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A couple of Bhaisahibs on their morning constitutional, discussing the Constitution.
1st Bhaisahib: That was an interesting article in TOI about why India became not just a democracy but also a republic.
2nd Bhaisahib: Yup. It said that a country can be a democracy and not be a republic, like UK, and that it can be a republic and not a democracy, like those banana republics.
1st Bhaisahib: But we in India have got a democracy anda republic. It’s like one of those combo offers where you buy a pizza and get a cola free. But there are some minor problems.
2nd Bhaisahib: What are these minor problems?
1st Bhaisahib: These minor problems are called minorities and it’s because of them that we became a democracy anda republic.
2nd Bhaisahib: Yeah? How’s that?
1st Bhaisahib: In a democracy – which comes from Greek word ‘demos’, meaning janta – it’s we, the people, who call all the shots.
2nd Bhaisahib: So what’s wrong with we, the people, calling all the shots?
1st Bhaisahib: Nothing, except that our Constitution’s framers felt that while we, the people, calling all the shots would be a majority, there would also be a them, the people, who would be minorities and need to be protected from us majority people calling all the shots. That’s why we needed to be a republic, so that there’d be constitutional rules to protect these minorities from our majoritarian shot-calling.
2nd Bhaisahib: I don’t understand. Why don’t these minority people just join us in shot-calling? And then we’ll all be a majority, and we won’t need a republic to protect anyone any more.
1st Bhaisahib: That’s the minor problem with these minorities. They want to remain minorities, for some strange reason.
2nd Bhaisahib: Why? Just to be spoilsports?
1st Bhaisahib: Sort of. That’s the thing with minorities. And that’s why we need a republic.
Disclaimer
This article is intended to bring a smile to your face. Any connection to events and characters in real life is coincidental.
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