In her speech, Justice Nagarathna explained that the freedom movement was not just for political freedoms, but social reforms too.
“The framing of the Constitution did not only mark the end of a struggle against political subjugation, but equally demonstrates a struggle for self-determination against multi-layered oppressive structures, such as race, caste, etc. The bold aspirations of our transformative Constitution are manifest in its grant of rights and remedies against oppressive social wrongs such as prejudice, stigma, stereotypes and exploitation,” she said.
She underscored that revitalising the private sphere and assuring the dignity of women were among the cornerstones of the national agenda for social renaissance.
Further, the participation of Indian women in the Constituent Assembly fundamentally impacted the Constitution’s transformative approach, she pointed out.
“Nationalism in India was neither the sole preserve of the men nor merely preoccupied with political liberty…the Indian women’s movement cultivated a transformative, constitutional imagination, yet pragmatic…constitutional semantics and design that we so treasure today are products of a women’s movement which coalesced the struggle to transform the private sphere, i.e. the home, with the transcendental quest for national enfranchisement and emancipation.”
Source: Barandbench
