By Raushan Rajput From Lucknow, India

26^th of Jan is widely known as constitution and republic day because it was a day when the declaration of ‘Purna Swaraj’ was proclaimed in 1930. The role of Sardar Patel in Indian Constitution is incredibly much more decisive. The members of drafting committee were appointed by Sardar Patel. Sardar Patel selected Dr. B. R Ambedkar for drafting the constitution because of his exceptional credentials in law and economics; therefore he’d be aware of the basic legal necessities in India. Patel took a powerful stand against Nehru on key problems like basic rights, the position of the prime minister, the election procedure of the President and the geographical standing of India. The fascinating story of the time was Sardar Patel is one who integrated the 562 princely states.

In 1930 Congress declared ‘Purna Swaraj’ and India got independence in 1947. So can we imagine that we got complete independence? I don’t think so. We have a tendency to justify the liberty politically, not culturally. If the country was so culturally sturdy then, how did it become a profane nation from the Hindu nation? As a result we had not been able to defend our values. Invaders came, reigned over and ransacked India in mass.

In 1931, the Indian flag was Saffron (Bhagwa) with black and navy spinning machine in the face and this flag was adopted by flag committee of India. We know all our great warriors fought for nation under the saffron flag, be it Guru Gobind Singh, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Maharana Pratap or Rani Lakshmi Bai. All India Congress committee failed to adopt this flag. Later again in 1931 there was a meeting of AICC for passing a resolution to alter the given flag in Karachi. Committee of seven was appointed to choose the Indian flag. Once more AICC denied it and didn’t accept the suggestion and thanks its appeasement policies AICC finally, come up with two more color white and Green before stamping it.

On the day of 26 Jan, 1950, the first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, hoisted the flag at India gate. Nehru didn’t want Dr. Prasad as president because of his nationalist views. Nehru actually preferred C. Rajagopalachari. The problem with our history is that it’s heavily distorted and the facts are mixed with fabrications. Indian constitution is one of the most comprehensive in the world with 444 articles taking two years, eleven months and eighteen days. Deputy prime minister and home minister, Sardar Patel had futuristic views on various articles; However, Nehru differed and enforced his views which have led to lot of problems on many front to this day. We ought to look for these unknown facts of Indian Constitution if we want to understand the problems we face today. The enormous irony is that India has become a profane state from a ‘A Hindu nation’. Secular thought means that being tolerant of different faith wherever Hindu thought means mutual affection between all communities.

About the Author: Raushan Rajput is a graduate of Sri Aurobindo College, Delhi University and is currently pursuing Masters from University of Lucknow. His area of Interest are Education and Public Policy, he has worked in organizations like Vision India Foundation, Ekal Foundation and ‘The India Iris’ Org.