RSS reignites national debate over Emergency-era changes to India’s Preamble
As India marks 50 years since the Emergency, an old constitutional debate is back in the spotlight — should the words “Secular” and “Socialist” be part of India’s Preamble? Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale stirred the pot recently by calling for a national debate on these two terms. He argued that they were not part of B.R. Ambedkar’s original Constitution and were inserted during the Emergency in 1976 through the 42nd Amendment, a period marked by mass censorship, political repression, and authoritarian governance under Indira Gandhi.
RSS Leader Dattatreya Hosabale drops a bombshell!
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) June 26, 2025
"‘Secular’ & ‘Socialist’ were EMERGENCY ERA INSERTIONS, NOT part of Ambedkar’s original Constitution!"
👉 Calls for removal from Preamble! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DZP89U5nTu
Hosabale’s statement has reignited fierce discussion across political, legal, and ideological lines. While many on the Right view this as an overdue correction to a controversial decision, the Opposition sees it as a veiled attack on the pluralistic soul of the Indian republic. But what’s the truth? And why does this matter so much today?
RSS Questions 42nd Amendment — Was It Democratic or Just Dictatorship in Disguise?
The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, passed during the height of the Emergency (1975–77), added the words “Socialist” and “Secular” to the Preamble without national consensus or public debate. Dr. Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Constitution, never used these terms in the original text. According to Hosabale and many constitutional conservatives, these words were ideological insertions made by the ruling Congress party to politically sanitize the regime’s image and centralize power.
RSS believes these additions distorted India’s natural civilizational character, which is rooted in dharma and pluralism, not in European concepts like socialism or secularism. In contrast, Congress and left-aligned parties argue that these terms enshrine the inclusive and welfare-oriented spirit of the Constitution. They call the RSS position a “dangerous attempt to rewrite India’s foundational values.”
The Supreme Court had a say too. In November 2024, it dismissed a plea challenging the inclusion of these words, calling them integral to modern India’s identity. Still, debates rage on in TV studios, campuses, and public forums.
BJP leaders like Nitin Gadkari have also backed this viewpoint, framing it as a course correction to Emergency-era excesses. On social media, hashtags like #PreambleDebate and #Emergency50Years are trending, showing that the question isn’t just legal — it’s deeply cultural and political.
