Very good morning all of you. 

For me, this is a very touching moment, very important occasion, and I am grateful for your participation that reflects two aspects. One — Dr. B.R. Ambedkar lives in our hearts. He dominates our mind and touches our soul. Second, that the author, a distinguished Member twice of Karnataka Legislative Council, a student who faced headwinds but turned out to be very meritorious, seen the toughest facet of life, challenges, and solicited Shri D.S. Veeraiah, his work. 

A remarkable work, which is very timely. Ambedkar's Messages bear huge contemporaneous relevance for us. His messages need to permeate down the line up to the family level. The children must come to know about these messages. सामयिक दृष्टि से अंबेडकर के संदेश आज अप्रत्याशित रूप से प्रासंगिक हैं। I am therefore happy to be associated by receiving these works from someone who has spelt out his heart of devotion for one of the greatest sons of this soil. The book needs to be by the bedside, the book knows no generational gap. The book must be read and re-read. Glancing through the book just before going to bed will give you sleep effectively. It's a book that must be your friend ever. 

Friends, as someone associated with Parliament, as by virtue of being Vice-President of the country, I am Chairman Rajya Sabha, the Upper House, the House of Elders, the Council of States. I am therefore immensely satisfied to receive ‘Ambedkar's Messages that must be honoured, respected, first and foremost by parliamentarians and legislators all over the country, then by policymakers. It's English and Hindi versions I have seen through it. It have been so well curated, so well curated by D.S. Veeraiah Ji but I have had the occasion also to know about his other works, some of them are displayed outside. He's an accomplished author and a poet also. So much that Gulbarga University rightly honoured him with a prestigious Ambedkar Award. That is no small achievement. Our congratulations.

Friends, we are living in very momentous times — Amrit Kaal was there. We celebrated it when we had 75^th year of our independence then we had the occasion of commemorating on 26th November 2024, the 75th adoption of the Indian Constitution. 75^th year of adoption of the Indian Constitution is a milestone. The democracy has lived through in spite of challenges, difficult challenges. There has been a Gazette Notification and I'm happy to report to you on July 11, 2024, that 25th June 1975, the day emergency was proclaimed, the day democracy went in darkness as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas. Ambedkar's soul must have wept and wept continually when emergency was imposed, trampling constitutional spirit and essence. Therefore, Dr. Ambedkar's messages in the shape of these two books well compiled is timely reminder to us that his thoughts bear relevance not for academic appetite. They must propel us to get into execution, to fructify his thoughts of equality for all, harmony in society, the growth which he envisioned. Therefore, friends, when we have ‘Amrit Kaal,’ when we have 75^thcommemoration of adoption of Indian Constitution, we have 75^th year of our republic also that is started on 26th January 1950. 

These are propitious times for all of us to engage in discourse, dialogue, debate upon the essence and spirit of the Indian Constitution, a document that defines our democracy. I need to reflect, friends, on some issues that need to agitate public minds, catalyse national discourse, so that we get much-needed corrective path. It is much-needed, I emphasise. 

The Preamble of any Constitution is its soul. The Preamble of Indian Constitution is unique. The Preamble has been imparted by we, the people of India. Friends, except Bharat, nobody's Constitution's preamble has undergone change. And why the preamble is not changeable? Preamble is not alterable? — Preamble is the basis on which the Constitution has grown, the Preamble is the seed of the Constitution. It is the soul of the Constitution but this preamble for Bharat was changed by 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976, adding words Socialist, Secular, and Integrity. 

We must reflect, Dr. Ambedkar did painstakingly work. He would have surely focused on it. Founding fathers thought it befittingly wise to give us that Preamble. No country's preamble has undergone change except Bharat but devastatingly, this change was effective for Bharat at a time when people were virtually enslaved. We the People, the ultimate fountain of power, the best of them were languishing in jails. They were denied access to Judicial System. I am referring to the 22 months of draconian emergency that was proclaimed on 25^th June 1975. So what a travesty of justice? 

First, we change something which is not changeable, alterable. Something that emanates from ‘we the people’ and then you change it during emergency, where we the people were bleeding in heart, in soul. They were in darkness, forgetting that it was painstaking work for about three years to be precise, two years, 11 months, and 18 days when Dr. Ambedkar and his team worked hard, looked all around the planet, looked at our civilisational history of 5,000 years, nationally spirited Members of the Constituent Assembly devotionally gave us the constitution, engaging in debate, dialogue, discourse, deliberation. Not for a moment they engaged in disruption or disturbance. 

Friends, remember, Dr. Ambedkar's navigation of constitution was not easy. There were contentious issues, there were divisive issues to unite the minds of founding fathers was not easy but he negotiated these issues, not by way of confrontational approach, through consensualism that was the dominant factor. Our contemporary times need to heed the sage voice of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. We must reflect why our temples of democracy are sacrileged, why our temples of democracy are ravaged by disruption. These are temples where prayers of the people have to be heard. Alleviation of their issues has to take place. 

Friends, judiciary is an important pillar of our democracy. I belong to that system, gave better part of my life. Let me make this audience aware, and through you, the entire nation, what judiciary felt about the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. There have been, friends, so far, two benches of the Supreme Court in higher formations. An 11-judge bench in I.C. Golaknath vs State of Punjab and another one, 13-judge combination in Kesavananda Bharati. In Golaknath, the issue came up about Preamble, and Justice Hidayatullah, reflecting on the situation, stated explicitly, “The Preamble to our constitution contains in a nutshell its ideals and aspirations. It is not a mere flourish of words, but embodies the objectives with the constitution seeks to achieve.” 

During emergency, the darkest period of Indian democracy, when people were behind the bars, fundamental rights were suspended. In the name of ‘We the People’ who were enslaved, we just go for what? Just flourish of words? It is to be deprecated beyond words. In Kesavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala 1973, 13-judge bench, the judges focused and deeply reflected on Preamble of the Constitution. 

The celebrated judge, Justice H.R. Khanna, “The Preamble serves as a guide to the interpretation of the constitution, and indicates the source from which the constitution derives its authority, namely, the people of India” We are changing the soul of the constitution. We are, as a matter of fact, by these flash of words, added during darkest period of emergency, darkest period for the constitution of the country. In the process, if you deeply reflect, we are giving wings to existential challenges, these words have been added as nasur. These words will create upheaval. Addition of these words in the Preamble during emergency signal betrayal of the mindset of the framers of the constitution. It is nothing but belittling the civilisational wealth and knowledge of this country for thousands of years. It is sacrileging the spirit of Sanatan. 

Let me tell you, apart from Justice Khanna, Justice Hegde and Justice Mukherjee, I quote In the same judgement, “The Preamble of the Constitution, like the soul of the Constitution, is unalterable as it embodies the fundamental values and the philosophy on which the Constitution is based.” It is nothing less than an earthquake for a building whose foundations are sought to be changed from the top floor. Justice Shelat and Justice Grover, I quote what they reflected on Preamble “The Preamble to constitution is not mere preface or introduction, it is a part of the Constitution and is a key to open the mind of the makers, indicating the general purposes for which the people ordained the Constitution.” A very serious work which cannot be altered has been casually, farcically, and with no sense of propriety changed. 

Justice Sikri, another celebrated judge, in that judgement says, “The Preamble of our constitution is of extreme importance and the constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of the grand and noble vision expressed in the Preamble.” Grand and noble vision was tempered, so was Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's spirit. Thus, unhesitatingly, the Preamble crafted by the genius of Dr. Ambedkar and approved by the Constituent Assembly, the soul of the constitution, should have been respected rather than tweaked, altered, and decimated. The change also, friends, militates against our civilisational ethos of thousands of years, where Sanatana philosophy, its spirit, and essence dominated the discourse. 

I, therefore, appreciate, accolade, and congratulate Shri D.S. Veeraiah for creating a book which has contemporary relevance. Friends, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was a visionary, he was a statesman. We should never see Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as a politician. If you go through his journey, you will find it can't be relived ordinarily. It takes extraordinary human effort, spinal strength, to negotiate that journey, the kind of suffering he underwent. Can you ever imagine Dr. B.R. Ambedkar being given Bharat Ratna posthumously? It was my great good fortune to be a member of parliament in 1989 and a minister when one of the greatest sons of soil was conferred posthumously Bharat Ratna. 

But my heart wept. Why so late? Why posthumously? Therefore, I quote, with deep concern, beseeching everyone in the country to search their souls and think for the nation. He said, “I do not want that our loyalty as Indians should in the slightest way be affected by our competitive loyalty, whether that loyalty arises out of our religion, out of our culture, or out of our language. I want all people to be Indian first, Indian last, and nothing else but Indians.” He has given us mantra — हम भारतीय हैं। भारतीयता हमारी पहचान है। राष्ट्रवाद हमारा धर्म है। राष्ट्र सर्वोपरि है। यह डॉक्टर अंबेडकर के वचन हैं। ये वचन अनमोल हैं और आज के दिन ये वचन सबसे बड़ी मरहम हैं। हमारी जो बीमारियाँ हैं, हमारी जो पीड़ादायक स्थिति है, आज जो हम चिंतन, दर्शन के लिए सोच रहे हैं, यह nectar है। 

Another quote, which is caution by Dr. Ambedkar, it was his last address in the Constituent Assembly, 25th November 1949, a day before the Constitution was signed by the members of the Constituent Assembly. And what he said, amazing. I would urge everyone in the country to put it in a frame and to read every day. He says, he is expressing his pain. I quote “What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people. Will history repeat itself?” He goes on to say, I quote, “It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realisation of fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds, we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will Indians place the country above their creed, or will they place creed above the country?” What a caution! What a question! It must stir our minds, because we are having challenging times. 

Dr. Ambedkar further goes, the last day of the Constituent Assembly, his last address, take note of his exhortation. I quote “I do not know, but this much is certain, that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost forever. This eventuality we must all resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood.” I pay my humble tributes to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on this day. And I want the entire country to focus on the changes effected in the Preamble of the Constitution, piercing the soul of the Constitution, in the name of the people who at that time, the darkest period of emergency, were in captivity without access to Justice System and Fundamental Rights that define the democratic values. 

I congratulate the author and everyone connected for this very timely work. 

Thank you. 

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JK/RC/SM