NEW DELHI, May 1 -- April 24, 1973 was a historic day in the history of the Constitution of India. It was on this day that the Supreme Court of India, through its path-breaking judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati case, established that Parliament does not have unfettered power to amend the Constitution. Known as the 'basic structure' doctrine, the verdict stated that there are certain fundamental features -- democracy, secularism, federalism, sovereignty of the nation, the rule of law, securing individual freedom, etc. -- that are beyond the scope of alteration by the supreme law-making body, the Parliament.

The RSS and other Sangh Parivar offshoots couldn't digest and accept the Constitution as adopted by the Constituent Assembly. They...