit of the Constitution. We also need to understand the biggest benefit of this (campaign). A lot of worries of the poor have been lessened after more than two crore poor got their pucca houses, more than eight crore poor families got free gas connections under the Ujjwala scheme, more than 50 crore poor whose free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh in the biggest hospitals has been ensured, crores of poor got basic facilities like insurance and pension for the first time. These schemes have been extremely useful to them. During this Corona period, free food grains are been ensured to more than 80 crore people for the last several months. The government is giving free food grains to the poor by spending more than Rs 2.60 lakh crores on the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. Just yesterday, we extended this scheme till March next year. Our Directive Principles – “Citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood” are a reflection of this spirit. You all will agree that when the common man, the poor of the country, joins the mainstream of development and gets equality and equal opportunity, his world changes completely. When a street vendor connects with the system of bank credit, he also gets a feeling of participation in nation building. When public places, public transport and other facilities are built keeping in mind the Divyangs, when they get common sign language for the first time after 70 years of independence, they feel confident. When transgenders get legal protection and get Padma awards, their faith in the society and in the Constitution becomes stronger. When a strict law is made against the evil of the Triple Talaq, then the faith of those hopeless sisters and daughters in the Constitution is strengthened.
Excellencies,
Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas-Sabka Prayas, this is the most powerful manifestation of the spirit of the Constitution. The government committed to the Constitution does not discriminate in development and we have proved this. Today the poorest of the poor are getting the same access to quality infrastructure which was once limited to the resourceful people. Today, the focus of the country for the development of Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar, North East is as much as the metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai. But in the midst of all this, I would like to draw your attention to one more thing. You must have also experienced that the government is called liberal and is praised if it does something for a particular section, for a marginalized section. But I am surprised that sometimes a government is applauded if it does something better for a state. But not much attention is paid when the government does it for everyone, for every citizen and for every state and how the government schemes benefit every section and every state equally. In the last seven years, we have tried to ensure development without any discrimination and bias for every person, every section, and every corner of the country. On 15th August this year, I talked about the saturation of welfare schemes for the poor and we are also engaged in mission mode in this regard. It is our effort to work with the mantra of सर्वजन हिताय, सर्वजन सुखाय (Wellbeing of all, Happiness for all). The recent report of the National Family Health Survey also shows how the picture of the country has changed due to these measures. Many facts of this report prove the point that when work is done with good intention, progress is made in the right direction, and efforts are made to achieve the goal by mobilizing everyone, then there are bound to be better results. If we talk about gender equality, then the number of daughters is increasing in comparison to men. More opportunities are being available to pregnant women for deliveries in hospitals. As a result, the maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate are decreasing. There are many other indicators on which we as a country are doing very well. Every percentage point increase in all these indicators is not just a figure. This is a proof of the rights being given to millions of Indians. It is very important that people get the full benefits of public welfare schemes and infrastructure projects are completed on time. Unnecessary delay due to any reason deprives the citizen of his entitlement. I am from Gujarat so I want to give an example of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Sardar Patel had dreamed of such a dam on Mother Narmada. Pandit Nehru had laid the foundation stone for it. But the project was stuck for decades due to misinformation and the movement in the name of the environment. The judiciary was hesitant to take a decision on it. The World Bank had also refused to fund this project. Today Kutch district is one of the fastest growing districts of India because of the development that took place there with the water of the same Narmada. Kutch is almost like a desert and it got the identity of the rapidly developing region. Once known for migration, Kutch is today making its mark due to agro-exports. What could be a bigger green award than this?
Excellencies,
It was a compulsion for India and for many countries of the world to live in the shackles of colonialism for many generations. Since India's independence, a post-colonial period started all over the world and many countries became independent. Today there is no country in the world that apparently exists as a colony of another country. But this does not mean that the colonial mindset has ceased to exist. We are seeing that this mindset is giving birth to many skewed ideas. The most glaring example of this is seen in the impediments put in the way of the progress of developing countries. The resources and the path which led to the western countries reaching the present status, today there is an attempt to restrict the same resources and the same path for the developing nations. In the last few decades, a web of different types of terminology has been created for this. But the objective has remained the same – to halt the progress of developing countries. Nowadays we see that efforts are being made to hijack the issue of the environment for the same purpose. We saw its live example at the COP-26 summit a few weeks ago. In terms of absolute cumulative emissions, developed countries together have emitted 15 times more than India since 1850. Even in terms of per capita, developed countries have emitted 15 times more than India. The US and EU together have an absolute cumulative emission 11 times higher than that of India. On a per capita basis, the US and the EU have emitted 20 times more than India. Yet today, the lessons of environmental protection are preached to India whose civilization and culture has a tendency to live with nature, where God is seen in stones, trees and in every particle of nature and where the earth is worshiped as a mother. These values are not just bookish for us. Today, the number of lions, tigers, dolphins etc. is increasing and the parameters of different types of biodiversity in India are continuously improving. The forest cover is increasing in India. Degraded land is improving in India. We have voluntarily increased the fuel standards of vehicles. We are one of the world's leading countries in all types of renewable energy. And India is the only country making progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement ahead of time. The world has acknowledged that if there is any country in the G20 group which is doing the best work, it is India, and yet, various pressures are put on India in the name of environment. All this is the result of colonial mentality. But unfortunately, obstacles are created in the development of our country due to such a mentality, sometimes in the name of freedom of expression or something else. Without knowing the circumstances of our country, the aspirations and dreams of our youth, many times there is an attempt to weigh India on the benchmark of other countries and efforts are made to impede the country’s progress. The people doing this damage do not face the consequences. The consequences of their action cause distress to a mother whose child cannot study because of the stalling of a power plant, to a father who cannot take his ailing son to hospital because of stalled road projects and to that middle class family which cannot enjoy modern facilities as these go beyond what they can afford in the name of environment. This colonial mindset crushes the hopes and aspirations of crores of people in the countries like India striving for development. This colonial mindset is a big obstacle in further strengthening the power of determination that was created during the freedom movement. We have to remove it and for this, our greatest strength, our greatest inspiration, is our Constitution.
Excellencies,
Both the government and the judiciary are born out of the womb of the Constitution. Hence, both are twins. These two have come into existence only because of the Constitution. Hence, from a broader perspective, even though they are different, they complement each other.
It is said in our scriptures:
ऐक्यम् बलम् समाजस्य, तत् अभावे स दुर्बलः।
तस्मात् ऐक्यम् प्रशंसन्ति, दॄढम् राष्ट्र हितैषिण:॥
That is, the strength of a society and a country lies in its unity and united efforts. Therefore, those who are well-wishers of a strong nation, they praise unity and emphasize it. Keeping the interests of the nation paramount, this unity should be in the efforts of every institution of the country. Today, when the country is setting extraordinary goals for itself in the virtuous period, finding solutions to decades- old problems and taking resolutions for a new future, then this accomplishment will be fulfilled with collective efforts. That is why the country, which will be celebrating the centenary of independence in another 25 years, has called for 'Sabka Prayas' (collective effort) and the judiciary also has a large role in it.
Excellencies,
Separation of power between judiciary, executive and legislature is often talked about and forcefully reiterated and is very important in itself. Therefore, it is very necessary to show this collective resolve in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution between this virtuous period of independence till the completion of the 100 years of India’s independence. Today, the common man of the country deserves more than what he has. When we celebrate the centenary of the independence of the country, what will be the India of that time, for this we have to work now. Therefore, it is very important to walk with the collective responsibility to fulfill the aspirations of the country. On the strong foundation of separation of power, we have to determine the path of collective responsibility, make a roadmap, set goals and take the country to the destination.
Excellencies,
The use of technology in justice delivery during the Corona period has created new confidence. Judiciary has equal stakes in the mega mission of Digital India. The computerization of more than 18,000 courts, linking of 98 percent of court complexes with wide area network, national judicial data grid for transmission of judicial data in real time and e-court platforms to reach millions of people shows that technology has become a very big force of our justice system and very soon we will see an advanced judiciary functioning. Time is changing, the world keeps on changing, but these changes have become the means of evolution for humanity. This is because humanity accepted these changes, and at the same time, upheld human values. The concept of justice is the most refined reflection of these human values. And, the Constitution is the most sophisticated system of this concept of justice. It is the responsibility of all of us to keep this system dynamic and progressive. All of us will discharge these roles with full devotion and the dream of a new India will be fulfilled before the 100 years of independence. This mantra संगच्छध्वं, संवदध्वं, सं वो मनांसि जानताम् (May we move in harmony, speak in one voice; may our minds be in agreement) always inspires us and we are proud of it. May we have common goals, common minds and together we achieve those goals! With this spirit, I end my speech by conveying many best wishes to all of you and the countrymen in this sanctified atmosphere of Constitution Day. Once again many congratulations to all of you.
Thank you very much!
