RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale reignited a long-standing constitutional debate on Thursday by advocating for the removal of the terms "socialist" and "secular" from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. His remarks came during a Delhi event commemorating 50 years since the declaration of the Emergency by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government in 1975—a period marked by severe curtailment of civil liberties, suppression of the press, and political arrests.
Hosabale argued that the words “socialist” and “secular” were inserted into the Preamble during the Emergency through the 42nd Amendment, and suggested it was time to reconsider their relevance. He accused the Congress of altering the Constitution's foundational spirit for political gains and demanded an apology from the party, targeting Rahul Gandhi directly. “Your ancestors did it. You must apologise to the country,” he said.
The RSS leader also sharply criticised the Congress for its actions during the 21-month Emergency, highlighting forced sterilizations, arrests of Opposition leaders, and suppression of judicial and media freedoms. He stated that the Congress, despite never apologising for the episode, continues to parade itself as a guardian of the Constitution.
His comments aligned with the BJP-led government's decision to observe June 25 as Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas (Constitution Murder Day), marking the 50th anniversary of the Emergency. On the same day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a scathing criticism of the 1975 crackdown, calling it one of the darkest periods in India's democratic history. In a series of posts on X, PM Modi said the Emergency was an attempt to imprison democracy itself, accusing the Congress of silencing Parliament and undermining the judiciary.
The debate over the words "socialist" and "secular" has periodically resurfaced in Indian political discourse, with critics arguing they were inserted without public consultation and do not reflect the original text adopted by the Constituent Assembly. Defenders of the amendment, however, see them as essential to India’s inclusive democratic identity.
