India's constitutional journey has etched a remarkable arc

Democracy is more than a form of government; it is 'associated living'. This means that we have to eliminate from our social fabric all exclusions and disabilities

- R Venkataramani

The statement of Winston Churchill cynically doubting the sustenance of democracy in India has long ago been put to rest. Election after election, we, the people of India, notwithstanding all possible distractions which may arise in a democracy and more so in a nation of unparalleled diversity, have demonstrated our unflinching allegiance to the endurance of the Constitution. Much has been written about in legal and political literature about the endurance of constitutions, though with focus on Asian and South American countries, but not closely enough to capture the kaleidoscope of India's democracy.

Legal scholars in India have considered their job done by discussing what the courts have done towards strengthening the rule of law. The symbiotic connections of people, processes and institutions, again notwithstanding some deficiencies and frailties, need to be written. Maybe even the theme of how these connections contributed to the making of our Constitution needs to be studied to understand how ours is a special story of constitutional endurance.

Democracy and constitutional endurance are intertwined, the one reinforces the other. How have matters such as people's affection with, attachment to and confidence in the democratic process, which requires an intimacy and connection between the elected and the electorate, been made possible in a huge republic like ours? It has been argued in the early days of American democracy that the kind of intimacy that generates trust and faith in a closed social setting would be impossible in a continent-sized republic. It was asked how governments could retain the confidence of the people if one weakened the foundations on which that confidence was based.