The Republic of India turned 75 this January, and year-long celebrations themed ‘Humara Samvidhan, Humara Swabhiman (Our Constitution, Our Pride)’ are underway. The theme attempts to reiterate the core values of the Constitution and motivate citizens to uphold its ideals. The events that started on Constitution Day, November 26, have seen the release of a commemorative coin, stamp and books, besides seminars, discussions and dialogues.
The winter session of the Parliament began on November 25, 2024, purportedly with the objective of reflecting on 75 years of the Constitution at work. However, it soon turned into a battleground where the government and opposition locked horns on issues of constitutional sanctity, and debates around symbolism – including invocations to Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the preamble and “the book” itself. Despite the fact that everyone in parliament owed their political existence to the Constitution, and the oath they had all taken to uphold its values, very little genuine soul searching was done by party leaders about why there was such along way to go, for citizens in India to enjoy full citizenship as the Constitution mandated.
Giant puppet Samvidhan Ba with the women working at a NREGA site in Jawaja panchayat. Photo: Akanksha Rajpurohit
In contrast, far away from the power corridors of Delhi, in rural central Rajasthan, an effort to uphold and promote constitutional values at the grassroots has been gaining momentum. A day in the Samvidhan Yatra leads to witnessing change in action.
An idyllic setting in rural Rajasthan meets the eyes – a rocky, semi-arid terrain where the late morning sun is making the neem and khejri trees look brighter, the glimmer of a big pond on the other side reflecting that this area received good rainfall last year, and the humbly majestic Aravalis in the background marking the horizon of this sight. The NREGA site in the foreground is brimming with conversation and laughter. The women working here are interacting with a team travelling from village to village in a loading tempo popularly called “pickup” in local parlance. Spearheaded by the School for Democracy, the team, primarily youth-led, is celebrating Jashn-e-Samvidhan (a Constitution festival) by conducting a Samvidhan Yatra (Constitution journey) and establishing Samvidhan Kendra aur Pustakalay (Constitution centre and library) in villages to mark 75 years of the creation and adoption of the Indian Constitution.
At this site, located between Bhagwanpura and Indra Colony, near the city of Beawar, Shankar Singh from the yatra team is holding a standee on which the preamble to the Indian Constitution is printed. And sitting/standing across this standee, hum bharat ke log (we, the people) are discussing their pension and NREGA-related issues.
After a preliminary discussion, the team puts up a play where the NREGA mate, brilliantly portrayed by Niru Raj, is taking faulty attendance of the workers ensuring that women wear their veils so that the pictures don’t show their faces. “Pushpa Kaki hai kone athe (Pushpa Kaki is not here),” says one of the women workers. “Kaane keve Pushpa Kaki koni aayi? Pushpa Kaki aakoi aayi (Whom are you telling she hasn’t come? Pushpa Kaki is right here),” the NREGA mate says, and puts a shawl on the head of another person, ensuring that it covers his face, and gets him to pose as Pushpa Kaki. The act is met with a lot of laughter, but the message has been driven home. The women are very familiar with what the team is talking about. And then follows an animated discussion on pensions and entitlements, and why they are not reaching them. The conversation establishes how their rights and ways of living are directly connected to the Constitution.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Humour drives most of this conversation, lightening up the atmosphere, but keeping in focus the poignancy of the issue. And then there is more colour to add to this bright visual of the ghaghra-odhni clad women. A giant puppet named Samvidhan Ba (Ba is an old man of the village) wearing a multicoloured turban is sitting among the women. When the songs and slogans begin, much to the delight of the women, he breaks into a dance, and they eventually join him. The air reverberates with the slogan: “Humse hai Samvidhan, Samvidhan se Hum (The Constitution is because of us; we are because of the Constitution).” This creates an ownership of the Constitution by reiterating that it belongs to us, the people. In this way, the yatra focusses on four values of the Constitution: justice, equality, liberty and fraternity through dialogue, discussions, songs and slogans. There is space to express disagreement and disappointment on this platform as well, but they are amicably discussed through bringing in references from the provisions of the Constitution.
After the NREGA site, the pickup goes deeper into the village, where the team spots a government school. An open ground where curious primary students are looking at their new visitors gives a perfect start. The preamble standee is put out, and the first play is staged – here blindfolded people are raising slogans to end the British rule in India when an actor interrupts them and says, “India achieved its freedom 77 years ago; open your eyes.” Now, information about this all-important book called ‘The Constitution of India’ is shared, and a young student leads everyone in the Constitution pledge. “Your right to study is linked to the Constitution,” the students are told.
As the young group absorbs this information, Subham Biswas from the yatra team brings their attention to something interesting; he says, “We have two friends whom we met on the way. They want to come see you. Would you like to meet them?” “Yes, yes!” the students reply in excitement. “Because they are friends, you have to know their names and birthdays, don’t you? You also have to tell them about the four values you learned today,” Biswas says, adding, “Now, close your eyes, everyone.”
As soon as the children open their eyes, they squeal in delight. In front of them are giant puppets Samvidhan Ba (from the NREGA site) and Samvidhan Ya (Ya is an old woman of the village). The students shake hands with them and are very pleased to meet their new friends. But when are their birthdays? Samvidhan Ba says he was born on November 26, 1949, the day the constituent assembly adopted the Constitution. Samvidhan Ya says she was born on January 26, 1950, the day the Constitution came into effect. The students know Republic Day. In this way, in a fun, relatable manner, important information is conveyed to the students. The other members of the team now introduce themselves and tell them about the Samvidhan Kendra that is being started in their panchayat, Jawaja. After singing a song with the students, they move on to a nearby hamlet where they make announcements about the evening programme they plan to hold in the area.
Children at a village in Jawaja panchayat with giant puppets Samvidhan Ba, Samvidhan Ya and other team members. Photo: Subham Biswas
As night falls, a makeshift screen is created by putting a white sheet on the pickup. Here, film clips on the RTI movement and the values of fraternity and equity are shown. Plays, songs and discussions add more life to these evening programmes which have a good footfall despite cold winter nights. And rightly so, because when the team sings, “Aavno padela, thaane aavno padela (You will have to come),” it includes everyone in the song right from the “chingad-mingad (the young ones)” to the “NREGA ki behna (women working at NREGA sites)” and the “buddha-thhada (the seniors)”. The children join in as the pickup passes through the villages, making it a convoy exuding the spirit of solidarity. “We’ve noticed how well the slogans resonate with children. There have been many occasions when, after our meetings, we hear children excitedly running around chanting slogans like ‘Jai Samvidhan’ or ‘Humse hai Samvidhan…’ This fills us with hope. It is truly the women and children who are the pillars we can rely on to build a better, more inclusive India,” Biswas says.
During their visits, when they observe cases of social exclusions in schools, the team members address them through plays and dialogues. They also help those entitled to disability pensions with the concerned verification processes through holding camps. “There are children who have disabilities and should get pensions, but there is not enough awareness. Then there are executionary problems. Say a verification requires retina scan, but the child has blindness; how will the retina scan take place? Moreover, the families of this area have to go to Rajsamand to get signatures from a panel of three doctors. After getting this certificate, they have to visit an eMitra centre for one more process. In a few days, they have to go back for yet another process. It is often tough for a specially abled person to travel by public transport, and for a poor family to hire a vehicle for this work is another roadblock,” Biswas explains.
In three phases, from November 26 to January 26, the Samvidhan Yatra covered over 50 villages in and around three panchayats in central Rajasthan: Thana, Barar and Jawaja. The fourth phase is now continuing in Chhapli panchayat. The Samvidhan Kendra started in each panchayat, will function as a library and study centre as well as a place to address grievances.
The commemoration of 75 years at the national level has seen the release of the Constitution of India in Sanskrit and Maithili. Grassroots efforts like the Samvidhan Yatra take the context deeper into rural India where the universal values of equity, diversity and inclusion are both the medium and the message. While the medium is neatly customised to the local context, the message drives home the larger conversation. Political parties have a fundamental duty to go far beyond parliamentary debates and symbolism, and show their commitment through action across India’s rural and urban communities.
As we celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of the Indian Constitution, the big netas who speak of nationalism and social justice could take a leaf from yatras like these. Such grassroot efforts are what will go a long way in connecting their parties with the people of India. They will help them understand how to genuinely empower “we the people” to give to themselves what they truly deserve as citizens of the world’s largest democracy.
Shefali Martins is an independent journalist.
