Constitutional Literacy
The Indian Constitution is a product of the collective imagination of the country at the time of Independence. It is a reflection of the values, beliefs, and aspirations of the People during thestruggle for freedom and at its culmination. As a product of imagination, the sustenance of theConstitution and its spirit depends on the extent to which it is reconstructed in people’s day-to-day life through continuous engagement and interpretation. For people to engage with it,they must understand its story first. Enabling the People, the true owners of the Constitution, to assert their ownership on it – in their contemporary struggles – can be possible only when the constitutional story is told constantly and in a language that is uncomplicated.
Acknowledging this need for critical understanding of and engagement with the Constitution, Surge Impact Foundation (SIF) came up with a program – Mana Rajyangam/Constitutional Literacy Program – at the beginning of 2022.Under this initiative, SIF hopes to engage with citizens across diverse age groups, identities, social as well as geographical locations.
The objectives of this initiative are:
- To contribute to the advancement and strengthening of constitutional values in the local context by co-creating a space that encourages all individuals engaging with it to understand, acknowledge, and practise these values in their everyday lives, families and communities.
- To foster psychosocial transformation through dialogues centered on constitutional values and principles in a safe and value-based space.
To further this intent,SIF organised “Rap for Rajyangam” on Instagram for the youth, an event “ 74 years of Indian Constitution” on Constitution Day at Lamakaan that was attended by 80+ people, and implemented a 5 month Constitutional Literacy Module at Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society –TMREIS at Asif Nagar and Golkonda reaching out to 80+ adolescent girls so far.
SIF plans to formulate an impactful module around constitutional knowledge and active citizenship for youth groups,citizen groups,universities,social impact organisations by oragnising events, workshops,courses (offline and online) starting with the city with a goal to cover all across Telangana and India in the upcoming 2 years.
Any youth groups,citizen groups, universities, or social impact organizations interested in partnering with SIF for organizing orientation meetings, workshops, courses, or any events to join the movement of constitutional literate India .