Rahul Tripathi
It was during early autumn six years ago, that I was asked to come to the Raj Bhavan, Goa, to discuss with Rupesh Kumar Thakur, the Secretary to the then Governor of Goa and Goa University Chancellor, Mridula Sinha, regarding some ideas that she had on celebrating 70 years of adoption of the Indian Constitution.
An acclaimed author and litterateur with some firm ideas on women’s role and family values, she must be having some “conventional” ideas about celebrating Constitution Day’, I thought. But the meeting with Mr Thakur revealed she had something much more in mind, and I was asked to come prepared for a more detailed discussion with the Governor herself next week.
The meeting that followed next week and several times thereafter, revealed a mind that was actually getting restless with the conventional celebrations of the Republic Day (and more recently Constitution Day) events, without them being really able to connect with common people on what they actually meant for them.
‘The ritualistic celebrations must give way to more meaningfully connected celebrations’ she would argue. ‘The Constitution of India, which starts with ‘We the people’ must be taken to the common people and explained to them in a language that they understand’, she asserted. And hence an idea was born, the idea of ‘We and the Constitution’ conceived as a state wide movement which would take the message and essence of Indian Constitution across the length and breadth of Goa to the ‘aam aadmi’ and the same would be explained to him in simple, easy to comprehend language, which they would be able to forever imbibe and inculcate.
Over the next fortnight after the Constitution Day celebrations, students from across Goa University and the two Law Colleges fanned out to every corner of Goa through street plays, public talks, quiz competitions and elocution contests sensitizing people about Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Duties, Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, Centre-State Relations, Elections, Unity in Diversity, tolerance and mutual respect, dispute and conflict resolution as per the provisions laid down in the Indian Constitution.
The glorious history of drafting the Constitution in India was told through mock Constituent Assembly debates and the contemporary importance of the same in upholding Indian democracy was emphasised through street enactments. The Constitution Week, became a festival of democracy where everybody participated irrespective of age, gender, caste and religion.
Sadly, the verve and spontaneity of the initiative gradually slowed after she left us for her final destination.
However, her zeal and commitment to the cause continues to inspire the bunch of young and old volunteers, and she has become instrumental in committing to the cause.
It is with this spirit, and with high anticipation we announce the creation of ‘Constitution Clubs’ across the entire state of Goa which would like to carry the spirit of “We and the Constitution” further and deeper, so that celebrating the Constitution does not remain a mere ritual, but becomes part of our daily lives.