World Wide Support for Article 51 of the Constitution of India

PEACE IS THE BY-PRODUCT OF UNITY.contd... from page. 33THE WORLD WILL BE UNITEDTHROUGH THE THREADOF WORLD LAW.(ii) T H E W O R D ' S H ALL' IN ARTICLE 51 OF THECONSTITUTION OF INDIAArticle 51 of the Constitution of India states:The State shall endeavour to:(a) promote international peace and security,(b) maintain just and honourable relations between nations,(c) foster respect for international law ...; and,(d) encourage settlement of international disputes byarbitration.The words “The State shall endeavour” leave no room for theGovernment of India and the State Governments to make any choice,other than the endeavour to achieve the objectives, the purpose andthe goal of Article 51 of the Constitution of India.In the aforementioned Article 51, the word 'shall' is the actualcatchword and is very important, as it binds the Government of India,State Governments and Your Excellency, to achieve the goals ofArticle 51. Besides its mandatory effect, the word 'SHALL', used inArticle 51 gives strength to it and places on Government of India andState Governments, a responsibility to make an earnest endeavour toachieve the objectives of the said Article. Had it been 'may' or'should', the provision would not have been binding, but the catchword 'SHALL' denotes that it is the duty and obligation ofGovernment of India and State Governments to fulfill it. The makersof the Constitution of India deliberately used the term 'SHALL'. Thesublime spirit of the Article is to achieve international peace andsecurity for promoting larger interest of the society which ispossible only by uniting all the nations of the world in the thread ofEnforceable World Law.(iii) ARTICLE 31-C, ADDED BY THE CONSTITUTION (25THAMENDMENT) ACT, 1971, SEEKS TO UPGRADE THEDIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES.Article 31-C, added by the Constitution (25th Amendment) Act of1971, seeks to upgrade the Directive Principles. If laws are made togive effect to the Directive Principles over Fundamental Rights, theyshall not be invalid on the grounds that they take away theFundamental Rights. In case of a conflict between FundamentalRights and Directive Principles, if the latter aim at promotinglarger interest of the society, the courts will have to uphold thecase in favour of Directive Principles.(iv) RULING OF THE SUPREME COURT IN THE KESAVANANDBHARATI VS. STATE OF KERALA CASE.Fundamental Rights are not absolute and are subject to reasonablerestrictions as necessary for the protection of national interest. Inthe Kesavananda Bharati vs. state of Kerala case, the Supreme Courtruled that all provisions of the Constitution, including FundamentalRights can be amended. It has ruled in Kesavanand Bharati's casethat 'moral rights' embodied in Part IV are as equally essentialfeature of the Constitution as Fundamental Rights and arefundamental in the governance of the country and all the organs ofthe State are bound to enforce those directions.(v) THE DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES ACT AS A CHECK ON THEGOVERNMENT; THEORIZED AS A YARDSTICK IN THEHANDS OF THE PEOPLE TO MEASURE THE PERFORMANCEOF THE GOVERNMENTArticle 51 is included in Part IV of the Constitution of India. Part IVpertains to Directive Principles of State Policy, which are directionsgiven by the people of India in the Constitution of India to the centraland state governments to nurture and guide the establishment of ajust society in the country and in the world. According to theConstitution, the government should keep these principles in mindwhile framing laws and planning its activities and actions.The Directive Principles act as a check on the government;theorized as a yardstick by which people can measure performanceof the government. Article 31-C, added by the Constitution (25thAmendment) Act, 1971, seeks to upgrade the Directive Principles. Iflaws are made to give effect to the Directive Principles overFundamental Rights, they shall not be invalid on the grounds thatthey take away the Fundamental Rights. In case of a conflictbetween Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles, if the latteraim at promoting larger interest of the society, the courts willhave to uphold the case in favour of Directive Principles.WORLD UNITY IS 'PRE-REQUISITE' for world peace.An urgent meeting of all world leaders at New Delhi without theinvolvement of the United Nations or its system of Veto is the FIRST STEP.THE FRUIT OF WORLDPEACE WILL GROW ON THETREE OF WORLD UNITY.IT, THUS, transpires that Article 51 of the Constitution ofIndia entails endeavour by the State - The Government of India, topromote international peace and security and such an importantprovision can not be ignored. This Article reflects an earnest desireof the people of India for World peace and security by avoiding warsand conflicts in the interest of entire human race.(1) ASPIRATIONS OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PUT DOWNBY A VETO POWERArticle 51 acts as a beacon for world peace and security andby drawing inspiration therefrom we, at our end, are propagatingthe cause. In this connection we wrote to the UN Secretary Generalin 1999. The then Secretary-General of the United Nations Dr KofiAnnan in his message of 11th October 1999 sent to me said that theworld's 3 biggest problems were:(a) “It is shocking to think that almost half of us – three billion out ofthe six billion – are entering the new era in abject poverty, withless than two dollars a day, or less, to live on. That is one thingwe really must change.”(b) “It is also shocking that people in so many places today areexposed to violence and brutality. The twentieth century hasbeen the most murderous in human history. We must make surethe twenty-first is more peaceful, and more humane.”(c) “And it is worrying that the world's climate seems to bechanging, in a way, which could destroy the homes andlivelihood of millions. Controlling and managing this processmay yet prove to be the biggest challenge of all.”In this regard, Dr Kofi Annan further said:(d) “People all over the world look to the United Nations to protectthem – from hunger, disease and violence, and natural disasters –whenever the task seems too big for nations, or regions, to handlealone. But we at the United Nations can do nothing alone, either.Our strength is the strength of our member states, when theyagree to act together for the common good.”(e) “Next year, leaders from all over the world will come to New Yorkfor the Millennium Summit. They will consider the challengesahead, and what the United Nations can do to face them. Thoseleaders will be representing you, the peoples of the UnitedNations. It is up to you to make sure that they come here firmlyresolved to take decisions which can lead to a better life for all ofus, and for our children.”Conveying his good wishes to CMS Dr. Kofi Annan stated that "Iam counting on you all." Accordingly, I wrote to all Heads of Stateand Heads of Government to take positive actions at theMillennium Summit.However, the leaders of the nations of the world attending theMillennium Summit were not even given an opportunity to discussor consult on any issue relating to the formation of a "newinternational political and economic order of the world" which was(1) General Consensus of the 53rd Session of the U.N. GeneralAssembly dated 10th May 1999 and (2) which was also theDeclaration of the UN Millennium Forum which was held from 22ndto 26th May 2000. But this issue did not find place in the agenda ofthe Millennium Summit at the instance of a Veto Power.This short-sighted and unthoughtful action of the Veto Power hurtme badly and because of this I decided to approach the WorldJudiciary, which I think is the last hope of humanity's survival andstarted organizing International Conferences of Chief Justices ofthe World (World Judiciary Summits) on Article 51 of theConstitution of India for Uniting the World in order to establish therule of law in the world.(2) ALEGACYOFWARS,VIOLENCE,DESTRUCTIONANDDEATHSince the Second World War, 199 wars have been fought by 81countries and 69 countries have been the theatres of war (Mr JanezStanovnik, Paris, UNESCO, 1978) . Mr Gil Elliot, who made a valiantattempt to count the man-made deaths in 20th century, has foundout that a total of 110 million people died between 1900 and 1970.This figure includes 38 million soldiers. It means that one out ofevery 30 inhabitants on earth was killed through governmentcriminality (pages 43-44,' Victims of Politics : The State and HumanRights' by K. Glaser and S. T. Possony, New York, ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1979).VIOLENCE: Resolve confliction in such a way that every body wins and no one loses.contd... on page 3534