Samvidhan Diwas (Constitution Day) is celebrated every year on 26th November to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India
Samvidhan Diwas (Constitution Day) is celebrated every year on 26th November to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India and to honour and acknowledge the contribution of the founding fathers of the Constitution. Joining the nation, NIT Rourkela also observed the Constitution Day today to mark the adoption of the Indian Constitution by the constituent assembly on November 26, 1949. Celebrating the day, the faculties, staff and students pledged to uphold the ideals of the preamble of the Indian Constitution. They also participated in an online quiz on “India-the Mother of Democracy/ Bharat-Lokatantra Ki Janani”. On this occasion, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences organised an event to pay tribute to the makers of the Constitution and spread awareness on the importance of the Constitution.
The event started with ‘Preamble Song’. Inaugurating the event Prof. K. Umamaheshwar Rao (Director, NIT Rourkela) read the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. Focusing on the rights and responsibilities of the citizens of the country he said, “With the rights comes responsibility. The rights of the constitution tell us that it is here to support us, let us move forward and stand with us in safeguarding our human rights, but only fighting for our rights and setting aside our responsibility as a citizen can never build up the nation. So, we should be responsible enough as citizens along with committing ourselves to the fundamental values of our democratic nation.”
The event also had inspiring speeches by Prof. Susmita Mishra (Dean Academic) and Prof. Rohan Dhiman (Registrar, NIT Rourkela). Prof. Mishra spoke on how a student can promote awareness of the rights and duties of the constitution. Prof. Dhiman also urged all to remember and honour the principles of Justice, Liberty, Equality & Fraternity enshrined in our constitution. The guest speaker for the event Shri Uttam Biswal (Assistant Registrar, NIT Rourkela gave a brief on the history and timeline of making the constitution. Shri Biswal spoke on the role of various committees formed, the important personalities involved to draft the constitution, the amendments of the constitution to date, etc. He said, “Our Constitution is the soul of our democracy, which protects the rights of every citizen. The constitution is the custodian of our liberties and it provides strong fundamental rights and duties. Therefore, we must protect our constitutional values. Let us all also remember & salute its makers for their steadfastness & foresight that gave us this living document”.
During the event, Chandrapal Singh Yadav, Rituparna Chatterjee, Kshirabdhi Tanaya Patra, and Vibhudeo Nayak (a few PhD scholars from the Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences) also shared their thoughts for the day. PhD scholars, Sagun Murmu, Mrityunjay Jha, and Biren Oram also presented few songs to commemorate the ethos of the day. This day is also known as Nation Law day, so paying tribute to the father of the constitution, Prof. Ramakrishna Biswal (convenor of the event) referred to a quote by Dr B.R. Ambedkar and said, ‘However good a Constitution may be, if those who are implementing it are not good, it will prove to be bad.’ He further added, “It is still a challenge to implement all of the prescribed laws in the constitution due to which many citizens are still underprivileged. We all are equal in the eyes of law and this is the time when all of us should show unification in executing it.”
Dr. Narayan Sethi (Head of the Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences) gave a vote of thanks and shared a concluding note on an ideal independent nation as prescribed in the constitution.