Indian Constitution Is A Feminist, Egalitarian, Socially Transformative Document: CJI DY Chandrachud

The Indian Constitution was a feminist document, as well as an egalitarian socially transformative document in that it marked a stark departure from the colonial and post-colonial legacy by introducing universal adult franchise to the marginalised and the dispossessed sections of the people right from its inception, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said on Friday. He noted with pride, "The introduction of universal adult franchise was truly a revolutionary act at a time when such a right had only recently been extended to women, people of colour, and the working class in supposedly mature Western democracies." The adoption of universal adult franchise, the Supreme Court judge explained, was the "boldest move" adopted while drafting a charter that was "truly a product of Indian imagination" because the architects of the instrument were cognisant that political equality would not suffice to "weed out" the inequality that existed in the social and economic spheres of Indian society. This was unlike the experience of Western countries, like the United States of America, where initially the democratic apparatus was set up in a way to entrench the existing power imbalances and oppressive structures in the society.

Chief Justice Chandrachud was delivering the Eighth L.M. Singhvi Memorial Lecture on the topic "Universal Adult Franchise: Translating India's political transformation into a social transformation". The event was hosted by O.P. Jindal Global University in honour of the eponymous Senior Advocate and Member of Parliament. Also in attendance was Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who was invited to the lecture as the chief guest. In his lecture, the Chief Justice gave a prefatory historical conspectus to contextualise the idea of universal adult franchise as it developed across the world, as well as a summary of how it came to be included in our constitutional discourse, and eventually enshrined in our Constitution. Next, he spoke about the journey and development of universal adult franchise in the 70 years after Independence, and how it gave impetus to social transformation. Then, he highlighted the role of the Panchayati Raj system in the "deepening of India's democracy" and the connections between adult franchise and participatory democracy. Finally, he ended his address by reflecting on the "Indian experiment" with the universal adult franchise.

"History tells us that society was regulated by denying power to certain communities," observed Justice Chandrachud, "Therefore, the emergence of the universal adult franchise as a demand aimed at undoing centuries of oppression." He said, "When the U.S. Constitution was adopted, power was concentrated in the hands of the upper class of society. The rights which we now consider as universal were not universal all the time. Across the world, those who did not hold power were subjected to several levels of oppression and these rights were denied to them." The struggle for social change that took place between the 1920s and the Independence, spearheaded by trailblazers like Babasaheb Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule, and Savitribai Phule who worked tirelessly to uplift oppressed castes and classes of the population, was aimed at the "redistribution of power" in society by claiming equal voting rights for the marginalised communities, the Chief Justice explained. Having said that, he acknowledged, "The marginalised communities had to struggle every inch to claim equal rights." "Therefore, the idea of universal adult franchise is not just a political idea, but at its core, is a social idea and vision," Justice Chandrachud told the gathering.

To illustrate how the introduction of the universal adult franchise has enabled oppressed classes to come to the forefront of politics and public life, Justice Chandrachud cited their increasing participation in the electoral process. Marginalised communities, such as the Dalit-Bahujan groups, consider the right to vote and the universal adult franchise to be "sacrosanct features" of the Constitution, the judge said. He explained, "These communities have shown a kind of ownership of the Constitution because they believed that it was the Constitution which gave them equal rights as well as the power to exercise and claim those rights." Speaking about the "silent revolution" engendered across the country by the universal adult franchise, particularly at the grassroots level of local self-governance, Justice Chandrachud said, "The reservation of seats for women and marginalised social groups in panchayats has given them the power to shape their own destinies." Those who were historically oppressed and subjugated, and "denied the rights and powers" that were rightfully theirs, have now become "deciding forces" in the democracy, Justice Chandrachud noted. "This is the transformative potential of universal adult franchise. This is how political transformation through universal adult franchise led to social transformation in Indian society," the judge remarked.