Assistant Solicitor General of India for High Court of Karnataka Arun Joshi has said that patriotism would have no meaning if brotherhood and equality were not imbibed in it and brought into practice.
Inaugurating the Constitution Day programme organised by Karnatak University at the senate hall of the university in Dharwad on Thursday, Mr. Arun Joshi said: “Equality is the soul of the Constitution and without cherishing it, the Constitution cannot be strengthened.”
He said that although seven decades had passed post-Independence, caste differences and atrocities continue to plague society. Emphasising the need for preventing vested interests from creating a divide based on caste, he said that persons with such ulterior motives should be punished severely.
“A person should be judged by virtue of his work and wisdom and not by his caste. If the caste system continues to dominate, the future of the coming generations will be bleak,” he said.
Member of Legislative Council S.V. Sankanur said that while B.R. Ambedkar had taken steps for ensuring equal justice and opportunities for all through the Constitution and had also listed out one’s rights and duties, people who fight for their rights had forgotten their duties towards the country.
He said that the citizens should be grateful to Baba Saheb Ambedkar for his efforts to abolish the caste system and build a society of equal justice and opportunities through the Constitution. Already, five places where Ambedkar stayed for his research while drafting the Constitution had been identified for setting up memorials and study centres and soon, they would be completed, he said.
Presiding over the programme, Vice-Chancellor of the university K.B. Gudasi said that in a country like India which was full of diversity because of so many coexisting cultures, framing a Constitution that provided justice to all was a tough task. However, Dr. Ambedkar had managed to provide justice to all, he said.
Convenor of Dr. B R Ambedkar Research Chair Subhashchandra Natikar and Registrar Ravindra Kadam and others were present.
