75 YEARS, ONE CONSTITUTION: THE UNFINISHED REVOLUTION OF 'WE THE PEOPLE'

Seventy-five years ago, as our Constitution came freshly inked, "We the People" comprised citizens coming out of a colonial history and into a more luminous democratic future.

- TUSHAR V SHARMA

Now, "We the People" is not just about what happens when we come together on the streets and in meeting halls, but also about how we communicate online, which voices are elevated, and how unseen systems decide. The aim must be to make sure that the Constitutional ideals don't get outpaced by the times in this new digital era, in which software can steer public opinion as effectively as any lawmaker.

The Founding Fathers who crafted our Constitution did not envision smartphones, social media or artificial intelligence. However, their vision still moves us. They gave us such freedoms as freedom of speech, as well as equality under the law, the rights that hung our fledgling nation from the ceiling as its frame dried. These rights now must go further. Ensuring a "right to privacy" has become more critical than ever in a world where our personal data is constantly being captured and analysed. Is it time to raise privacy from a legal to a core fundamental right that merits the same treatment we reserve for free speech and equality?