Take it from the top

It stands as a towering testament to the power of words. 75 years after we adopted the Constitution of India, its beauty, might and ambition remain perhaps most evident in its Preamble. So, how have we fared on the promises the country made to itself all those years ago?

- R Sukumar

"We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens: Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation..."

That's how the Constitution that was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, starts.

I can think of few better beginnings for texts as well as countries.

The document was amended in 1976 to introduce the terms "socialist" and "secular", and an assurance about the integrity of the Nation in addition to its unity. The Constitution came into effect exactly 75 years ago today, on January 26, 1950.

India's Constitution is the longest written one in the world. It holds 146,385 words and is broken up into 448 articles, 12 schedules and 25 parts.

Today, 75 years on, a reckoning of the Constitution does not require an analysis of all 146,385 words. The extract from its preamble reproduced at the beginning of this essay will suffice. In that lies its beauty and power. This essay will attempt such a reckoning.

The first two descriptors are easy.

The first two descriptors in that it has a mind of its own, and is not a vassal state. It is also an electoral democracy (and one that does very well in terms of

handover of power, although political parties have displayed a tendency to subvert popular mandates to their advantage). The country isn't yet a perfect (or even good enough) liberal democracy, but that could also be said of many Western countries that tout themselves as liberal democracies.

There is data, or convenient proxies, for some of the other parameters being assessed.

For instance, crimes against people from the scheduled castes and tribes are a good proxy for social justice.