‘Secular and socialist’ matter most to every Indian

‘What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a Republic? An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws,’ wrote Alexander Hamilton, and what better words could sum up the need to make sure every citizen follows the Constitution in letter and spirit. And also make sure its hallowed concepts such as socialism and secularism are safeguarded till the last breath?

Of late, there have been subtle attempts to target these inviolable concepts; an RSS leader had for instance  wondered some time ago whether ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ - added by a previous Congress government to the Preamble of the Constitution - should remain. Quite understandable considering that these concepts do not fit into the RSS scheme of things. The Indian Constitution has been hailed by many as one of the greatest in the world, borrowing the best from those of the United States and United Kingdom. It was drawn up by great minds including Dr Ambedkar, Pandit Nehru and Sarojini Naidu to make sure it catered to the aspirations of citizens of this great nation who speak different languages, belong to various religions, cultures and regions and are yet bound by the same national spirit and ambition.

There are thousands of languages and dialects spoken by our people and there is no faith which is not found in our country with people living in harmony through many centuries. They may have fought many wars and differed on contentious issues concerning caste, religion and culture but it is the essential Indianness which holds us together as we celebrate our every victory and bow in grief in times of national calamities. Which is also why the word secular matters so much to every Indian for it ensures that we have enough space to practise our individuals faiths and also respect others so that the spirit of harmony so essential for a nation’s progress, remains untouched in every manner.

Socialism is equally important for every Indian – in fact for freedom fighters including Pandit Nehru and Ram Manohar Lohia, the concepts of freedom, equality and liberty were close to their hearts as they went about propagating an egalitarian society where there is no bias based on economic or social grounds. Many of the liberating steps in the early decades after Independence including bank nationalisation and the abolition of  privy purses of the royalty were guided by these principles, which our then leaders felt, was absolutely necessary if we were to move towards a more equal and freedom-loving society. And now we hear of moves to expunge the words secular and socialist from the Preamble as they were added in an ‘undemocratic manner’ during the Emergency.

A Rajya Sabha MP is reportedly planning to move a bill in the Upper House to remove these words, according to reports. It may be true that the words were included in the Constitution vide the 42nd amendment during the Emergency of 1975 when most Opposition leaders were in jail. That however does not take away the enormous importance these words hold for every freedom loving and progressive Indian and more so in today’s India where religious and economic freedom is often under attack. They matter the most to us and they have to be safeguarded with all our might possible.