India not just a Union of States but a Union of people: Justice (Retd) Kurian Joseph

Retired Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph on Friday said that India is not only a Union of States but also a Union of people representing several religions and cultures.

"To me, India that is Bharat is not only a Union of States, its a Union of people belonging to several religions, representing various cultures, several languages and civilizations. So, it is a Union of all diversities, that is what is India. The moment this diversity is taken away, it is not India, it is something else," he said while speaking at the All India Catholic Union Centenary celebration programme.

He said it is not the Constitution which is bad but the people manning the constitutional institutions who do not respect constitutional values.

"The country is going back not because the Constitution is bad but because people who man the Constitution, or the people who man the constitutional institutions probably do not respect the constitutional values. That is the whole trouble that we are facing," the former Supreme Court judge said.

"I also wanted to make a reference to Dr Ambedkar when he said -- this Constitution will not fail us, probably we may fail the Constitution. That is actually the ground reality," he said.

Justice Joseph further said that he takes pride in being a Catholic.

"To be a proud Catholic is something great in this country at this stage," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )