The captivating words, “sovereign,” “socialist,” “secular” and “democratic” in the > Preamble of our democratic Republic are nothing more than colourful feathers in the nation’s cap. When we are the largest importer of arms and ammunition in the world, the term sovereignty is a farce. When 80 per cent of the people are economically weak, we can achieve real socialism only by making the rich genuinely involved in the uplift of the poor. We say that our secularism means the equal treatment of all religions but the truth is that the gullible are falling prey to self-declared gods and messengers mushrooming across the country and spreading hate and violence. Finally, our claim as the largest democracy of the world is more hype. And, how is it possible to run our so-called “democratic” elections without factoring in the caste and communal angles, money and muscle power and deputation of security personnel?
Victor Frank A.,
Chennai
The words “socialist” and “secular” may have been added during the Emergency but everybody should know how “democratic” the process was then. The point is that the Constitution has enough provisions to safeguard secularism and socialism. The secular character and conception of a welfare state is part of the unamendable and basic structure of the Constitution. Moreover, the Constitution promotes a democratic socialist and secular vision through the Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights. All these provisions obviate the need to mention the two words in the Preamble. Therefore, the issue raised by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is pertinent and there is no harm in engaging in a fruitful debate.
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Anoop Suri,
New Delhi