This Constitution Day, a secular, socialist gift from the Supreme Court of India

IT is heartening that on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the inclusion of the words “secular” and “socialist” in its Preamble.

These words were inserted during the prime ministership of Indira Gandhi through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976. This was a period of Emergency in India.

Yet, a Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the inclusion of these words in the Preamble to the Constitution and held that the addition of these terms could not be invalidated merely on the ground that the Preamble retained its original adoption date of November 26, 1949.

Significantly, the Supreme Court upheld the secular nature of India and the State’s neutrality towards religion which has shockingly been compromised by the utterances and actions of leaders occupying high constitutional positions after Narendra Modi assumed office as Prime Minister of India in 2014.

Meaning of socialism

It is gratifying to note that the Supreme Court, while validating the inclusion of the term “socialist” in the Preamble, outlined the meaning of socialism by observing that it signifies a welfare State and does not conflict with the growth of the private sector.

It noted, “Socialism in India is about equitable distribution of resources and equality of opportunity. It does not hinder private enterprise, which thrives in our country.”

It is also a categorical imperative to examine the meaning of socialism in terms of a welfare State and to understand to what extent it has been negated by the relentless pursuit of the Modi regime to promote crony capitalism, which has caused rising levels of social and economic inequality, far worse than those that prevailed during the British Raj.

Unanimity on establishing a secular State

First, let us focus attention on the unending attack by the Modi regime and the BJP leaders on secularism, one of the dimensions of which is the neutrality of the State to religion.

A peep into the pages of history reveals that the neutrality of the State to religion is a byproduct of our struggle for independence from British rule. In 1931, M.K. Gandhi, in his resolution on fundamental rights, specifically put the provision that the State would remain neutral to religion.