The 45th Amendment Bill later became the Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1977. This sought to set at naught certain amendments which had adversely amended the Constitution. One of the proposals in the 45th Amendment Bill was to insert the definition of ‘Secular Republic’ and ‘Socialistic Republic’.
The phrase ‘Secular Republic’ was defined to mean a republic in which there is equal respect for all religions and the phrase ‘Socialistic Republic’ was defined to mean a republic in which there is freedom from all forms of exploitation – social, political and economic. However, although the Janata Party had a majority in the Lok Sabha after the 1977 elections, it continued to be in a minority in the Rajya Sabha, where the Congress continued to have a majority. The proposal to insert definitions of Socialist Republic and Secular Republic was defeated in the Rajya Sabha. Similarly, the 42nd Amendment had transferred Education and Forests from the State List to the Concurrent List. The proposal to restore it to the earlier position was also defeated.
Source: Barandbench
