A lot has been argued recently that constitution played a significant role in the electoral process. The constitution being the document of governance and the mechanism to fulfil the aspirations of the people serves an important purpose. This purpose goes beyond its legal and institutional role. But, can the constitution serve as a document which can give a common identity to people? Identity plays a crucial role in shaping both public and private behaviour of an individual. In a stratified society, like India, the individual identity is shaped by multiple factors at multiple levels.
In the realm of constitutional studies, the scholars have often overlooked the aspects of identity. This author has demonstrated in a co-authored article for Comparative and Administrative law journal that the citizens can effectively use the constitution as a tool to assert their constitutional rights, raise awareness of constitutional values, and participate in deliberation on constitutional issues which affect them.
In this process of asserting their rights and using the constitution, they often forge the solidarity based on the common fidelity towards the constitution. These citizens who use the means of constitution resonate their identity with the supreme document only. But the question remains the same, who are these, citizens? Does their identity play an effective role in forging a constitutional identity?
Why identity matters?
Identity is a contextual concept. The identity of an individual is a relative one. Constitution though giving a sense of identity to the citizens tries to supersede the other identities such as caste or religion or sometimes submerge the identity towards finding the voice of a common struggle.
For instance take the case that I documented in my co- authored work Constitutional Ownership in India – A Case Study from Maharashtra and Rajasthan is of Jaya Srikurni from the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra (who served as the head of district administration from 2007 till 2014), exhibits a constitutional engagement for women empowerment, both in grassroots democratic institutions, and in everyday governance for exercising the basic rights.
Also read: ‘We the People’: A Call to Remember What the Indian Constitution Stands For
Her work has addressed the issues of the right to a clean environment and access to education. Her initiative of Savitri Abhiyan which is aimed at facilitating access to education for women has helped women from eight villages to complete their education. The initial days of her work witnessed segregation in the self-help group (SHG) meetings. Women turned up in the SHG meetings when it came to the issues for women’s empowerment, but not when the discussions were on the constitution and its principles because they only considered them for the Dalit women.
Slowly and gradually, with consistent engagement and discussions on constitutional principles, things have changed. Her efforts culminated into increasing awareness of women with regard to their constitutional rights. Speaking on different associated platforms over this idea of constitutionalism helped all the women including those who comes from upper castes to learn about the rights bestowed to them in the constitution.
Thus, the constitution acts as a unifying factor which breaks the shackles of the caste and other identity to forge the constitutional identity. There are different stories of people, especially people from the margin, who are shaping the new language of constitutional identity which cannot be captured in this limited space.
Crafting constitutional identity
Constitutional identity is crafted in many ways, forging a group which engages through art, films, and music with the constitution, giving administrative representation to the people’s concern etc. These activities lead to the rise of identity-based constitutionalism. The rise of identity-based constitutionalism is also closely associated with the attachment to not only to the text but also the Individual.
Scholar Anurag Bhaskar shows that placing Ambedkar in constitutional discourse has facilitated the allegiance of the marginalised to the constitution and thus shaped the idea of Dalit constitutionalism. The phenomenon of constitution taking centre stage in life of the people not only redefines the idea of citizenship but also helps them to make informed choices.
In a recent book titled We the citizens Strengthening the Indian Republic, authors Khyati Pathak, Anupam Manur and Pranay Kotasthane argue that the India lacks an informed debate around the fundamental issues that affect our daily lives. Therefore, integration of the constitutional principles in the life of common people by using it in their daily life makes a case of constitution as a public document.
It also makes evident that shaping a constitutional identity is only possible if the constitution is able to fulfil the aspirations of its citizens, especially the poor and marginalised citizens. Thus, the constitutional identity plays an important role in the idea of defining constitution beyond its legal and institutional meaning.
It places people at the centre of its discourse and sometimes becomes the site of struggle for the marginalised and oppressed communities. Brian Christoper Jones, a lecturer in Law at the University of Dundee, UK and Maartje De Visser, professor of law from Singapore Management University, has argued that “constitutional values and civic cultures have at times defined democracies, and many states have used their founding documents as key symbols to produce a shared identity or civic patriotism”.
India at least in recent years has marched towards a robust constitutional culture. But this culture is largely shaped by Dalits, tribals and Muslims. Therefore, it is the time that those who belong to upper strata of the society, or the oppressor castes, take this responsibility of forging a constitutional identity to show the way of an inclusive common identity.
Rajesh Ranjan is a lawyer and researcher who writes on public engagement with the constitution, law and society.
