The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Madras high court Justice G.R. Swaminathan, speaking at a public function on April 2, said that for the Indian constitution to continue to exist, it was necessary to maintain the exact “demographic profile which existed at the time of drafting the constitution”.
In his own words, as per LiveLaw, he said, “Constitution is the ultimate for everyone… If the constitution has to remain the same, the demographic profile which existed at the time of the formation of the constitution has to be maintained. Only when the demographic profile remains the same, the constitution will remain the same. If the demographic profile changes, the constitution will perish.”
Persisting with the general theme, Justice Swaminathan said that to maintain the “demographic profile”, one had to follow the “Bharatiya traditions” and “dharmas” that have existed.
Speaking in Tamil at a book release function, where controversial BJP leader H. Raja was also a speaker, Justice Swaminathan interpreted Tamil poet-saint Andal’s hymns, where, as per the judge, the poet asks people to “wake up”. He said it meant people must awaken as “Indian society” was “under a lot of danger.”
His exact words were, “When Andal sang in her hymns asking people to wake up from their sleep, I believed she was calling the Indian society to wake up which was sleeping peacefully without knowing that it was under a lot of danger.”
He added that as he was a judge, he could not make any more comments.
Reacting to the comments, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal commented that the constitution will “might not survive if judges have such a mindset”.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “Justice G R Swaminathan (Madras High Court): Constitution will cease to exist if country’s “demographic profile” is alteredâ€æas a judge I cannot speak beyond thisâ€æI hope you understand. My take: The constitution may not survive if judges have such a mindset.”