Kamal Haasan pens an emotional letter as an ode to the constitution on Constitution Day

Constitution Day, or ‘Samvidhan Divas,’ is observed annually on November 26th to honour the adoption of the Constitution of India. On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution, which subsequently came into effect on January 26th, 1950. On this day today, actor Kamal Haasan has penned an emotional letter as an ode to the constitution and encourages all Indians to read it.

Kamal pens:

“On this day, 75 years ago, a momentous chapter in India’s history was written. After two years, eleven months, and seventeen days of tireless deliberations, 299 men and women from across the length and breadth of India came together to proudly enact and adopt the Indian Constitution — a document sacrosanct to me, that defined how “We, the people of India” would govern ourselves.

These visionaries, united in purpose, bequeathed the country its Constitution, a cornerstone of democratic governance that stands as a symbol of India’s sovereignty and commitment to justice, equality, and liberty for all.

Yet, when these architects of modern India convened in the Central Hall of Parliament to draft the document of our destiny, the nation they sought to govern was grappling with unprecedented challenges. The trauma of partition had unleashed widespread communal violence, displacing millions in the largest mass migration in human history. War loomed on its borders, and the newly independent country was faced with the daunting task of uniting a population that spoke different languages, practiced different faiths, and lived with vastly different traditions. Global observers at the time were sceptical, doubting India's ability to survive as a cohesive and functional democracy.

However those patriots did not see a challenge but a monumental opportunity. After millennia’s, for the first time in its history, all people of India had the opportunity to consciously and collectively decide how they would govern themselves. It was a moment of profound significance, not only for the citizens of India but for the broader world.

They were creating a document that would reflect the values of India’s ancient civilizational heritage, the ideals of the freedom struggle, and the hopes of millions of Indians. It was not just a legal charter; it was a declaration of who we are as a people, what we aspire to be, and how we would protect the rights and dignity of every citizen. The framers of the Constitution left us not only with a blueprint for governance but with a vision for a free and united India.

Those remarkable words not only changed the course of India's history but are the reason we live and breathe in a proud and free India today—a republic that continues to shine as a beacon of democracy and morality for the world to emulate.

I encourage every patriotic Indian to commit to reading, understanding and upholding the values of our Constitution, to reflect on what it means to be Indian, and to honour the legacy of those who gave us this document.

As we celebrate Constitution Day today, let us recommit to the ideals enshrined in this remarkable document and work towards the unfinished dreams of a free, reborn and new India that will make those 299 great Indians proud.”