[1].

Secularism in spirit and in letter

Context: On the constitution day on November 26, Union Home minister Rajnath singh
said that The framers of the Constitution did not include the words secular and
socialist because these values were (already) part of Indian civilisation. Voicing his
opinion that secularism was alien to the constitution and only became a part of it due to
emergency. Author argues against it.

Backdrop against which the framers of constitution worked

The framers of the Constitution worked against the backdrop of two great instances of
human carnage
1.

World War II

2.

The Partition of India

Both events were based on distinctive identities and there specific territorial
demarcations. Makers of the constitution made sure that the document they produced
had adequate safeguards and words of comfort for every religion.
What does secularism in the Indian Constitution mean?
The constitutional vision of secularism is one of principled equidistance from all religious
matters, while at the same time regulating its practice in a manner consistent with the
demands of a modern society.
It is fallacious to argue that the original Constitution as adopted, enacted and given to
ourselves on November 26, 1949, was not a secular document. The inclusion in the
Preamble of the words socialist and secular by the 42nd Amendment on January 3,
1977, only headlined what was already present in the original text of the Constitution.
We must also remember that the Preamble itself was drafted only after the Constitution

was approved by the Constituent Assembly. The Preamble thus became a one-page
mission statement of the republics intent.

Constitutional provisions devoid of any religious preference

1.

Article 14: The guarantee of equality

2.

Article 15 and 16: the promise of non-discrimination

3.

Article 27 and 28: protection from religious taxes and religious instruction in statefunded institutions

4.

Article 29 and 30: The permission of educational institutions of choice to linguistic

and religious minorities

5.

Article 325: The promise of equal ballots devoid of sectional preferences

Basic structure of constitution

On April 24, 1973, the Supreme Court, with its then full strength of 13 judges, ruled in
the Kesavananda Bharati case that secularism was part of the basic structure of the
Constitution. It also held that elements constituting the basic structure were beyond
Parliaments power to amend the Constitution. The court reiterated this principle in 1994
in the S.R. Bommaicase when dealing with the challenge to the dismissal of four
Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled State governments after the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
42nd Amendment Insertion of word secular During the Emergency came the 42nd
Amendment on January 3, 1977. Apart from many significant changes otherwise, it
inserted the word secular in the Preamble.
44th Amendment After the Emergency, the 44th Amendment by the Janata
government undid most of the substantial damage achieved by the 42nd Amendment.
But it, too, chose to preserve the addition of the words socialist and secular to the
Preamble.