The Narendra Modi government of India plans to make the country a Hindu polity, or so it is being feared. Reportedly, the words "secular" and "socialist" appear to have been deleted from the preamble of the country’s Constitution. The words 'secularism' and 'socialist' have been found missing from the preamble in copy of the Constitution of India provided to the members at the inaugural session of the new parliament. India has been declared a socialist and secular state in the Constitution. The Modi government has apparently removed the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ from the newly published copy of the Constitution.

Opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the disappearance of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from the Constitution is very worrying. The Preamble, which explains the Constitution's philosophy and objectives, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949. Like the Constitution itself, the Preamble can also be amended. Previously, it was amended just once, during the 1976 Emergency of Indira Gandhi. Among the gifts the lawmakers received by the government the day they walked into the new parliament building was a copy of the Constitution.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi also said: "In the Preamble, the words ('socialist and secular') were not there." The Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar accused the BJP of "displaying a biased mindset by removing the words 'socialist' and 'secular'".

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)