Row Over Omission of Terms Socialist', Secular' from Preamble in TS Textbooks

Hyderabad: The omission of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from the Preamble of the Constitution printed on the cover page of Class X Social Studies textbooks published by the TS Council of Education Research & Training (SCERT) for the current academic year sparked a heated debate on whether it was a deliberate act by the government.

Activists called out the grave error and asked that immediate action be taken up to fix the same.

While some believe that it could have been a genuine mistake, of using the older, pre-amended version of the Preamble, others called it a deliberate act.

“When the Constitution was originally drafted and came into use in 1950, the Preamble did not have the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’. They were added later on December 18, 1976, by way of the 43rd amendment. So, it's possible the publishers made a mistake, albeit a terrible one,” said Anoop Rao, an activist.

Others said they have reasons to suspect foul play.

Ravi Chava, secretary of the TS United Teachers’ Federation (TS-UTF), said that the omission might be a dig at the ruling BJP government for its push towards Hindutva and other allegedly anti-secular proposals.

“The changes proposed and made to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Framework (NCF), especially the removal of lessons about the Mughal empire, etc., all point towards political involvement,” Chava said.

Irrespective of the reason, the UTF demanded that authorities investigate the matter and take immediate steps on the issue of “wrong publication of the Preamble of the Constitution.”

Chava pointed out that while the error was only on the cover page of Class X textbooks, the picture of the Preamble in lessons for Class VIII and Class X had the latest version of the Preamble in both English and Telugu mediums.

“It's the cover page that catches the eye and remains in a student's memory. Hence, it’s of bigger concern. Nevertheless, faulty printing of something as big as the Preamble of the Constitution is no tiny mistake,” Chava said.

Members of the UTF contended that such a mistake, appearing at a time when the world and the country were debating if India’s secular fabric and philosophy were facing a threat, is worrisome.

K. Jangaiah, president of UTF, in a statement to the Council on Thursday, said: “The publication of the old Preamble, as some people could have wanted, instead of the existing Preamble, by the Telangana state government gives rise to many doubts. It appears to be done on purpose. Accidentally or not, it must be looked into and strict action must be taken against those responsible. Books must be reprinted and distributed.”

SCERT director Radha Reddy was unavailable for comment.