DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 26: Governor of Assam and Nagaland, Prof Jagdish Mukhi today reminded the people of the State that their duties towards the nation should not be limited to fundamental duties alone.
“It should be wide spread and people of our country should be united to mobilize the public and generate massive awareness for fundamental duties as people’s movement is the strongest tool in a democracy,” the Governor said in his virtual address during the celebration of Constitution Day at Raj Bhavan Kohima.
He informed that, today the Constitution Day is being celebrated on the theme, ‘India – the Mother of Democracy’ and the country has the privilege of structuring, nurturing and sustaining the biggest democracy of the world.
He reminding that the Constitution is the lone source of strength to all of us and it should be made more meaningful to the lives of all ordinary people and that the Constitution has to connect with their everyday existence and make it more meaningful.
The Governor mentioned that today is an occasion which marks the anniversary of the adoption of our Constitution on November 26, 1949. He reminded that this is the day to recall the monumental contribution of the great souls of the Constituent Assembly who completed the task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India. Their hard and committed work produced a document, handwritten in 90,000 words which continue to be our guiding light.
He also expressed that a crucial role in this whole exercise was played by Babasaheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Dr. Rajendra Prasad. As a result, the Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949 and it was in 2015, the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared November 26 as the Constitution Day to acknowledge and respect the contribution of the framers of the Constitution.
He further stressed that, perhaps the most important feature of our Constitution is that its philosophy is everlasting, but its clauses are flexible.
Constitution framers were very far-sighted thus, making our Constitution flexible to give our future generation the power to change the clauses of the Constitution to make them more meaningful and compatible with changing times, he said.
He mentioned that one of the finest contributions of the framers of the Constitution is their step that the sovereignty of the nation is ultimately vested with the citizens of the country. Therefore, the Constituent Assembly was of the firm belief that they have a claim to Fundamental Rights. However, the citizens also have obligations towards the nation and the society in the form of Fundamental Duties, he added
Commissioner & Secretary to Governor, T Mhabemo Yanthan, in his key note address, honoured and acknowledged the contributions of Founding Fathers of the Constitution and paid homage to far-sighted great personalities like Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and Dr. Rajendra Prasad. He further stated that the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India desires the active participation of people from all walks of life that would spread our constitutional values to the nook and corner of our country while celebrating Constitution Day.
He stated that November 26 holds a significant mark in the history of independent India heralding the dawn of a new era, when the Constitution of India was adopted on this day in 1949 and came into force on January 26, 1950.
The Constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic assuring every Indian citizen justice, equality, and liberty and endeavours to promote fraternity.
He expressed that, this remarkable invaluable document binds our diverse country and there is no doubt that democracy is perhaps the only natural way to govern India, given the diversity of its languages, religion, ethnicity, and culture and it is befitting that the Constitution Day is being celebrated this year on the theme “India – the Mother of Democracy”.
He also appealed to everyone to continue to uphold and nurture democratic values and practices and pledge to safeguard and be stalwarts of our Constitutional values.
Earlier Constitution Day pledge was administered by Judge, Guwahati High Court Kohima Bench, Justice Kakheto Sema. Members of the NPSC, Information Commission, host of legal luminaries, officials of both Central and State Government, officers and staff of Raj Bhavan and securities personnel attached to Raj Bhavan and other media personnel attended the programme.
(Page News Service)
