'Socialist, secular' in the Preamble to Constitution: All you need to know

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, on Tuesday, raised concerns over the alleged attack on the Constitution by saying that new copies of the Constitution that were handed to the members of Parliament (MPs) on the opening day of the new Parliament building don't have the words "socialist" and "secular".

"The new copies of the Constitution that were given to us today (September 19), the one we held in our hands and entered (the new Parliament building), its Preamble doesn't have the words 'socialist secular'," he said as reported by news agency ANI.

He said, "Their intention is suspicious. It has been done cleverly. It is a matter of concern for me."

 

Chowdhury said, "I tried to raise this issue, but I did not get an opportunity to raise this issue."

History of 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble

The two terms "socialist" and "secular" were inserted into the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution in 1976. This was done during the Emergency imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi between 1975 and 1977. The 42nd Amendment is also called "mini Constitution" because of the number and expanse of the changes introduced. 

Before the amendment, the first line of the Preamble read, "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC...".

After the amendment, it changed to, "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC..."

According to a report by The Indian Express (IE), the demand to add these words in the Preamble was raised during the debates in the Constituent Assembly by several members, including KT Shah and Brajeshwar Prasad. However, it was not done as other members, including BR Ambedkar, objected to it.

What is the Preamble?

The Preamble is an introductory statement of the Constitution that explains its philosophy and objectives. It lays down the basic principles and goals of the Constitution. The objectives were first laid in the Objective Resolution, adopted in 1947. Later, after much debate and deliberation, the Preamble was drafted and adopted on November 26, 1949.

The Preamble indicated that the source of authority of the Constitution lies with the "people of India". 

Can it be contested in the courts?

There have been regular debates on whether the Preamble is a part of the Constitution or not. The Supreme Court has clarified that it is an "integral part and scheme" of the document. However, the Preamble is non-justiciable.

This means that a violation of any principle mentioned in the Preamble cannot be a reason to go to the courts in India. However, judges can use it as an additional factor in their reasoning and judgements.

Have 'socialist' and 'secular' been debated earlier?

In 2008, the Supreme Court rejected a plea demanding the removal of "socialist" from the Preamble.

In 2015, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting used an image of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution without the words "socialist" and "secular", leading to some criticism. Then Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Did Nehru have no understanding of secularism? These words were added during the Emergency. Now what is the harm if there is a debate on it? We have put before the nation the original Preamble".

Later, in 2020, BJP member of Parliament (MP) Rakesh Sinha moved a resolution in Rajya Sabha seeking to remove the word socialism from the Preamble.