The I&B ad and the controversy that wasn’t

NEW DELHI: A Republic Day advertisement issued by the Union ministry of information & broadcasting caused an online rumpus with many alleging that the ministry had deleted the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from the Preamble of the Constitution featured in the ad as a watermark image.
However, a ministry source clarified that the image used in the advertisement was from the original version of the Preamble.The words "secular" and "socialist" were added in 1976 as a part of the 42nd amendment of the Constitution.
The Constitution, as we know it today, begins with the words: “We the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic ...” However, the image used in the background of the newspaper ad reads: “We the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign democratic republic ...”

The watermark of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. (Photo courtesy Twitter)
“The ad that was designed, was inspired from the first preamble where it all begins. You can also see a calligraphy copy of the same in Parliament museum even today,” the source said. Union minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore tweeted on Tuesday evening: “This is the original Preamble. The words ‘Socialist’ and ‘Secular’ were added in 1976.” He later added in two more tweets: “The controversy surrounding the ad is uncalled for. Photo of original Preamble was a way of honouring founding fathers of the Constitution. Incidentally, the same picture was used in official advertisements earlier also.”
In a tweet, Congress’s Manish Tewari, pointing out the omission, said it was a prelude to substitution with “communal & corporate”.
By the time the clarifications came in, an online petition condemning the “mischievous advertisement” had gathered nearly 750 signatures. On social media, allegations were made of “wilful omission”, and the act criticized. Soon enough, the earlier version of the Preamble was widely shared, quelling the uproar.