Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma urges removal of 'secularism' and 'socialism' from Constitution's Preamble
Jun 28, 2025
Guwahati (Assam) [India], June 28 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday launched a book titled 'The Emergency Diaries: Years that Forged a Leader' at the state BJP headquarters in Guwahati.
Sarma said that this is the right time to remove the legacies of the Emergency, including the words secularism and socialism added to the Constitution.
He said these words were not part of the original Constitution and should be dropped, as secularism goes against the Indian idea of Sarva Dharma Sambhava, and socialism was never part of India's original economic vision.
Speaking to the reporters, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Today, we launched the book The Emergency Diary, which talks about the struggle and resistance during the Emergency. When we talk about the Emergency, this is the right moment to remove its remaining impact, just like Prime Minister Modi is working to erase the legacy of colonial rule. Two major outcomes of the Emergency were the addition of the words secularism and socialism to our Constitution. I believe secularism goes against the Indian idea of Sarva Dharma Sambhava. Socialism was also never truly our economic vision, our focus has always been on Sarvodaya Antyodaya."
"So, I request the Government of India to remove these two words, secularism and Socialism, from the Preamble, as they were not part of the original Constitution and were added later by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi," Sarma said.
'The Emergency Diaries - Years that Forged a Leader' book published by BlueKraft is based on first-person anecdotes from associates who worked with young Narendra Modi, and using other archival material, the book is a first of its kind that creates new scholarship on the formative years of a young man who would give it his all in the fight against tyranny.
According to the release, Emergency Diaries - paints a vivid picture of PM Modi fighting for the ideals of democracy and how he has worked all his life to preserve and promote it. "In the mid-1970s, as India was caught in the iron shackles of the Emergency, Narendra Modi, then a young pracharak of the RSS, found himself on the front lines of a covert resistance against the autocratic regime of Indira Gandhi."
