: Opinion: Constitutional fidelity must #IndiaNEWS #News By Nayakara Veeresha Hyderabad: India has achieved a fairly well-functioning parliamentary democracy. Democracy is not about majoritarianism

Opinion: Constitutional fidelity must #IndiaNEWS #News
By Nayakara Veeresha
Hyderabad: India has achieved a fairly well-functioning parliamentary democracy. Democracy is not about majoritarianism or authoritative governance. GV Mavalankar, the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha, said: “If we are to go merely by majority, we shall be fostering the seeds of fascism, violence and revolt” while suggesting the cultivation of democratic spirit through Parliament as an independent institution rather than a place of change of party or regimes.
One of the most disturbing aspects of contemporary politics is the normalisation of social violence and the militarisation of society. This needs to be seen from the perspective of masculine politics, the use of force as the main instrument to usher in any kind of change in society. This is one of the dimensions with deep ramifications on the social fabric and political values of the country and is contrary to the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Being Faithful
The constrained space for social science research over religious dominance and supremacy of the singular idea of nation-state means the end of critique, dissent and debate which are the core principles of parliamentary democracy. Be it majoritarian or coalition, what matters is whether the top leadership of the single or multiple parties show commitment to the constitutional values of democracy or not. The role of top leadership matters a lot in protecting and preserving the democratic legitimacy of Parliament as the country witnessed in the formative stages of the Indian republic.
Goodwin Liu et al (2009), in ‘Keeping faith with the Constitution’, introduced the concept of constitutional fidelity to understand the spirit of the Constitution in the context of the United States of America. According to them, constitutional fidelity means “to be faithful to the Constitution is to interpret its words and to apply its principles in ways that preserve the Constitution’s meaning and democratic legitimacy over time”.
Basically, constitutional fidelity is an approach to interpreting the constitutional provisions in a progressive way so as to reflect the social changes in a polity and society. The ongoing rift between the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary reflects the power struggle between the different organs of the state. This is a case of clear violation of the doctrine of the separation of powers and indicates the non-commitment of governing elites to constitutional fidelity.
The constitutional authorities in contemporary times are unhesitant to deviate from the spirit of constitutional fidelity. The growing tussle between the Judiciary and the political Executive especially in delineating a discourse of construing parliamentary supremacy over the other organs reflects the low constitutional morality among the same.

Stock Market NEWS Best intraday tips Intraday Stocks below 100