Hyderabad: Narendra Damodar Jadhav, former Rajya Sabha Member, former Vice-Chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University, and former Chief Economist of the Reserve Bank of India, delivered the prestigious annual ‘Justice Konda Madhava Reddy Memorial Lecture’ organised by Justice Konda Madhava Reddy

Foundation, on the topic “55 years of The Constitution Making and the Role of Dr BR Ambedkar” on Saturday at AV College, Domalguda.

The event was presided over by Justice B Sudarshan Reddy, former Supreme Court Judge, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, Member of Parliament, Chevella Constituency, was present.

Narendra Damodar Jadhav, delivering his lecture said that most people are baffled by the mention of 55 years of Constitution-making, people believe that the Indian Constitution was written during the period 1946 to 1950, which was the period when the Constituent Assembly was working to create the constitution of India, However, this statement is a half-truth, in reality, the Indian Constitution was the outcome of a 55-year long process of constitutional reforms starting way back in 1895, that is why it is 55.

Do you know there were two parallel tracks of constitutional reforms – one from the British Rulers and the second from Indian Leaders? These two parallel tracks finally merged together in 1946, when the constituent assembly was formed, and it led to finally India becoming a democratic republic in January 1950.

There were as many as 12 major attempts to make the Indian Constitution. One leader who was common to most if not all of these 12 efforts, not Mahatma Gandhi, not Jawaharlal Nehru, not Sardar Patel, it was the indomitable Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Justice B Sudarshan Reddy said the Constitution of India was conceived as a framework for governance and social relations. It was shocking and deeply distressing to read about constitutional functionaries including some learned Supreme Court judges likening welfare recipients to parasites. To call welfare schemes freebies is suggesting that the recipients are undeserving of the solicitude of our policymakers, and is an attempt to dehumanise our fellow citizens. It is something to be extremely concerned about, he said.

Gaddam Prasad Kumar, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Telangana, speaking on the occasion said, “The late Justice Konda Madhav Reddy was a stalwart in the field of judiciary and a great scholar, he brought reforms in the field of education. The trust formed in his name has been doing great work such as free medical camps, improving sanitation in Government schools, and working towards enhancing skills and youth employment generation.”

Dr K Laxman, Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha, said, “Our Constitution is one of the best Constitutions provided by Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

India is one of the biggest democratic countries in the world, and we are proud to add that India is the mother of democracy. Dr Ambedkar was committed and wanted to empower the downtrodden, weaker sections. We saw during the Constitution framing, that right from day one Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar was differing from Nehru ji on certain issues, whether it is Article 370, Jammu Kashmir being a part of India. Being a visionary leader Dr Ambedkar has given such a beautiful constitution. We witnessed many such instances of disruption in our constitution like Emergencies and abuse of Article 356, but it survived all such attempts and became stronger.”

Konda Vishweshwar Reddy said that in today’s global turmoil after 78 years of independence, the need to protect the unity and integrity of the nation is ever so important.

“We look at the Constitution as the guiding light and beacon, to take India forward to a Viksit Bharat. This memorial lecture is a tribute to the legacy of Justice Konda Madhav Reddy, as we gather here to celebrate his contribution to the field of law and justice. Let us take a moment to remember his remarkable life and achievements.”