Art 370 introduced against Ambedkar’s ideology of one Constitution for India: CJI

Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Saturday said Dr BR Ambedkar gave a Constitution that has served the country well and kept it united in times of war and peace.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Constitution Preamble Park at Nagpur, the CJI said, “Babasaheb Ambedkar was criticised for our Constitution being too centralised... Babasaheb had replied to that criticism by saying... ‘We are giving the country a Constitution suitable for all challenges, and I can assure you that it will keep the country united in times of war and peace’.”

“When Article 370 was challenged, it came before us, and when the hearing was underway, I recalled Dr Babasaheb’s words that one Constitution is suited for a country... If we want to keep the country united, we need only one Constitution,” he said, addressing the gathering in Marathi.

Justice Gavai was part of a five-judge Constitution Bench led by then CJI DY Chandrachud that unanimously upheld the Centre’s August 5, 2019, decision to abrogate Article 370 that gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said, “Today, see the situation in the neighbouring countries, be it Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. Whenever our country has faced any crisis, it has remained united.”

The CJI’s comments assume significance in the wake of recent controversy over RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement questioning the rationale behind the words “socialist” and “secular” added to the Preamble of the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment during the Emergency in 1976.

Speaking at a function to commemorate 50 years of the imposition of the Emergency, Hosabale had said, “The words socialist and secular were added to the Preamble. No attempt was made to remove them later. So, there should be a discussion on whether they should remain.” He had pointed out that Ambedkar’s Constitution did not have these two words in the Preamble.

The Opposition parties, including the Congress, have accused the RSS and BJP of being anti-Constitution.

In November 2024, the Supreme Court rejected petitions challenging insertion of “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble. A Bench led by the then CJI Sanjiv Khanna said it’s true that the Constituent Assembly had not agreed to include the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble but the Constitution is a living document, with power given to the Parliament to amend it in terms of and in accordance with Article 368.

It said in 1949, the word ‘secular’ was considered imprecise, as some scholars and jurists had interpreted it as being opposed to religion. However, “Over time, India has developed its own interpretation of secularism, wherein the state neither supports any religion nor penalises the profession and practice of any faith.”

The word ‘socialist’ denoted the state’s commitment to be a welfare state and its commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity, it said.

The CJI said Ambedkar envisioned one Constitution for the country to keep it united and never favoured the idea of a separate constitution for a state.

The Supreme Court drew inspiration from Dr Ambedkar’s vision of a united India under a single constitution while upholding the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

(With inputs from agency)