Across the world in the twenty-first century, we’re learning that we can’t take democracy for granted. Understanding the law is an essential part of being an informed citizen, and constitutions codify the fundamental framework for a nation’s laws. So it makes eminent sense to tell children as much as we can about the constitution governing the laws of India. Sure, it’s complicated, but it’s also incredibly relevant to every citizen’s life, so why not find a way to show young readers what it’s about?
The Indian Constitution, it turns out, is a marvellous creation–the world’s longest, developed through a remarkable process of consultation and consensus. And here at last is a children’s book worthy of its breadth, depth, and farsighted effort to reach into a just and equitable future. From its mango-yellow end-papers with letters scribbled across them in multiple Indian languages to its freshly voiced text and its colourful, energetic illustrations by Ashok Rajagopalan, 5 Fantastic Facts About the Indian Constitution is a welcome invitation to young readers from Tulika Books.
The narrative voice is engaging and deceptively simple. It’s conversational yet informative. It’s never stodgy. It never talks down to the young reader. It is well edited for clarity and consistency but it’s also got a real sparkle to it. This passage describes universal adult franchise: ‘All Adults, no matter what gender, religion, caste or class they belong to, have the right to choose who they want to put in government.’ In Rajagopalan’s lively drawings for this spread, small figures outlined in black ink, filled with bright, flat colours, converge upon the centre of the page, arriving on foot and by bus, scooter, bicycle, train, rickshaw, boat, tractor and bullock cart. A strategically placed voting booth draws the eye, the whole nexus of words and images making a central point that doesn’t have to be explicitly stated: when you can, when you’re grown, vote. The ballot matters.
The spread that explains the nature of diversity is equally skilled in construction, with a single line of text setting up material, cultural, and religious diversity with elegant brevity. Other spreads deal with its length, the process of developing the Constitution, its secular nature, and equal protection under the law.
The final spread, ‘The Constitution and Me’, walks the ideas behind the book right into the reader’s mind and thoughts, with a range of activities that give young readers many ways to use drawing, writing, reflecting on likes and abilities, imagining a world without rules, and even constructing a child-sized constitution. It’s not a work-sheet with a predetermined set of correct answers, but a way to get kids thinking about their place in the nation.
The airy design welcomes adults and children alike. It’s a reminder to people of all ages that laws matter. This is a book that cries out loud to be read by an adult and a child together—not because an eight-year-old couldn’t read it independently, but because it is an invitation to a dialogue about crucially important ideas.