Dropping the words “secular” and “socialist” from the Constitution doesn’t mean banning secular thought or killing welfare policies. It means we stop pretending, stop mouthing 1970s jargon while living in a 2025 reality. – Ravi Shankar
Let’s have a moment of silence for two dearly departed words still haunting our Constitution: “secular” and “socialist”. These words were not part of the Constitution that emerged from Nehruvian idealism and Ambedkar’s structural genius. They were smuggled in during the 42nd Amendment in 1976 at the height of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency, when Parliament was her echo chamber. What should have been the republic’s soul became its slogan board, rewritten by a state that had suspended its own conscience. Now RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale says: “Throw them out.” The man has a point, but that is not wearing a colour which is a red rag to liberal bulls. Secularism, we are told, means the state must be neutral towards all religions. It’s an outright joke in India.
Let’s call it what it is: a code word for vote-bank gymnastics. One party rushes to the nearest dargah, the other wraps itself in saffron. One performs ‘namaz diplomacy,’ the other demands Ram Rajya. Everyone pretends to hate mixing religion with politics, right after attending temple inaugurations or Iftar parties on prime-time. Our brand of secularism is a tragicomic circus where priests are consulted before Cabinet reshuffles, and politicians suddenly find God five minutes before elections. “Sabka saath, sabka vishwas”? Try “Sabka faith, sabka photo-op.” So when we say “India is a secular state,” what we really mean is: “India is secular as long as you don’t ask what that means.”
Now to the other fossil: socialism, inserted into the Preamble during the great Socialist cosplay of 1976. That year, India wasn’t just suppressing dissent; it was also trying to be the USSR’s obedient cousin. But fast-forward to now; where are we? The nation privatises faster than Ambani can blink. Airports and railway stations are going to the highest bidder, and new unicorns are more frequent than Air India mishaps. This isn’t socialism. This is casino capitalism wearing swadeshi. So why keep the “S-word”? It’s a leftover relic of a bad marriage to Soviet idealism. Let’s not pretend anymore. You can’t drive an EV while praying to Karl Marx.
Both “secular” and “socialist” have been weaponised, hollowed out, and paraded like plastic trophies in a school play. They’re thrown around to either shame opponents or sanctify oneself. They’re not principles, they’re props. And here’s the kicker: it’s not even a left-versus-right issue anymore. Everyone’s dealing double. The Left uses “secular” to mean “minority-first”. The Right uses it to mean “pseudo-secular traitor”. Nobody wants religion out of politics or markets out of governance. We don’t have secularism. We have vote-based Venn diagrams of divine appeasement. We don’t have socialism. We have cronyism with a conscience.
And yet, melodrama ensues. The minute anyone suggests deleting these dead-weights from the Preamble, people faint theatrically on TV panels. “Oh no! The soul of India is being ripped out!” cries someone who last read the Constitution during the UPSC mains. Here’s a thought: maybe India’s soul is tired of being trapped in meaningless slogans. Maybe we need less mythology and more honesty. Conclusion? Clear the cobwebs, not the Constitution. Let’s be clear, dropping these words doesn’t mean banning secular thought or killing welfare policies. It means we stop pretending. Stop mouthing 1970s jargon while living in a 2025 reality. So yes, Mr. Hosabale, your idea has modern relevance. The words you diss are empty rituals. Cremate them with due ceremony. Or better still, donate them to New York, where they’ve just elected a mayor who claims to believe in them.
India, meanwhile, needs new words of purpose: integrity, efficiency, and maybe no more nonsense. – The New Indian Express, 13 July 2025
Filed under: india | Tagged: constitution amendments, constitution of india, preamble, secular, socialist | Comments Off on Time to clean up the Constitution – Ravi Shankar
