Comments on: Naman 1857 – A Tribute to the Martyrs

By: B Shantanu

B Shantanu — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:39:24 +0000

I have been reading up a bit on 1857 since last few months…And I am no longer sure if 1857 was a Revolt? a Mutiny? a War of Independence? or Jihad? ..or indeed all the above…
Pl see this review of “The 1857 JIHAD” by Sh Sheshrao More, ISBN 978-81-7049-337-2 (Manas Publications, Delhi)
Price: Rs.795/-A book by Sh Sheshrao More here: http://www.vigilonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1102&Itemid=1

By: voiceofkashmir

voiceofkashmir — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:30:18 +0000

This is not time to have a debate what Indira Gandhi Do its true she added Secular to gather the votes of muslims as she was well aware of that the Hindu votes are scattered in the name of caste so to come in power and make the fool of Hindus she added this word SECULAR .The word secular dose not mean what it has been meant by our political leaders our thiose ghola chaap leaders who dont have any public gathering have changed its defination if you check this word you will find the diffrent meaning .But in indian polity the leaders can do any thing .
You have heard one of the leader in early times when Indiara ji was the Prime minister give the slogan INDIA IS INDIRA &INDIRA IS INDIA .
In india the secularism is become a weapon to wipe out hindus ,In India chanting of RAM or KRISHAN is communal .But if one is screaming ALLHA O AKBAR this is secular .
The exodus of kashmir Pandits from Kashmir is Communal & the AFZAL GURUS atack on Parlianment is Secular .
What a defination of Secularism is this we should be proud of this .
Why kashmiri terrorist is provided PASSPORT to roam whole world and decry India
Please dont waste the scarafice of our brave men of armed forces due to the poltical impotency

Manish – a youth avenging kashmir

By: Patriot

Patriot — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:48:48 +0000

My bad! Indira Gandhi introduced both “socialist” and “secular” in the 42nd amendment, where she also diluted our property rights. I have always been focussed on the socialist and property rights bits!!

Here is the official link:
http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend42.htm

You can read the entire constitution and the various amendments at the above site. Thanks for the debate, one of my misconceptions cleared (I thought secular was present from 1950) and plenty of new stuff to read!

Cheers

By: Patriot

Patriot — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:21:34 +0000

No, I am fairly sure that Indira Gandhi only put in the word socialist. This was before she nationalised the banks and abolished the privy purses. However, let me do some more research and revert.

Cheers

By: B Shantanu

B Shantanu — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:07:54 +0000

@ Patriot: You say: Although I am no fan of Indira Gandhi, it is only fair to point out that she added the word �socialist� and not �secular� to the constitution. We had the word secular in the constitution right from 1950…

I am not sure that is true. This article by Barun Mitra mentions:

In 1950, when the Constitution was adopted, the Preamble read: �We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens��

Another one, by Arvind Lavakare notes:

It is on record that ‘at least twice in the Constituent Assembly efforts were made to make a specific mention of the principle of secularism in the Constitution. For example, an amendment had sought to ensure that no law could be made which discriminates between man and man on the basis of religion, or applies to adherents of any one religion and leaves others untouched. All such amendments were summarily rejected by Dr Ambedkar. Later… he made it clear that he did not believe that our Constitution was secular because it allowed different treatment to various communities.’ (Subhash C Kashyap, a renowned constitutional authority, in Reforming The Constitution, UBS Publishers & Distributors, 1992).

It is a fact of history that despite Ambedkar’s erudite view above, the Indira Gandhi government’s Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, thrust the term ‘secular’ into the Preamble of the Constitution without defining or explaining the significance of that term. It was, you see, the period of the Emergency, and Madam Gandhi didn’t need to explain anything to anyone.

You may also enjoy reading this post: Hinduism as a secular concept

and this: Time to dump some anachronisms?