Actress and South Asian Ambassador for United for Human Rights, Sheena Chohan, who co-founded the initiative, said: “Republic Day celebrates the Indian Constitution, which is admired around the world, but so many of us forget what it says – so I’m pleased that such powerful voices, thought leaders and brilliant artists have joined hands with us to help remind everyone what today’s holiday is all about – The Constitution.
Revathi read Article 14 : The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
Revathi commented: “The basic rights are so important because as we grow as a nation together we need an equal place to live in, and for generations to come, for our children and grandchildren, they need their fundamental rights, and equality is one of the most important. Happy Republic day.”
Parvathy read Article 15: The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
Parvathy commented: “These are our Fundamental Rights – these are rights that have to be upheld in The Republic of India. Always speak up for them, for yourself and for your fellow citizens.”
Nandita Das, who also read Article 14 and 15, said : “These basic rights are so important because they remind us that equality and justice are for all, without exception – they are the foundation of our democracy.”
Malayalam director Jeo Baby read Article 14 and 15 in Malayalam.
Karan Tacker read The Right to Freedom of Expression and said “This basic right is so important because that is exactly what makes this country democratic”
Sheena Chohan continued: “Our Constitution empowers the nation with rights like No Discrimination/Equality, The Right to Education, Social Security (Right to Food and Shelter), Freedom of Speech, No Torture, No Slavery, etc. It’s these basic rights which bring peace and decency, so, if we want a decent society, we need to increase awareness and education in these rights. What these artists have done today by reading our constitutional rights to millions of people is highly commendable and I only hope that soon we can have full human rights education as mandatory in all schools in India.”
Sheena Chohan, who was given the Human Rights Hero Award at the United Nations for her work spreading awareness of basic rights and equality, has in the past worked with R Balki to promote the right Freedom of Expression, Sonakshi Sinha who discussed The Right to Education, Preity Zinta and Guneet Monga, who chose Women’s Rights, Sonu Sood who chose The Right to Food and Shelter, Raveena Tandon who chose The Right to a Free and Fair World and Imtiaz Ali, who worked with Sheena to spread awareness of Freedom of Thought.
Sonakshi Sinha said: “When I see a child on the street, begging, it just breaks my heart because that child should be in school right now, getting the education that they deserve to make sure that they don’t have to do this for the rest of their lives. So I think creating awareness around education is very, very important – a must”
Sonu Sood said : “The law and rights to food and shelter exists, but how many people are really enjoying it – in the heartland there’s a lot of classism, there are a lot of people not aware of their rights…it’s just about bringing that awareness – awareness of your rights”
Raveena Tandon said: “The constitution, I believe, should be simplified. Basic rights need to be also taught to our children. I think it should be made mandatory. We all learn Civics and History, but I think it should be a part of the module for children to learn the basic, Civic Rights.”
Imtiaz Ali said: “If you infringe upon the right of Freedom of Thought in someone you also infringe on the freedom of thought in yourself. You do not give something that might be in your mind a chance to grow, and without growth of ideas within yourself you become stagnated. It’s like you become a better version of yourself when you are given ideas and thoughts to deal with which are not your own, which are perhaps opposed to your own.”
Sheena Chohan concluded: “The Indian Constitution was written at a similar time as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and it has the same spark of genius to it. In fact, what many people don’t know is that it was an Indian woman, Hansa Mehta, who changed the wording at the UN from “All men are created equal” to “All human beings are created equal”. So, this Republic Day, let’s take pride in our constitution by reading it, making sure to look up the words we don’t understand in a dictionary, so that we truly understand it – the Founding Fathers, and Founding Mothers of our great nation fought long and hard for the rights in this document – let’s honour them today by reading it, truly understanding and living by it.”
