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Journalism of Courage
The recast of the heart of New Delhi will now include the renaming of the road between Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate from Rajpath to “Kartavya Path” – its theme of duty a road well trod by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this past year through its 75th-anniversary celebrations of Independence.
The iconic boulevard, with its wide, green lawns that are already being remade and relaid, has existed since the early decades of the 20th Century. It was named “Kingsway” by the British in around 1920 in honour of Emperor of India George V who had visited the city for the Delhi Durbar in 1911, when he proclaimed the decision to move the British Raj’s Capital from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to the former centre of Mughal power.
After Independence, the Kingsway became “Rajpath” (almost a literal translation) – with Parliament just a stone’s throw away. The “Queensway”, the road bisecting it, was renamed “Janpath” or “The People’s Path”.
In reinforcing “duty” now in its redesign of the Central Vista in the Capital, the Modi government is seen as harking on the Constitution’s reference to fundamental duties that were initially introduced by the Indira Gandhi government during Emergency. Initially, 10 were incorporated in Part IV-A of the Constitution by the Constitution 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, based on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh committee. The concept of fundamental duties, taken from the constitution of the Soviet Union, emphasises the obligation of citizens in exchange for the fundamental rights they enjoy.
At present, there are 11 fundamental duties described under Article 51(A), of which the 11th was added by the 86th Amendment in 2002 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The duties are not enforceable by law but a court may take them into account while adjudicating a matter.
A look at some of the PM’s speeches over the past year with references to duty:
Independence Day speech (August 15)
The PM set out his “broad vision” for the next quarter of a century, calling the five commitments for the next 25 years the “Panch Pran of Amrit Kaal”. The fifth “pran”, Modi said, was the duty of citizens. “This virtue is going to be the vital life force if we want to achieve the dreams we have for the next 25 years,” he said from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
Closing ceremony of the centenary celebrations of the Bihar Assembly (July 12)
“We have to reach the golden goal of building a New India in this century, in the next 25 years. Our duties will take us to these goals. Therefore, these 25 years are the years of walking on the path of duty for our country. This 25 year-period is the period to dedicate oneself with a sense of duty. We need to place ourselves in the spirit of duty for us, for our society and our country. We need to go beyond perfection in terms of our duties.”
“We should not consider our duties as separate from our rights. The more we work for our duties, the stronger our rights will be. Our commitment to duty is the guarantee of our rights.”
At the release of journalist Ram Bahadur Rai’s book on the Constitution, titled Bhartiya Samvidhan: Ankahi Kahani (June 18)
“If we have rights, we also have duties, and if we have duties, then the rights will be equally strong. Therefore, the country is talking about a sense of duty and laying so much emphasis on duties during the ‘Amrit Kaal’ of Independence.”
Video address to Matua Dharma Mela in Thakurnagar, West Bengal (March 29)
The Matua dharma was founded by Harichand Thakur in Orakandi, Bangladesh, in 1812. This was adopted by members of the Namasudra community. They form one of the largest chunks of Scheduled Castes in Bengal.
“Sri Sri Harichand Thakur ji (preceptor of Matua dharma) has given another message which is a source of inspiration for every Indian during ‘Azadi ka Amrit Kaal’. Besides the divine love, he has also made us aware of our duties… Our constitution gives us various rights. We can preserve those rights only when we perform our duties honestly,” Modi told the Mela participants.
At the inauguration of Biplobi Bharat Gallery at Victoria Memorial, Kolkata (March 23)
“We have to move forward with a new vision in New India. This new vision is of India’s self-confidence, self-reliance, ancient identity and future progress. And the sense of duty is of paramount importance. The more faithfully we perform our duties, the more profound are our efforts, the more imposing will be the future of the country. Therefore, ‘devotion to duty’ should be our national spirit. ‘Respect towards duty’ should be our national motivation. Duty should be the national character of India.”
“When each and every Indian gives top priority to his duties, follows them with full devotion, then India will not face any problem in moving forward and no one will be able to stop it from moving forward.”
Address to Brahma Kumaris, a spiritual movement (January 20)
“We also have to admit that in the 75 years after Independence, a malaise has afflicted our society, our nation and all of us. It is that we turned away from our duties and did not give them primacy. In the last 75 years, we only kept talking about rights, fighting for rights and wasting our time. The issue of rights may be right to some extent in certain circumstances, but neglecting one’s duties completely has played a huge role in keeping India vulnerable.”
“India lost considerable time because duties were not accorded priority. We can make up for the gap which has been created due to primacy about rights while keeping duties at bay in these 75 years by discharging duties in the next 25 years.”
“We all have to light a lamp in the heart of every citizen of the country – the lamp of duty. If we can take the country forward on the path of duty together, then the evils prevailing in the society will also be banished and the country will also reach new heights.”
At the Constitution Day celebrations in Parliament Central Hall (November 26, 2021)
“But the seeds of duties that Mahatma Gandhi had sown should have become a banyan tree after Independence. But unfortunately, such a system of governance developed which only talked about assuring the rights of the people as long as they (political parties) were there. It would have been better if the duty had been emphasised after Independence, then the rights would have been automatically protected.”
“Duty gives a sense of responsibility and duty gives a sense of responsibility towards the society. Rights sometimes lead to a tendency that ‘I should get my rights’ and there is an attempt to frustrate society. With the sense of duty, there is a feeling in a common man that this is my responsibility which I have to fulfil. And when I perform the duty, then someone’s right gets automatically protected, respected and honoured. A healthy society is created as a result of both duties and rights.”
“It is very necessary for us that we walk on the path of protecting the rights through duties during this Amrit Mahotsav of freedom. It is the path of duty in which the rights are guaranteed, it is the path of duty which accepts others’ rights with respect and gives them their due. And when we are celebrating Constitution Day, we should always have this spirit that the rights of everyone will be protected if we continue to walk on the path of duty with a greater degree of devotion and rigour.”
