India is one of the biggest countries in the world. It has a population over 1 billion and it is the second most populated country in the world. India is a third world country with about 40 % of the total population is living below the poverty level. The British ruled India for about 250 years. Finally India obtained its freedom on the 15th of August 1947. To attain freedom was not easy. Many people sacrificed their life for the sake of the country. So after freedom it was necessary for the Indians to form a Constitution, that would give everyone equal rights and status in the new formed nation.

            The Constitution of India is one of the best constitutions and also one of the lengthiest constitutions in the world. Though India attained freedom on 15th August 1947, The Constitution of the Republic came into effect on 26th of January 1950. It was framed after a careful study of a number of constitutions and an effort was made to retain that the best of them come into being. The Constitution of India is a product of the Constituent Assembly, which had been elected for undivided India. The Constituent Assembly held its first meeting on 9th December 1946. After that they met a couple of other times regarding the final draft of the Constitution. “The Indian Constitution closely follows the British Parliamentary model, but differs from it in one important aspect and that is, the Constitution of India is supreme, not the Parliament. So the Indian courts are vested with the authority to adjudicate on the constitutionality of any law passed by the Indian Parliament" Wig). The Indian Constitution is one of the most frequently amended constitutions of the world. The first amendment came only one year after the constitution was written followed by many more. (http://www.free-definition.com/Constitution-of-India.html) .

            The preamble of the Indian Constitution is as follows:

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION”       ( http://www.iloveindia.com/constitution-of-india/preamble.html).

           But the real question that we need to ask ourselves is that, are we following the above mentioned lines or we have just forgotten whatever is written in the Constitution and making our own way.

            In the beginning of the constitutional arrangements relating to governance worked more or less to general satisfaction of the people, abiding citizens with a safe and secure life. But as time progressed government’s inadequacies have become more evident and the Government has lost its vigor as it failed to live up with the expectations of the Constitutions to give real substance to the policies that has been designed by our forefathers and even the modest expectations has been remained unfulfilled. The Government has also violated various fundamental and human rights that has been granted by the Constitution.

The provisions of Part III of Indian Constitution, which enumerates the fundamental rights of an individual, are more elaborate than any other Constitutions of the world. The purpose of the fundamental rights is to protect the people of the country from the executive branch as well as from the power of the legislature. It is basically included in the Constitution as that the Government can’t take any decision according to their wish. They have to abide by the rules of the Constitution. The Indian Constitution clarifies the fundamental rights into the following six groups: right to equality, right to particular freedoms, right against exploitation, right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, and the right to constitutional remedies. But are these rights completely followed by the government as the way they have been mentioned in the Constitution?

“Article 15 of the Constitution says that there should be no discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth”(http://www.constitution.org/cons/india/p03015.html). But Caste System in India is still prevalent. The caste system in India has originated around 1500 B.C. The caste system divided the society into a system of ranking of castes. The highest caste was Brahmins (consisting of teachers, priests, and scholars), and then came the Kshatriyas (consisting of warriors, nobles, and rulers). Next in line were the Vaishyas (bankers, traders and the like) and lastly came the Shudras (artisans and laborers). Later a fifth category also developed: the Panchams or outcastes, who engaged in leather making, street cleaning or out right scavenging.

The caste system basically depended on an individual’s background instead of their capabilities. Thus the children of a, say, Shudra would always be a Shudra and so on. With time, this system got more rigid with the superior castes looking down upon and severely discriminating against the lower caste. But things changed rapidly after the formation of the Constitution. . The Constitution outlawed discrimination against untouchables (both men and women) and all lower castes. All citizens irrespective to their caste, creed, color, race, sex, were given equal rights and opportunities. In fact the founding fathers of the Constitution, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, took pains to identify the castes, which have long been oppressed and listed them “scheduled caste” and “scheduled tribes” (SC and ST for short). They also realized that these people should be given special advantages in the society for their accelerated development and progress. The government therefore provided reservations for them in the field of education and government jobs. (Constitution of India). 

This is where the problem came into play. Today the Indian government is using the policy of “reservation of seats” to their advantage and is discriminating against the common man. Initially the “reservation system” measures coupled with education and modern industrial life weakened many caste barriers. People from the lower caste started mixing freely with individuals from the upper caste but caste prejudice still remains a dominant undercurrent in all-social interactions. The “reservation system” as introduced by the founding father has the biggest catalyst for change. But there has been some adverse effect to it. In some cases, the founding fathers could perhaps not even visualize that the special provisions could be so widely abused and misused for short-term gains by unscrupulous people.