Preamble Controversy Socialist Secular Missing From New Copies Of Constitution

Ruby Thakur
September 21, 2023
177

The New Copies Of The Constitution Provided To Parliament Members On The Opening Day Of Proceedings In The New Parliament Building On Tuesday Do Not Have The Words “Socialist, Secular” In Its Preamble.

Preamble Controversy Socialist Secular Missing From New Copies Of Constitution

Why In News

The New Copies Of The Constitution Provided To Parliament Members On The Opening Day Of Proceedings In The New Parliament Building On Tuesday Do Not Have The Words “Socialist, Secular” In Its Preamble.
Congress Leader And Lok Sabha Leader Of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Has Claimed That The New Copies Of The Constitution That Were Distributed To The Mps In The New Parliament Building Have No Presence Of Words Like “Socialist And Secular”, Mentioned In India’s Preamble.

History

The Preamble, Which Explains The Constitution’s Philosophy And Objectives, Was Adopted On November 26, 1949, By The Constituent Assembly.
These Two Words Were Originally Not A Part Of The Preamble.
The Preamble Of The Constitution Originally Described India As A “Sovereign, Democratic Republic”.
They Were Added By The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 During The Emergency Imposed By Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Socialist In Preamble

Indira Gandhi Had Attempted To Cement Her Approval Among The Masses On The Basis Of A Socialist And Pro-Poor Image With Slogans Such As “Garibi Hatao” & Inserted The Word In The Preamble To Underline That Socialism Was A Goal And Philosophy Of The Indian State.
Socialism Envisaged By The Indian State Was Not The Socialism Of The USSR Or China Of The Time — It Did Not Envisage The Nationalisation Of All Of India’s Means Of Production. Indira Herself Clarified That “We Have Our Own Brand Of Socialism”.
Under Which “We Will Nationalise [Only] The Sectors Where We Feel The Necessity”. She Underlined That “Just Nationalisation Is Not Our Type Of Socialism”

Secular In Preamble

The People Of India Profess Numerous Faiths, And Their Unity And Fraternity, Notwithstanding The Difference In Religious Beliefs, Was Sought To Be Achieved By Enshrining The Ideal Of “Secularism” In The Preamble.
A Secular Indian State Was Founded On The Idea That It Is Concerned With The Relationship Between Human Being And Human Being, And Not Between Human Being And God, Which Is A Matter Of Individual Choice And Individual Conscience.
Secularism In The Indian Constitution, Therefore, Is Not A Question Of Religious Sentiment, But A Question Of Law.
The Secular Nature Of The Indian State Is Secured By Articles 25-28 Of The Constitution.

Opposition Say

The Opposition Has Called It An “Attack” On The Constitution.
The Words Were Added After An Amendment In 1976 But If Someone Gives Us The Constitution Today And It Doesn’t Have Those Words, It Is A Matter Of Concern. “The Bjp Government Says That This Printed Text Was The Original Preamble.
If Bjp Does Not Want To Respect The Constitutional Amendment Of The Preamble And Wants To Follow The Original, Then Why Have They Moved Out From The Original ‘Temple Of Democracy’, The Old Parliament Building? Why Did They Not Stay In The Original One?” Removing The Words ‘Socialist’ And ‘Secular’ Is Truly A Display Of Bjps Biased Mindset, He Alleged.

Has This Issue Been Discussed Earlier

A Petition Filed By Former BJP MP Subramanian Swamy In The Supreme Court Last Year, Seeking The Removal Of The Words “Socialist” And “Secular” From The Preamble.

In 2008, The Supreme Court Had Rejected A Plea Demanding The Removal Of “Socialist”. “Why Do You Take Socialism In A Narrow Sense Defined By Communists? In A Broader Sense, It Means Welfare Measures For The Citizens.

In 2020 Bjp Mp Rakesh Sinha Moved A Resolution In Rajya Sabha Seeking To Remove The Word Socialism From The Preamble, Saying, “You Cannot Tie A Generation To A Particular Way Of Thinking.
2015, The Ministry Of Information And Broadcasting Used An Image Of The Preamble Of The Indian Constitution Without The Words “Socialist” And “Secular”.

To crack the SSB Interview, You can join our SSB interview live classes batch and we recommend you to Enroll SSB INTERVIEW ONLINE COURSE. Trusted by thousands of defence aspirants.

Preamble-Controversy-Socialist-Secular-missing-from-new-copies-of-Constitution Download

Ruby Thakur

General Studies Lecturer SSBCrackExams, BSc In PCM, Trained Students For State Services Exams. Expertise in Geography ,Polity & Current Affairs. Love Travelling.