Remove the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ from the Preamble of the Constitution

Petition filed in the Supreme Court

New Delhi – Former Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy and advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain have demanded the removal of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ from the Preamble of the Constitution.

Dr Swamy said in the petition that the Preamble cannot be amended or deleted. Therefore, the only amendment made to it should be withdrawn. The Preamble not only lays down the essential features of the Constitution but also lays down the basic conditions which were adopted to build a united community.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said that the Preamble to the Indian Constitution comes with a fixed date. Therefore, it cannot be amended without a debate. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act was passed during the Emergency (1975-77).

Changes may be made for educational purposes: Court

During the hearing, Justice Dutta said that there is no objection to amending the Preamble of the Constitution for educational purposes without changing the mention of the date.

This is probably the only Preamble I’ve seen that comes with a date. When the Constitution was adopted, these two words (socialist and secular) were not in it.

Both words were incorporated during the Emergency !

In 1976, the Indira Gandhi Government included the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble of the Constitution under the 42nd Amendment. This amendment changed the description of India in the Preamble from a ‘sovereign, democratic republic’ to a ‘sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic’.