Pawan Kumar Bansal lambasts RSS, BJP for row over ‘secular’, ‘socialist’ in Preamble

Ex-MP and former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has expressed surprise and dismay at a campaign being ‘orchestrated’ by senior leaders of the RSS and BJP against the inclusion of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ in the Preamble of the Constitution 50 years ago.

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In a statement, Bansal said the concept of secularism, as enunciated by the towering figures of the nation’s long-drawn freedom struggle, was not ‘anti-religion’ but based on age-old Indian tradition of ‘sarv dharma sambhava’ (equal respect for all religions). Thus, the explicit inclusion of the word ‘secular’ in the Preamble was to give effect to the manifestation of the implicit belief and Indian ethos rooted in ‘Vasudhaiva kutumbakam’ (the world is one family) and the Sikh Gurus exhortation ‘Manas ki jaat sabhe eke pehchanbo’, which had always guided Indian thought and action despite repeated efforts by religious bigots to disturb peace and harmony.

On the inclusion of the word ‘socialist’ in the Preamble, Bansal said it demonstrated the critics’ bias and prejudice against what inspired the freedom struggle and their patronage to exploitative market forces leading to widening economic inequality in the society. He also reminded the critics that Maharaja Agrasen practised socialism millennia ago in his kingdom, where every citizen was brought up to and ensured a dignified economic level. He rued the involvement of a high constitutional authority like the Vice-President in this ‘partisan’ monologue deploying disparaging terms like ‘ulcer’ for ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’.