The Preamble to the Indian Constitution, as described by BR Ambedkar, the Father of Indian Constitution, is “a way of life, which recognises liberty, equality, and fraternity as the principles of life and which cannot be divorced from each other.”
A recent music video posted on Karwan-e-Mohabbat’s YouTube page is a reminder that “India is its people”. Karwan-e-Mohabbat is a collective formed in 2017 as an answer to the brutal lynchings that the country experienced. The video is titled “We, the people”.
Naseeruddin Shah reads the Preamble to the Constitution of India that begins with “We, the people of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic…” as TM Krishna leads into the National Anthem “Jana gana mana…”
The result is a beautiful piece of music that is played to powerful visuals from the recent protests that have been taking place across the country. The visuals are also indicative of India’s diversity.
The video is a harmonious sync when the National Anthem plays and has visuals of the country’s rivers and mountains. More importantly, like the page describes, the video is a “reminder that more than anything else, India is its people.”
The Preamble has been amended only once so far, on 18 December 1976, during the Emergency in India. Through the 42nd amendment to the Constitution the words "Socialist" and "Secular" were added between the words "Sovereign" and "Democratic" and the words "Unity of the Nation" were changed to "Unity and Integrity of the Nation”.
This video has been well received, with many including writer Amitav Ghosh and former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan sharing it on Twitter.
Naseeruddin Shah reads the preamble to the Indian Constitution, followed by the national anthem, sung by T.M. Krishna. https://t.co/BJyfqWYx3u
— Amitav Ghosh (@GhoshAmitav) December 30, 2019
We, the people of India.@tmkrishna https://t.co/81n6Gw9vTM
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) December 30, 2019
Beautiful. @tmkrishna and Naseeruddin Shah https://t.co/GSSshlnWVM
— Sushant Singh (@SushantSin) December 30, 2019
Watch, Share. We, the People of India - Naseeruddin Shah and T M Krishna - YouTube https://t.co/dEyqHGS9pI
— Nirupama Subramanian (@tallstories) December 30, 2019