BHUBANESWAR: In order to highlight the basic principles of the constitution and vision of the founding fathers of the nation, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, BJB Autonomous College, organised a seminar on the occasion of Constitution Day at the college premises here Monday.
Inaugurating the seminar, Head of the department (HOD) Nalin Patra said, “It is a day to remember the great personalities who drafted our constitution which protects our rights and liberties.”
Elaborating further he said, “The constitution comprises 90,000 words carefully handwritten in English and Hindi. 271 men and women were part of the constituent assembly that drafted it.”
Addressing the students, Rajlaxmi Das said, “If we respect the rights of others, our rights will automatically be protected. A ‘unique point’ in the Constitution, she remarked, is that the rights and duties have been very comprehensively detailed.” Prior to the seminar, students read out the preamble and took oath to give respect and protect the constitution.
On a similar note, students of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) took oath to become responsible, committed and law-abiding citizens of India on this occasion. Addressing the students, CEO, KISS P K Routray spoke about the significance of this day and elucidated why it needs to be celebrated by the student community. Hailing B R Ambedkar as the principal architect of the constitution, he said constitution is the holy book of our nation and we all should obey it with reverence. Supriya Patnaik of KISS administered the oath to the students as a mark of respect and compliance to the doctrines of our constitution as per its preamble.
Samvidhaan Diwas or Constitution Day is celebrated in India November 26 every year to memorialise the acceptance of Constitution of India. On this day, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India which came into effect January 26, 1950.
The Government of India declared November 26 as Constitution Day November 19, 2015 by a gazette notification. The declaration was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi October 11, 2015 while laying the foundation stone of the B R Ambedkar memorial in Mumbai.
The year 2015 marked the 125th birth anniversary of Ambedkar, who had chaired the drafting committee of the Constituent Assembly and played a pivotal role in the drafting the Constitution of India.
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The framers of our constitution had done a brilliant job. However, people in the legislature, executive and judiciary failed to implement the provisions properly as a consequence of which people began to criticise the constitution. One must remember what former President Rajendra Prasad had said. Whatever the constituent may or may not provide, welfare of the country will depend upon the way in which the country is administered
KANHAYA LAL SHARMA ADVOCATE AT ORISSA COURT