"Can't the people of India be trusted with the freedom that has been given to them?"

The phenomenon of the government arming itself with more and more powers to control the people is not of recent origin but began long back, in the second year itself after India's Constitution was adopted on 26th January 1950. The following excerpts from a recent report on The New Indian Express shows what actually caused the first amendment bill and the profound words of Syama Prasad Mookerjee who opposed the Bill. Shri Mookerjee founded Jana Sangh the predecessor of BJP who died later on 23rd June 1953 in Kashmir during imprisonment for defying the order banning entry into the State without 'permission'. The govt. claimed that he died due to heart attack but there were widespread suspicion about the actual cause of his death. The Mother, may years later, said he was assassinated (vide Agenda of the Supramental Action on Earth). 

The Constitution of India - Preamble & Fundamental Rights

The Prime Minister of India Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, while moving the First Amendment Bill, stated that Fundamental Rights were relics of a static age trying to preserve the status quo and social inequalities; whereas Directive Principles were dynamic ideas of social reform and social engineering. The Amendment was conceived to circumvent some verdicts of the judiciary which was vigorously upholding civil liberties. Nehru asserted that "Parliament, representing the will of people, decides on certain social reforms. These are then, by process of interpretation of the Constitution, held up by the judiciary...If the Constitution itself comes in our way, then surely it is time to change the Constitution to that extent." 

 On 12 May 1951, Nehru introduced the Constitution (First Amendment) Bill in Parliament without any prior notice, and on 16 May, the Bill was referred to a Select Committee. There began the first battle of Indian liberalism and Mookejee emerged as a chivalrous defender of Fundamental Rights. He was undeniably a giant in the Indian political landscape. He assailed the First Amendment Bill by calling it ‘the beginning of the encroachment of the liberty of the people of Free India’.

“What he [Nehru] is going to do is nothing short of cutting at the very root of the fundamental principles of the Constitution which he helped, more than anybody else, to pass only about a year and a half ago. This is the challenge he has deliberately thrown at the people of India...is it due to fear? Does he feel that he is incapable today of carrying on the administration of the country unless he is clothed with more and more powers to be arbitrarily utilized so that his will may be the last word on the subject? Or is it his doubt in the wisdom of the people whose champion he has been all his life? Does he feel that people of India have run amuck and cannot be trusted with the freedom that has been given to them?” Mookerjee thundered in Parliament. He criticized further restrictions on free speech and called it a ploy to penalize the government’s political opponents. He argued that democratic freedom necessarily implied that any viewpoint be allowed to circulate in the country so long as it did not advocate violence and chaos.

(Excerpts from "Syama Prasad Mookerjee and the first battle of Indian liberalism, Faisal C.K, The New Indian Express", 6^th July 2024)

Syama Prasad Mookerjee (1901 - 1953)

President Murmu at Puri, calls for protection and conservation of environment

There are places that bring us in closer touch with the essence of life and remind us that we are part of nature. Mountains, forests, rivers and seashores appeal to something deep within us. As I walked along the seashore today, I felt a communion with the surroundings – the gentle wind, the roar of the waves, and the immense expanse of water. It was a meditative experience.

Smt Murmu at the beach of Puri, Odisha 

It brought to me a profound inner peace that I had also felt when I had a darshan of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannathji yesterday. And I am not alone in having such an experience; all of us can feel that way when we encounter something that is far larger than us, that sustains us and that makes our lives meaningful. In the hustle and bustle of the daily grind, we lose this connection with Mother Nature. Humankind believes it has mastered nature and is exploiting it for its own short-term benefits. The result is for all to see. This summer, many parts of India suffered a terrible series of heatwaves. Extreme weather events have become more frequent around the globe in recent years. The situation is projected to be far worse in the decades to come.

More than seventy percent of the surface of the earth is made up of oceans, and global warming is leading to a rise in global sea levels, threatening to submerge coastal areas. The oceans and the rich variety of flora and fauna found there have suffered heavily due to different kinds of pollution.

Fortunately, people living in nature’s lap have sustained traditions that can show us the way. Inhabitants of coastal areas, for example, know the language of the winds and waves of the sea. Following our ancestors, they worship the sea as God. There are two ways, I believe, to meet the challenge of protection and conservation of the environment; broader steps that can come from governments and international organisations, and smaller, local steps that we can take as citizens. The two are, of course, complementary. Let us pledge to do what we can do – individually, locally – for the sake of a better tomorrow. We owe it to our children.

- President Murmu

President Murmu witnessed the Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra yesterday and joined the devotees in the centuries old tradition of pulling the chariot of Jagannath

She said in a message on Twitter: "For me, it was one of those blessed moments that make us aware of the presence of the Supreme Being. May there be peace and prosperity around the world by the grace of Mahaprabhu Jagannath!". 

Source: Twitter @rashtrapatibhvn