Change is the need of the hour

January is the time to celebrate the Republic. Like all grandfathers, my grandfather too fought for freedom. After Independence, he died without taking help from the government. But the question is: Am I living up to his expectations and dreams. Our forefathers fought for our freedom from the British rulers. Each year we get together on the India Gate lawns to hail the republic. We display our military might and cultural diversity to the world. The national party starts with the President taking the salute from the Armed forces. Out of the three national holidays, (Jan 26, Aug 15 and Oct 2), the January 26 day parade is the only celebration that highlights patriotic fervor and spirit of unity.
Ironically, the day when we got Independence – August 15, there is no collective national effort or celebration to mark the important day except for a speech by the Prime Minister at the Red Fort.
Why does the nation not celebrate the Independence Day they way we mark the day when we adopted the Constitution. Should we shift the January 26 parade to August 15 to celebrate the right cause rather than archaic cut-copy Constitution?
Today, parts of the Constitutions are redundant, obsolete or simply out of sync with the growing needs of the young nation. When Dr B R Ambedkar and his team complied the Constitution taking bits and pieces of the constitutions of UK-USA, it was perhaps very apt. But today, we inevitably need a change.
For instance, we need to relook at our reservation policies. When we got Independence, reservation was needed to bridge the economic and social divide between the people. Today the provisions have been misused, twisted and modified for the worse. We need to ask ourselves, is the reservation system in the country working. We are giving reservations in government jobs and promotions to even communities and tribes that are no long deprived or poor. Children of normal citizens are losing out by not getting equal opportunities. What is the use of giving reservation to the son or daughter of a Dalit IAS? Simply, we ought to scrap this business of reservation. However, even if we have to give reservation, we should be providing it based on economics and geography.
Then, there is the composition of the judiciary. Look at the way we appoint judges – Any lawyer completing 10 years of practice can become a high court judge. Simply, selection process is selective. ‘Lower’ judges who study and pass exams are hardly able to make it beyond the high courts. Only a few, who politicians and senior judges know and recommend can sit as hon’ble justices in the Supreme Court. And the apex court itself is outmoded. There is only one Supreme Court in the country. There are no branches or benches. A poor guy in Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh or Jammu and Kashmir, may take days to reach the precincts of New Delhi’s Supreme Court. Sorry, but we ought to be in the change mode.
Then are contentious issues of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir (if all the citizens are equal, why all the regions are not), organization of states on language and ethnicity, secularism, appointment of governors, and last not the least of elections and Prime Ministers and Presidents and worn out Rajya Sabha. How can we have a prime minister who is not elected by the people? It’s a shame that we in the Constitution allow someone to head the country who is selected. Is this what our grand fathers fought for! Maybe we need to celebrate January 26 on August 15 with a prayer and hope.