Controversy Over Constitutional Amendments

On Saturday, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar criticized the inclusion of the terms "socialist" and "secular" to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, calling it a “sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatan.” This view has been supported by other prominent leaders such as Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale. The terms were added during the Emergency period through the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act of 1976, which implemented widespread changes to the Constitution but left the Preamble unchanged in the subsequent 44th Amendment in 1978.

Key Points on the Preamble and the 42nd Amendment:

• Initial Preamble (1950): The original Preamble read as “We, the People of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Democratic Republic...” emphasizing justice, equality, liberty, and fraternity.
• Changes by the 42nd Amendment: The Amendment modified this to “Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic…” and included “integrity” in the description of fraternity, reflecting Indira Gandhi’s political goals during the Emergency.
• Political Context: Indira Gandhi added "socialist" to align the Constitution with her leftist economic policies, while "secular" was introduced amid rising political opposition from the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor of the BJP.
• Emergency Era Concerns: The changes were perceived as measures to fortify governance during a time of political turmoil marked by the nationalization of banks and other significant societal reforms.

Judicial Interpretations:

• Supreme Court Judgments: In the 1961 case of In Re: The Berubari Union, the court noted that the Preamble serves as a guide to the Constitution's intentions but is not a source of power. The Court later reaffirmed in the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case that secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution. Notably, the 1994 Bommai ruling established that secularism is integral to the Constitution and cannot be dismantled.
• Constitutional Defenses: Under Article 14, equality before the law is guaranteed; Article 15 prohibits discrimination based on religion; Article 16 assures equality in public employment, reflecting the secular spirit inherent within the Constitution.

Additional Context:

• The 42nd Amendment broadly introduced Fundamental Duties and New Directive Principles, aimed to alter the balance between individual rights and societal reform programs.
• In 2024, a Supreme Court bench dismissed challenges to the inclusion of “secularism” and “socialism” due to the lack of evidence that these terms obstruct legislative actions or violated fundamental rights.

Conclusion:

The discourse around the terms “socialist” and “secular” suggests a continuing debate over the foundational principles of the Constitution. The amendments, despite their historical context, have been upheld as constitutional tenets supportive of India’s socio-economic fabric.

Important Sentences:

• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar described the inclusion of “socialist” and “secular” in the Constitution’s Preamble as a “sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatan.”
• The terms were added through the 42nd Amendment during the Emergency period in 1976; the 44th Amendment in 1978 did not alter the Preamble.
• The original Preamble emphasized justice, equality, liberty, and fraternity, while the 42nd Amendment modified it to include “integrity.”
• The Supreme Court has upheld the addition of these terms as compatible with the Constitution, with secularism considered a basic feature as per its rulings in various landmark cases.
• The 42nd Amendment marked a significant political turning point reflecting Indira Gandhi’s left-leaning policies during an era of significant socio-political dynamics.