'Secular' & 'Socialist' Under Fire: Real Agenda Behind RSS’ New Preamble Demand

As a stormy session of Parliament looms, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has fired a salvo that could well disrupt the Opposition’s attempts to pin the Narendra Modi government down on Operation Sindoor and the foreign policy and security challenges it has thrown up.In an unexpected move that has set the cat among the pigeons, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale called for the deletion of the words "secular" and "socialist", which Indira Gandhi had introduced into the preamble of the Constitution during the Emergency.The demand is a bolt out of the blue. It has hardly figured in RSS and BJP narratives over the yearsIn fact, it finds no mention in the Hindutva agenda, nor was it included in the terms of reference for the committee formed by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government to review the Constitution.Dhankar’s Remark Reveals India's Constitutional Crossroads: Who Has Final Word?The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) itself claims to swear by socialism and secularism. Article II of its Constitution clearly states, "The Party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism, and democracy, and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.’’It is quite bizarre, therefore, that the words secular and socialist are now being reviled as, in the words of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, "A sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatana." The question arises then, why now? Why has the RSS suddenly sprung this as an issue for debate?The answer lies in the timing. It is significant that Hosabale voiced his demand on the eve of the monsoon session of Parliament, which begins amid serious concerns arising from the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.After an initial show of support and unity, the Opposition, particularly the Congress, has been raising red flags, asking sharp questions, and criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "surrendering" to pressure from US President Donald Trump for a ceasefire, just when India had gained the upper hand in the conflict with Pakistan.Why Opposition is Right in Asking Tough Questions of Modi & Op SindoorSince the government declined to call a special session of Parliament to discuss the tumultuous events following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the Opposition is gearing up to subject it to intensive grilling in the upcoming monsoon session.It has become standard practice for the BJP to use diversionary tactics to evade uncomfortable questions that demand accountability.The controversy that blew up over film actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in June 2020 is a prime example of the cunning manner in which public attention was deflected from the glaring lapses that led to the India-China conflict in Ladakh the month before, resulting in loss of lives of Indian soldiers and territory.Hosabale's call to change the preamble of the Constitution back to its original form seems to be a specially timed dog whistle to corner the Congress for daring to tinker with Dalit icon BR Ambedkar’s voluminous document.The BJP responded as if on cue. Senior Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Jitender Singh and Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Himanta Biswa Sarma immediately echoed Hosabale's demand.The icing on the cake, though, was Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s support. Although he holds a Constitutional post, which by convention proscribes him from making political comments, he joined the chorus to denounce the words socialist and secular as "a sacrilege to the spirit of Sanatana and the civilisational ethos of India’."Why Must India’s Preamble Continue to be ‘Secular’ and ‘Socialist’?The RSS's argument is that BR Ambedkar, who drafted the Constitution, declined to include the words socialist and secular in the preamble despite demands from some members of the Constituent Assembly. It maintains that what Indira Gandhi did, in 1976, was gross violation.However, constitutional expert Sanjay Hegde points out that Indira Gandhi’s amendments only made explicit what was implicit in the Constitution. Interestingly, this was Ambedkar’s line too. He told the Constituent Assembly that the words are superfluous as the Directive Principles themselves are "socialistic in their direction."Now that the RSS has called for the deletion of the so-called offensive words, will the government oblige? It could well introduce a bill to amend the preamble in the monsoon session.But the passage of the bill is not important, just the introduction is. With that, it will draw the battle lines for disruptions, chaos, and repeated adjournments.But the passage of the bill is not important, just the introduction is. With that, it will draw the battle lines for disruptions, chaos, and repeated adjournments.The result? A serious and much needed debate on Operation Sindoor, and its implications for India’s foreign policy and national security, will be derailed. The bill to amend the preamble will also soon go into cold storage in a parliamentary committee, till the time the BJP feels compelled to pull it out again to counter a Congress offensive.So far, the Congress has not risen to the trap set by Hosabale. It has been restrained, with party president Mallikarjuna Kharge and communication-in-charge Jairam Ramesh issuing profomra statements about the historical opposition of the RSS and BJP to Ambedkar’s Constitution.However, it doesn’t take long for political battles to explode into meaningless exchanges of fire. The pity is that the Constitution, to which every political party including the BJP swears allegiance, seems to have become a football to be kicked around at will.(Arati R Jerath is a Delhi-based senior journalist. She tweets @AratiJ. This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

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'Secular' & 'Socialist' Under Fire: Real Agenda Behind RSS’ New Preamble Demand

It has become standard practice for the BJP to use diversionary tactics to evade uncomfortable questions.

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