The Election Commission of India (ECI) will soon announce the 2024 General Elections! The citizens of India know this is a watershed moment for the country, and the outcome of the elections will undoubtedly determine its future, particularly the nation's commitment to its Constitution and the future of our democracy!

India as we know it today is on the brink of demise! There are fundamentalist and fascist forces at work, determined to take the country back to the 'dark ages' of history. At stake are India's pluralistic traditions and democratic ethos! 'Good governance' is pathetically lacking! Article 19 (which guarantees freedom of speech and expression), Article 21 (the right to life and liberty), and Article 25 (which guarantees freedom to preach, practise and propagate one's religion), all fundamental rights, for that matter, are consistently denied to citizens. At the receiving end are the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalised, the minorities, the excluded, the exploited, the Adivasis, the Dalits and OBCs; the small farmers and migrant workers; women and children; the differently-abled and other sexually-oriented persons; human rights defenders, journalists and all those who take a visible and vocal stand to protect and promote the idea of a democratic, pluralistic and secular India!

There is a serious lack of political will to address systemic burning issues; there are hurried legislation and draconian, prejudiced policies (all designed to decimate the Constitution) like the National Education Policy, the Citizenship Amendment Act, the anti-conversion laws, the anti-farmer (pro-Corporate) farm laws, the four labour codes, the Forest Conservation Amendment Act, the Uniform Civil Code, 'One Nation, One Election.' Constitutional bodies like the Election Commission, the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the NIA, the police and even the judiciary are compromised; they have become 'Caged Parrots'.

Corruption is the new normal; we have the most corrupt government since independence! First, it was demonetisation; then, the scam of the Electoral Bonds. Fortunately, the path-breaking judgement on the Electoral Bonds by the Supreme Court on February 15 exposed the current government's corruption and lack of transparency and accountability. The State Bank of India (SBI) was mandated to furnish the complete details of the Electoral Bonds to the Apex Court by March 6. In a blatantly corrupt manner, on March 4, the SBI petitioned the SC – for an extension of time till June 30 to provide these details! Realising that a nexus exists between the SBI and the regime doesn't require one to be a rocket scientist! We can only await the SC's decision.

Communalism is everywhere! 'Hindutva' is mainstreamed, from the proliferation of temples to the ascendancy of the RSS in every sector. The pluralistic fabric and the country's rich diversity are being destroyed systematically. In early December, in Jaipur, one of the newly elected MLAs went around closing down non-vegetarian restaurants run by Muslims. On January 22, with much fanfare, the BJP/RSS launched the Ram Temple using official machinery. There are numerous instances of minorities (Muslims, Christians and Sikhs) being targeted and attacked. In Manipur and elsewhere, Christian personnel and institutions are being attacked almost daily! The farmers and the ordinary labourers are on the warpath. Thousands of them, who, at this moment, are outside Delhi, are forbidden from entering the capital city. The government is using every ruse in the book to quell their protest.

On November 26 1949, we, the people of India, gave ourselves a visionary and path-breaking constitution. Thanks to all the members of our Constituent Assembly, eminent women and men from every section of India's society, led by stalwart Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. On November 25 1949, the eve of the enactment of the Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar gave a long but very passionate speech to the Constituent Assembly. His speech set the vision and the spirit of what the new Constitution should be for the people of India. Ambedkar said, "If we wish to maintain democracy not merely in form, but also in fact, what must we do? The first thing, in my judgment, we must do is to hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives…. where constitutional methods are open, there can be no justification for (..) unconstitutional methods. These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy, and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us. The second thing we must do is to observe the caution which John Stuart Mill has given to all who are interested in the maintenance of democracy, namely, not "to lay their liberties at the feet of even a great man, or to trust him with power which enable him to subvert their institutions in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship. The third thing we must do is not to be content with mere political democracy. We must make our political democracy a social democracy as well. Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it, social democracy".

Ambedkar's final words in that path-breaking speech sum up his views on the measure of responsibility owed to preserve the idea of India, as envisioned in the Constitution. "If we wish to preserve the Constitution in which we have sought to enshrine the principle of government of the people, for the people and by the people, let us resolve not to be tardy in the recognition of the evils that lie across our path and which induce people to prefer government for the people to government by the people, nor to be weak in our initiative to remove them. That is the only way to serve the country. I know of no better."

The visionary, Ambedkar, was scrying across time and speaking of India in 2024 when the Constitution is genuinely at stake! Today, the sacred Constitution of India is not only being trampled upon and desecrated but being torn to shreds. The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights (rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948) to every citizen of India; they are based on the four non-negotiable pillars of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. These fundamentals are enshrined in the Preamble with the pledge to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular and Democratic Republic, where dignity, unity and integrity are paramount. Promoting and protecting human rights for ALL and respecting pluralism and diversity is sine qua non for good governance. Sadly, in the past few years, we have witnessed the systematic erosion and the destruction of human rights by those in power.

It is imperative that we, the people, mainstream Constitutionality today, which could include:

• to promote and protect the Constitution in every way;

• to study the Constitution: developing an ownership of it in letter and spirit;

• to organise in-depth training in social analysis and advocacy;

• to ensure that all official policies/legislation which are draconian, anti-people, anti-poor and anti-Constitutional, which go against the democratic and pluralistic fabric of the country, be rescinded immediately and unconditionally;

• to ensure all eligible voters are on the electoral rolls and exercise their franchise freely for democratic, secular parties/individuals. It means that a regime which is fascist, fundamentalist and fanatic and is unable to ensure constitutional rights to all must be voted out!

There are many challenges, indeed! But only when we, the citizens of India, realise and exercise our constitutional mandate will we be able to guarantee the change we want to see in our beloved nation! In the meantime, we need to pray and act in the words of Rabindranath Tagore: "Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!"