Aditi Panda

On the eve of the 69th Independence Day, let us examine what Indians feel about the law of the land which functions on the broadly defined principles under the Constitution.

We are going to celebrate the 69th Republic Day of our country and it’s almost 7 decades since the constitution came into effect. India has amended the constitution several times, ratified and made new laws and policies, only to empower every citizen.

Now the question arises, what do our citizens think about this?  Here is what they have to say;

“Life is a roller coaster ride and where is the time to really think of laws and policies? Every morning you get up to face a new problem which needs your undivided attention and if you ignore it then your job is at stake.  Now which law will help?”, feels Shivani Mohapatra working in a private company.

A different perspective is shared by Minati Rout, a domestic help. “Both of my parents and my husband’s reside in our village and are eligible to get the government pension. But there are so many documents to be submitted and several trips to various govt. Offices. We never had enough money to eat so why will we have a bank account? In all this chaos there is no time to deposit the papers and get the pension. My father who is 73 years gets his pension, but only if somebody takes him. We stay in Bhubaneswar and the person going with him expects some benefit too.”

Arpita Sarangi, a banker feels strongly about dowry deaths. She says, “We have a strong law and so many judicial bodies in place but even today we see dowry demands, dowry deaths and atrocities on women in the name of dowry.  We are still not able to control this vicious practice prevalent throughout the country. What is the use of the long judicial process that takes its toll on the victim too?”

“We have the Medical termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP), Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT) etc but even then our sisters and mothers are forced to abort the girl child. We all know that the father is responsible for the sex of the baby but even then all these practises are going on. Agreed that the percentage has decreased but we see young girls succumbing to the pressure of child bearing in their teens. When will this stop? Do we have to wait for another 70 years?”Fumes Arijit Panda, a student.

There are many agile citizens who strongly feel about less discussed topics like child abuse and trafficking but Namit Agarwal working with an NGO spoke candidly. “We have different bodies to take care about different issues but if the cases are not reported and people do not complain then what can the government do. The problem is that our police and legal system works very slow and therefore the victim and their families are in a dilemma whether they should think about the day-to-day life problems or run from one office to another to seek justice. There should be a one stop institution where everything will be solved as quickly as possible”.

How many of us know about the Commission for Women or the Domestic Violence Act, 2005? Of course many but has this stopped domestic violence in our homes. Jaya Mukherjee, a home maker shares, “No law can stop this from happening. Many times the family and the victim keep quiet because they are more worried about the reaction of the society and care more about WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY? Even in the most educated families the children and women quietly bear all the pain as the family prestige is given priority. It’s definitely sad but true”.

In India more discussion and debate is on frivolous issues like the release of Padmavat or neighbourhood gossip and bragging about false prestige. Astonishingly, nobody cares about why an underage teenager at Kunduli was forced to commit suicide or why girls today are targeted easily?

Making laws and policies is not enough but the system has to be made user friendly and the verdict FASTER if we have to reduce and combat the pain the victims face and for the common Indian to trust our Constitution and feel that we are stay in a country which believes in the adage ‘for the people, of the people and by the people.’

Happy Republic Day

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4 COMMENTS

  1. Laws and policies are made to bring a semblance,discipline to the chaos,confusion prevalent in any country…..

    The key factor is “awareness” of the laws enacted..and this can be done periodically by the social media like TV,FB,n WhatsApp..

    The legal system has to pull itself up to accelerate the dispensation of cases lodged…which will reinstate the confidence if the people in the judiciary system.

  3. India is a morally degrading country. Gone are the days when most of its citizens were conscious of their rich tradition and heritage. Now under the guise of being Indian many unindian qualities are nurtured, influenced by the western lifestyle. Most Indians don’t even know the difference between Independence day and the Republic day. And most don’t care anyways. All that matters is the holiday that comes with it. Who has the time or the propensity to introspect on the constitution of India? I mean, seriously, let’s get real. Most Indians are worried only about their life and how to better it materially. That’s all. Life is already stressful and tiresome, especially in India, so why burden the self with obtuse stuff such as the constitution of the nation and how it affects one’s life. The bottom line is unless the people and their mindsets don’t change no amount of constitutional amendments are going to help. God helps those who help them self. Laws are created because of increasing infringement of laws. So if people stop breaking laws in the first place more laws, stringent ones, may not be required. Do we need a draconian regimen to rule our land? No, right. Then we need to change and amend our mental and intellectual constitution first. INDIA is a great country but sadly Indians aren’t. JAI HIND.

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