Govt says Republic Day ad no goof up, original constitution preamble used deliberately

The News Minute | January 27, 2015 | 12.36 pm ISTA section of the country's cultural and social intelligentsia are asking the Government of India for some answers on why the words “secular” and “socialist” were left out of the Preamble in an advertisement it placed on Republic Day.On Republic Day, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a half page advertisement in the Times of India wishing people on Republic Day with the Prime Minister’s message: “A Democracy cant succeed without the people’s participation”. The advertisement has an image of the Preamble of the Constitution on which is super-imposed an image of people from different parts of India standing in a row and one behind the other. The only problem here, is the fact that the words “secular” and “socialist” were missing from the text of the Preamble. Among the signatories of a petition being circulated on the website India Resists, are Kavita Krishnan, Aruna Roy, Simantini Dhur, Dilip Simeon, Subash Ghatade, Ayesha Kidwai, Tatheer Khan, Jyoti Punwani, Noor Enayat. They expressed shock that the two crucial words which enshrined the ethos of the Constitution had been left out. A portion of the text reads:"At the time when the people of India, and even the global community, have genuine apprehensions about the secular character of the Indian democracy, which stands threatened by a right-wing government formed with less than one-third of the popular votes, this omission is utterly condemnable."Secularism has been pivotal to the post-independent India, binding all communities together as equal citizens. Similarly, the word socialist was added to emphasize the social commitments of the state in a country like India. These two values are non-negotiable and any attempt to dilute them would face strong resistance. We condemn the I & B Ministry and demand an apology from the govt for this mischievous advertisement on Republic Day."As on Tuesday, the petition had over 100 signatures.Though the government had not responded when this was noticed and the message had gone viral in the social media, by night the Minister of State for I&B tweeted the government's side. It plainly said that the act was done deliberately, to "honour" the founding fathers of the Constitution. This is the original Preamble. The words ‘Socialist’ and 'Secular' were added in 1976. pic.twitter.com/18g4buUF9F— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) January 27, 2015The controversy surrounding the ad is uncalled for. Photo of original Preamble was a way of honouring founding fathers of the Constitution— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) January 27, 2015Incidentally, the same picture was used in official advertisements earlier also— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) January 27, 2015This set aside the proposition that those who made the advertisement did an ignorant job by publishing the old, un-amended Preamble.The Preamble of the Indian Constitution did not have the words “secular” and “socialist” in its initial text. They were added later by an amendment effected by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.In 1976, the then government enacted the 42nd Constitution Amendment Act changing, among other things, the Preamble of the Constitution. The image of the Preamble in the advertisement appears to be the original Preamble as it was in the Constitution adopted in 1949 (See picture above). Clause two of the act, changed the wording of the text as follows:"2. Amendment of the Preamble.- In the Preamble to the Constitution,-(a) for the words "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC" the words "SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC" shall be substituted; and(b) for the words "unity of the Nation", the words "unity and integrity of the Nation" shall be substituted."That is why, today, the text of the Preamble reads: “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:JUSTICE, social, economic and political;LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;and to promote among them allFRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”Tweet