The government has a lot to explain as to why its Republic Day advertisement used an image of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution without the words “socialist” and “secular”.

The incident was being blown out of proportion, the concerned bureaucrats said, adding that the Preamble was used as a watermark for aesthetic effect in the advertisement. After coming under attack from activists, the minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the media that the country celebrated the Preamble as it was originally, before the 1976 amendment. However, Rathore’s argument leaves scope for doubt over the government’s intentions.