Now Reading: Constitutional state at risk as Jekyll and Hyde divide grows
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Constitutional state at risk as Jekyll and Hyde divide grows
The Hindu's Frontline argues that India's constitutional state increasingly resembles Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde, with the government maintaining a ceremonial devotion to the Constitution while acting in ways that are impatient with…
The Story in Brief
The Hindu's Frontline argues that India's constitutional state increasingly resembles Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde, with the government maintaining a ceremonial devotion to the Constitution while acting in ways that are impatient with dissent and selectively apply the law. It cites preventive detention, prolonged internet shutdowns, and extraordinary laws against students and comedians as examples where exceptional powers become ordinary tools.
The piece criticises the delay in restoring full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, calling federalism a structural commitment rather than an administrative arrangement. It contends that elections decide who governs, but the treatment of dissent reveals how they govern.
The Indian Opinion
The essay reasonably warns against ritual celebration of the Constitution masking actual practice. But it risks treating every government action as a Hyde-like betrayal. Preventive detention and shutdowns are legal tools, however distasteful; the real test lies in whether courts and voters hold authorities accountable. The Jammu and Kashmir statehood promise offers a concrete deadline. Watch whether the Election Commission announces state elections before 2024 ends. That alone will reveal whether the constitutional name absorbs the cost of the act.
Source: frontline.thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
