On Gandhiji’s birth anniversary, the day before yesterday, a cartoon of Bapu handing over his walking stick to a girl to defend herself was forwarded by a friend. It summed up what the believer in Ahimsa would have felt and probably done in times when news of horrific rapes, mutilation and murder of the victim appear with numbing regularity.

Gandhi ji had said,”You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” Those words were spoken against the Colonial masters, but ring eerily true today.

Article 14 of the Indian Constitution – Equality before law. It is this Fundamental Right of each and every citizen of the country that needs to be unfailingly held up, especially by all organs of the state. Based on the unshaking bedrock of this easy to understand but difficult to ensure right and principle, can a just and less unequal society be built. Can be hoped to be built.

If there was to be just one article in our Constitution besides the Preamble, probably this would have to be the one.

Another great man, who idolised Gandhi, Nobel Peace Laureate Nelson Mandela had said, “Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.”