DRAFT CONSTITUTION 1191
Sir, under this Constitution, the foundations of a secular democracy have been well and truly laid, and if we are true to ourselves and to our traditions, and to our leader Mahatma Gandhi, we can safely hope that we will march from progress to progress and convert this Constitution into a blessing for this ancient land.
*Shri L. Krishnaswami Bharathi : Sir, no period in the history of India has contributed more memorable events than the short space of the past three years. Looking back upon the past three years since we commenced the stupendous task of framing this Constitution, one is bound to be struck by the kaleidoscopic changes that have happened in the history of our country.
Five memorable events of great magnitude and significance marked out this eventful period. To state them seriatim, they are : 1. the partition of our country, 2. the achievement of independence, 3. the passing away of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, 4. the integration of what are known as Indian States, and last but not least 5. the setting of the Constitution of free India....
†Shri Sarangdhar Das : ...I disagree with most of my friends, particularly the Hindu friends who expatiate on the existence of the republican system of government, i.e., republices in our old Hindu polity. I disagree with them. My contention is that our lower classes, the lower castes of our society, whom we call Harijans, have all along been kept in a depressed condition. Consequently, there was no democracy, If there was democracy, if there was a republic, it was amongst the higher classes, what we call the higher castes, If you look at the Constitution from that point of view. I think the removal of untouchability and the introduction of adult franchise are two of the very best elements that have been introduced in this Constitution. I may remind you, Sir, that in the American Constitution, the franchise was given only to free white citizens, because in those days, there were also white people who were slaves, working as slaves in the West Indies and the Caribbean Islands. They were debarred from the franchise. The black people, the Negroes, were nowhere. They were denied the vote. They came only in the time of Abraham Lincoln, when they were enfranchised. So, I say, in our Constitution, the conceding of adult franchise, of equality of women and of the removal of untouchability, these three things are the best in the Constitution....
*CAD, Official Report, Vol. X, 24th November 1949, p. 903.
† Ibid., p. 913.