Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on November 26, 2018, talking about the significance of the Constitution of India called it a “voice of the marginalised and prudence of majority” on the occasion of the 69th Constitution Day.
“Our constitution is the voice of marginalised and prudence of majority. Its wisdom continues to guide us in moments of crisis. It’s in our best interest to heed advice under the Constitution. If we don’t, our arrogance will result in a sharp descent into chaos,” CJI Gogoi said at an event hosted by the Supreme Court of India at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
Constitution Day, also called Samvidhan Diwas, is celebrated every year on November 26 to celebrate the adoption of the Constitution of India. India’s Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, two years after Independence, and it came into effect two months later on 26 January 1950, the day we became a Republic.
“When it was brought into force, our Constitution was criticised. Sir Ivor Jennings termed it as far too large and rigid. Time has weakened criticism and it’s a matter of pride that our Constitution has lived with great vigour in the last seven decades,” CJI Gogoi said.
On the occasion, the Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also shared his views and said that “ordinary Indian’s sixth sense and DNA of his inherent trust in Indian democratic process, regardless of his religion, caste, community, economic status or literacy is the most defining moment of India's constitutional governance.”
