To Save Constitution, Students In Kerala Will Now Read The Preamble In School Assemblies

Not only just taking the pledge, "India is my country", now on both school and college students in Kerala will also read the preamble to the Constitution during assemblies. The preamble which states,

"WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; will be read and be a part of school and college morning assembly, the government has said.

The decision has come as a response to the demand by college union leaders to ensure that constitution studies be made an inevitable part of the curriculum at a time when the constitution and its values are under attack, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

"To create social awareness regarding the importance of protecting the constitution, the state government will take necessary steps to ensure that preamble of the constitution is read out during school college assembly," Vijayan added.

BCCL

The development comes at a time when the CPIM-led Left government has been locking horns with the BJP government in the Centre over several issues like the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).

Kerala has been one of the most vocal opponents of CAA and NRC which the state government says is discriminatory towards the Muslim community and thus is against the secular constitution of India.

The Kerala government had claimed that both CAA and NRC won't be implemented in the state. It had also clarified that there were no plans to construct detention camps for illegal migrants. Last week the Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution demanding the scrapping of the controversial CAA. The resolution moved by chief minister Vijayan was unanimously accepted by the 140 member house.

Last week, the state also witnessed one of the biggest marches against the CAA and NRC in the country so far, when more than two lakhs people converged in Kochi's Marine Drive to register their protests against the contentions legislation

Last week the Kerala Chief Minister had also written to 11 other state chief ministers including Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banarjee urging them to pass similar resolutions in their respective assemblies.