November 26 marks the 50th Anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. Two months after this event, on January 26, 1950, the (Constitution) came into effect ...

The Constituent Assembly's exertions were the triumph of hope over experience. After all, in a land with an ancient history of politics but a non-existent tradition of political science, there were simply no precedents. The Constitution borrowed heavily from (other countries) ... Underpinning all this was the gentleman's agreement that politics was all about fairplay - and any grey areas would be clarified amicably,

It didn't quite turn out that way ... Today, a combination of legislation, court judgements and the political process has addressed the angularities ... The Constitution is as contemporary as it was at its birth. This is why suggestions that it be changed to ensure a fixed five-year term for the Lok Sabha or that a presidential system be introduced miss the wood for the trees. For a

start, they seek to "protect" democracy by introducing measures that are, in essence, anti-democratic. Second, they ignore that the Constitution has not failed the people - even if the people have sometimes failed ...