The ambit of fraternity and the wages of oblivion
Introduction:
“ WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”
About fraternity:
- “These principles of liberty, equality and fraternity are not to be treated as separate items in a trinity. They form a union of trinity in the sense that to divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy,’ said B.R. Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly, in 1949.
- Dr Ambedkar defines fraternity as “a sense of common brotherhood and sisterhood among all Indians.” He was sure in his opinion that “equality and liberty will be no deeper than coats of paint” without fraternity.
| The values of liberty, equality and fraternity in our Preamble is taken directly from the national motto of France: Liberté, égalité, fraternité, which in term came from the French Revolution (1789). |
The responsibility of the individual citizen
- B.R. Ambedkar provided its rationale with remarkable foresight: ‘We must begin by acknowledging the fact there is a complete absence of two things in Indian society. One of these is equality’ and as a result of it we would enter into ‘a life of contradictions’ on January 26, 1950.
- However, practical adherence to this commitment was given shape only by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976) in Article 51A (e) on Fundamental Duties. It makes it the duty of every citizen of India ‘to promote harmony and the spirit of common among all the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities.’
- Significantly, the responsibility for bringing this about does not rest with the state but seems to be the responsibility of the individual citizen. We, therefore, need to comprehend the meaning and relevance of this pious wish.
- The idea of fraternity is based on the view that people have responsibilities to each other. It was defined after the French Revolution in the following terms: ‘Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you; do constantly to others the good which you would wish to receive from them.’
The shape of inequality
- An aggravating factor, often overlooked, is the shape that inequality takes in different segments of our society. It is economic on one plane; on others it is regional, caste and religious.
- Sociologists have identified nine categories of people who are determined to be socially and/or politically and/or economically excluded. These particularly include Dalits, Adivasis, women and religious minorities.
- Recent studies on religious minorities who constitute around 20% of India’s population have traced discrimination relating to them to perceptions that relate to the very origins of thinking that brought about the partition of August 1947. They argue that violence was not merely accidental but integral to the foundation of the nation and that the need for fraternity coexisted with the imperative need for restoring social cohesion in segments of society.
- A primary concern of the Constitution-makers related to cohesion and integration of the units of the new Republic formally described as ‘A Union of States’. In the words of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, ‘the inspiration and the stimulus came from above rather than from below and unless the transplanted growth takes a healthy root in the soil, there will be a danger of collapse and chaos.’ This was amplified by V.P. Menon as the ‘integration of the minds of the people’.
In a speech in the Constituent Assembly on December 22, 1952, B.R. Ambedkar dwelt on what he called ‘Conditions Precedent for the Successful Working of Democracy’. He listed these as:
- absence of glaring inequalities
- presence of an opposition
- equality of law and administration
- observance of constitutional morality
- avoidance of tyranny of majority over minority
- a functioning of moral order in society
- public conscience.
Fraternity in present times:
- Over time, uneven development has characterised the States of the Indian Union. Regional and linguistic diversity characterises them. And so does uneven economic development and progress, resulting in uneven levels of education, employment, social cohesion and contentment.
- 75 years after independence , a candid assessment of the state of the Republic makes us ponder on evidence of regional diversity, assertion of linguistic identity and emergence of diverging political orientations.
- While the first two are physical and social realities, the third is a product of thriving diversity. Each is real, each is also disconcerting from the viewpoint of federal governance hitherto practised, and each seeks accommodation in a divergent framework.
- Article 51A(e) of the Constitution does not differentiate between citizens on any of the categories mentioned above and makes it an all-encompassing duty. Its ambit therefore is universal; its observance, by the same logic, has to begin at the base of the ladder of citizenship rather than the top but does not spare the leadership from the obligation to promote and practise it.
Conclusion:
The term ‘fraternity’ refers to a sense of brotherhood as well as an emotional bond with the country and its people. We must cultivate the sense of this brotherhood in order to truly realise “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
Rules for identifying criminals
Context
On September 19, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified the rules governing The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022. The legislation would enable police and central investigating agencies to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples including retina and iris scans of arrested persons.
About Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022:
- The Act seeks to repeal the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920, which is over 100-years-old. The old Act’s scope was limited to capturing of finger impression, foot-print impressions and photographs of convicted prisoners and certain category of arrested and non-convicted persons on the orders of a Magistrate.
- The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill when it was introduced in Parliament said that new ‘‘measurement’’ techniques being used in advanced countries are giving credible and reliable results and are recognised world over.
- It said that the 1920 Act does not provide for taking these body measurements as many of the techniques and technologies had not been developed then. The Act empowers a Magistrate to direct any person to give measurements, which till now was reserved for convicts and those involved in heinous crimes. It also enables the police upto the rank of a Head Constable to take measurements of any person who resists or refuses to give measurements.
As per the rules, “measurements” include
- finger-impressions
- palm-print
- footprint
- photographs
- iris and retina scan
- physical, biological samples and their analysis
- behavioural attributes including signatures, handwriting or any other examination referred to in Section 53 or 53A of CrPC, 1973
Concerns about the misuse of the Act
- When the Bill was debated in Parliament in March this year, the Opposition members termed it “unconstitutional” and an attack on privacy as it allowed the record of samples of even political detainees.
- However, the rules notified on September 19 state that samples of those detained under preventive Sections such as 107, 108, 109, 110, 144, 145 and 151 of the CrPC shall not be taken unless such person is charged or arrested in connection with any other offence punishable under any other law. It can also be taken if a person has been ordered to give security for his good behaviour for maintaining peace under Section 117 of the said Code for a proceeding under the said Sections.
- The rules do not mention the procedure to be adopted for convicted persons.
Repository of the measurement data
- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under MHA will be the one-stop agency for storing and preserving the data of arrested persons.
- The State governments can also store the data, but it shall provide compatible application programming interfaces for sharing the measurements or record of measurements with the NCRB.
- The rules state that the NCRB will issue Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for collection of measurements which would include specifications of the equipment or devices to be used, specifications and the digital and physical format of the measurements etc.
- The rules said that in case any measurement is collected in physical form or in a non-standard digital format, it shall be converted into standard digital format and thereafter uploaded in the database as per the SOP.
- Only authorised users could upload the measurements in the central database in an encrypted format.
Provisions for destruction of records in case a suspect is acquitted:
It is yet to be specified by the NCRB. The rules state that any request for destruction of records shall be made to the Nodal Officer who is to be nominated by the respective State Government. The nodal officer will recommend the destruction after verifying that such record of measurements is not linked with any other criminal cases.
Facial recognition technology (FRT):
- It is a biometric technology that uses distinctive features of the face to identify and distinguish an individual.
- In the Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS), the large database (containing photos and videos of peoples’ faces) is used to match and identify the person.
- Image of an unidentified person, taken from CCTV footage, is compared to the existing database using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, for pattern-finding and matching.
- Though the Criminal Procedure Identification Rules (CPIR), 2022 does not explicitly mention FRT or AFRS, some concerns have been raised over its potential use by police and other investigative agencies. Already Delhi Police is using FRT.
Conclusion:
Use of technology for better identification of criminals and record keeping must be balanced with the citizens’ right to privacy, which is now recognised as a fundamental right under Indian constitution.
