No other constitution’s preamble has undergone change except India: V-P Dhankhar

Asserting that the Preamble of a Constitution is not changeable and not alterable, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday criticised the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government for changing the Preamble of the Indian Constitution during the Emergency in 1976.

“Preamble of any constitution is its soul. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution is unique. Except Bharat (India), no other Constitution’s Preamble has undergone change and why? Preamble is not changeable. Preamble is not alterable. Preamble is the basis on which the constitution has grown,” the Vice-President said.

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“Preamble is the seed of the Constitution. It is Soul of the constitution but this Preamble for Bharat (India) was changed by 42nd Constitutional Amendment act of 1976, adding words Socialist, Secular and integrity,” Dhankhar said at an event at the Vice-President’s Enclave, marking the presentation of the first copy of the copy, ‘Ambedkar’s Messages’ compiled by D. S. Veeraiah, author and former MLC Karnataka,

“We must reflect. Dr. Ambedkar did painstaking work. He would have surely focused on it. The founding fathers thought it befittingly wise to give us that Preamble. No country’s Preamble has undergone change — except Bharat (India),” Dhankhar said.

“But devastatingly, this change was effected for Bharat at a time when people were virtually enslaved, during the 22 months of draconian Emergency that was proclaimed on 25th June 1975,” he said.

“What a travesty of justice! First, we change something which is not changeable — something that emanates from ‘We the People’ — and then, you change it during Emergency, when ‘We the People’ were in darkness, bleeding in heart and soul,” Dhankhar said.

The Vice-President’s remarks came after RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale had on Thursday advocated removal of the terms ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ from the Preamble of the Constitution.

Addressing an event in Delhi, Hosabale questioned whether the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’, which he said were added to the Preamble by the Congress government during the Emergency, should remain.