Untouchability and Constitution of India

Reflections on Power, Equality, and the Indian Constitution

In the book Assembling India’s Constitution: A New Democratic History, the authors highlight a sobering historical reality: certain high-caste Hindu leaders, including the Shankaracharya, vehemently opposed the constitutional abolition of untouchability. It is a disheartening truth that human history is often defined by a resistance to equality. Across every culture and era, communities that hold the "upper hand" rarely relinquish it willingly; instead, they strive to preserve the hierarchies that benefit them.

The Universality of Hegemony

While this specific context is Indian, the phenomenon is global. We see this impulse toward supremacy reflected in many forms:

• Racial Supremacy: Where white-skinned populations have historically fought to retain dominance over "colored" people.

• Gender Hierarchy: Where men seek to preserve authority over women.

• Socio-Economic Power: Where the wealthy and the politically connected unite to protect their status at the expense of the marginalized.

The Vision of the Constituent Assembly

In light of these pressures, the wisdom of the Constituent Assembly must be lauded. Despite intense pushback, the committee remained steadfast, declaring all citizens equal and enshrining Universal Adult Franchise from the nation's inception. This was a radical act of faith in the common citizen.

The Debate Over the Voting Age

However, the later decision to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 remains a point of significant contention. One could argue that this change was less about empowering the youth and more about political survival—a move by the Congress party to capture a younger demographic.

There is a valid concern that civic maturity and a genuine concern for the nation’s future often develop only after an individual has "settled" into adult life, typically in their mid-to-late twenties. From this perspective, rather than lowering the age to 18, the government might have better served the country by raising it to 25, ensuring a more experienced electorate. This shift highlights how even democratic reforms can be influenced by a desire to retain power.

The Search for a Social Revolution

What the world truly requires is a "social revolution" led by a collective that believes unseweringly in the equality of all humanity and the right of every living being to live freely. But in a world so deeply fractured by divisiveness, we must ask: where will such a group emerge? Is a global shift toward true equality even possible, or is the human drive for dominance too deeply ingrained to be overcome?

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