The Constitution of India, it seems, finds no shortage of takers even in a day and age when it is available on the internet and IS accessible on phone for free, as Parliament steps up efforts to make Indians more aware of the “temple of democracy”. Taking part in the just-concluded World Book Fair in the national capital for the first time, Parliament has sold books worth Rs 10 lakh in five days. And the most sought after among the books was the replica of the original calligraphed Constitution of India, which sold some 500 copies. The “true copy” of the world’s longest hand-written Constitution, which costs Rs 1,200, replicates the intricate works of Prem Behari Narain Raizada, Vasant Krishnan Vaidya and Nandlal Bose. “The indications (about the interest among people) were there but the book fair craze was a revelation,” an official said. Data from the last three years shows that nearly 3,000 copies of the Constitution have been sold by Parliament, representing a steady uptick in sales from its counter. Besides the Parliament library, the calligraphed replica is now available at some Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and other government stalls as well. At the book fair, Parliament sold nearly a hundred copies of the Constituent Assembly Debates (Hindi and English). 'Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Parliament', 'Maulana Abul Kalam Azad', and 'Netaji and INA' were among the other books sold. “Many paid obeisance with folded hands to the replica of the original Constitution at our stall,” a senior official, who is part of the project from 'Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE)', an arm of Parliament, said. In line with its efforts to make its resources accessible to the people, Parliament is working on turning its entire library digital — all Bills, debates, arguments, reports, etc — accessible to the public free of cost. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, officials said, has given an unprecedented push to PRIDE to take Parliament to the “masses”, even crossing the country's borders. Sources said Bhutan, Ghana and Zambia have shown interest in establishing Parliamentary Training Centres in their countries, as have Kenya, Myanmar and Maldives. While schools in Delhi and NCR are known to bring students to visit Parliament, data shows that more than 12,000 school and college students from all parts of the country have visited Parliament since 2018. While the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 stopped the outreach work and physical visits, hundreds of school and college students from states and UTs such as West Bengal, Kerala, the Northeast, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kashmir, Telangana and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, among others, have come since the visits resumed last year. Besides, an official said, “under the Speaker’s direction, the youth, and not just ministers and officials, can now pay floral tributes to pictures and statues of national luminaries in the Central Hall of Parliament on their birth anniversaries as part of Azadi ka Amrit Amhotsav”. There is now an aim to raise awareness among 2 lakh schoolchildren through the “Know Your Parliament” contest — they will be asked questions on the theme “Samajh Sansad Ki (Understanding of Parliament)” as part of commemorating 75 years of Independence.
