Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday called for the removal of the words “socialism” and “secularism” from the Indian Constitution, arguing that these terms are Western constructs with no roots in Indian civilisation.
Speaking at the launch of The Emergency Diaries: Years That Forged a Leader—a book chronicling the 1975-77 Emergency and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the resistance movement—Sarma said, “How can I be secular? I am a hardcore Hindu. A Muslim person is a hardcore Muslim person. How can he be secular?”
The chief minister asserted that Indian secularism is distinct from its Western interpretation.
“Our secularism is not about neutrality; it is about being positively aligned. These words were added to the Preamble by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but they have no place in our civilizational ethos,” he said.
Sarma further claimed that the inclusion of “socialism” in the Constitution was also a product of Gandhi’s vision, which imposed Western economic ideals on India.
He highlighted that Indian economic principles traditionally revolved around trusteeship and supporting the marginalised.
“The BJP didn’t need to dismantle socialism; PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh did it for the Congress with the economic reforms of the 1990s,” Sarma quipped, referring to the liberalization policies introduced under Prime Minister Rao and Finance Minister Singh.
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Sarma also emphasised the need to reflect on the consequences of the Emergency, stating, “We must not forget the Emergency, as we cannot afford to repeat it.”
The Emergency, declared by Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975, was marked by press censorship, arrests without trial, and a suppression of dissent across academia, politics, and civil society.
It lasted until March 21, 1977, leaving a lasting impact on India’s democratic framework.
