ON November 25, 1949, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar stood in the Constituent Assembly delivering his concluding speech on the process of the Constitution of India. The very next day, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India. However, Dr. Ambedkar cautioned that the document was meant to guide a civil society on its path of democracy and pluralism.

 

He proposed four core values for the new Republic of India. If India followed those guiding principles, it would be on the right paths, the great visionary said. His first point was about abandonment of unconstitutional methods’ to have demands fulfilled. The second point was, India should not get trapped in hero-worship or blind devotion to leaders in politics. The third value he proposed was about social and economic democracy.

 

And the fourth value he insisted upon was about liberty, equality, and brotherhood. That speech of Dr. Ambedkar, popularly titled ‘The Grammar of Anarchy’, is often quoted as a word of caution against the misuse and abuse of the Constitution’s letter and spirit. The current reign of Opposition politics forces one to think of that word of caution by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. It is unfortunate that brandishing red-covered copy of the ‘Constitution’, the Opposition leaders are often seen to follow almost every unconstitutional method possible to push the State to take extreme steps to curb dissent. It is India’s good luck that the Government is wise enough not to cross the line of decency, decorum, discipline and democracy. The Opposition, however, is hell bent upon pushing the country into a state of anarchy. The common people of India are disturbed by the senseless arguments and protests involving every possible constitutional institution including Parliament, Supreme Court, Election Commission ... just to name a few. In the process, the Opposition does not mind using abusive language about national leaders, and does not hesitate in pushing utterly false narratives that actually serve no purpose.

 

In election after election, the Opposition is getting rebuffed by the voters, though its leaders are refusing to learn any lessons. By such behaviour, they remind the people of the warning Dr. Ambedkar had issued in his Grammar of Anarchy statement. Time and again, through his long years in public life, Dr. Ambedkar often insisted upon constitutional methods to express dissent. Unfortunately, the Opposition is doing exactly the opposite -- in the name of the Constitution. It is time, therefore, the common people started accosting the Opposition and remind it of the ominous warning Dr. Ambedkar had given those many years ago even before the Constitution was formally adopted. There is no doubt that the Opposition’s ways and means are never going to help it gain an upper hand in politics. Yet, because of their mad insistence upon unconstitutional methods, the Opposition leaders are pushing the nation towards a state of anarchy. India cannot afford such a terrible luxury. India of modern times should be a genuine representation of a civil society the Constitution had envisioned. At the current moment, the Opposition needs to know that it is indulging in sinful activities maligning the Constitution. It will learn its lessons the hard way through elections, all right. But until that happens finally, the people should step forward to question the Opposition openly at every step of the way.