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From: Rashtriya Matadata Manch <rmatadatamanch@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Jan 31, 2015 at 8:25 PM
Subject: DR. AMBEDKAR REJECTED WORDS “SECULAR” AND “SOCIALIST” FOR PREAMBLE
Rashtriya Matadata Manch INFORMATION TO KNOW – 20 31.1.2015
DR. AMBEDKAR REJECTED WORDS “SECULAR” AND “SOCIALIST” FOR PREAMBLE
(India Express, Mumbai 31.1.2015, from letter by M.C.Joshi, Lucknow) An amendment moved in the Constituent Assembly in 1948 to add these (“secular” and “socialist”) words to the Constitution was rejected by B.R.Ambedkar, who said: “If you state in the Constitution that the social organization or the state shall take a particular form, you are, in my judgment, taking away the liberty of the people to decide what should be the social organization in which they wish to live”….. these words were inserted in the Preamble during Emergency , the darkest chapter of our republic…. India has been a secular country over the centuries and bid farewell to the ideology of socialism in 1991.
Only 'secular' Preamble in government ads
Information and broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley has directed officials to ensure that the amended version of the Preamble be used by DAVP and other media units. (File photo)
NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of the "Preamble" controversy, the government has issued instructions that all advertisements and government communication will use the 1976 version of the Preamble in future. In a letter, information and broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley has directed officials to ensure that the amended version of the Preamble be used by DAVP and other media units.
This comes on the back of a row over the exclusion of the words "secular'' and "socialist'' in the Preamble which was used in the I&B ministry's Republic Day advertisement. The advertisement had used the original Preamble as drafted by the founding fathers in 1949. The two words were only added in 1976 under then PM Indira Gandhi by way of the 42nd amendment to the Constitution during the Emergency.
READ ALSO: The I&B ad and the controversy that wasn't
"A decision has been made that only the amended version of the Preamble using the words secular and socialist will be used in advertisements and communication. We will ensure that this is strictly followed by all media units,'' a source said, confirming that Jaitley had sent a letter to I&B secretary Bimal Julka for necessary action.
Jaitley's instruction is meant to put an end to the effort to ignite "unnecessary controversy" and eliminate the room for similar ones in future, sources said.
The use of the original Preamble set off a furore in social media, with Congress alleging that the omission of words "secular" and "socialist" was a precursor to drastic changes Modi government plans to carry out in the Constitution.
READ ALSO: Shiv Sena turns Preamble ad into a campaign
The government rebutted the charge that the advertisement used the original Preamble because the idea was to celebrate the Constitution as it was promulgated on January 26, 1950. Minister of state for I&B Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had stressed the advertisement was a tribute to the founding fathers. He also pointed out that UPA had used the same picture of the Preamble in an advertisement to commemorate the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar on April 14, 2014.
This comes on the back of a row over the exclusion of the words "secular'' and "socialist'' in the Preamble which was used in the I&B ministry's Republic Day advertisement. The advertisement had used the original Preamble as drafted by the founding fathers in 1949. The two words were only added in 1976 under then PM Indira Gandhi by way of the 42nd amendment to the Constitution during the Emergency.
READ ALSO: The I&B ad and the controversy that wasn't
"A decision has been made that only the amended version of the Preamble using the words secular and socialist will be used in advertisements and communication. We will ensure that this is strictly followed by all media units,'' a source said, confirming that Jaitley had sent a letter to I&B secretary Bimal Julka for necessary action.
Jaitley's instruction is meant to put an end to the effort to ignite "unnecessary controversy" and eliminate the room for similar ones in future, sources said.
The use of the original Preamble set off a furore in social media, with Congress alleging that the omission of words "secular" and "socialist" was a precursor to drastic changes Modi government plans to carry out in the Constitution.
READ ALSO: Shiv Sena turns Preamble ad into a campaign
The government rebutted the charge that the advertisement used the original Preamble because the idea was to celebrate the Constitution as it was promulgated on January 26, 1950. Minister of state for I&B Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had stressed the advertisement was a tribute to the founding fathers. He also pointed out that UPA had used the same picture of the Preamble in an advertisement to commemorate the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar on April 14, 2014.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Only-secular-Preamble-in-government-ads/articleshow/46071759.cms