Latent Constitutional Powers and Ideologies

Only the first statement is correct; a key attribute of sovereignty is the absolute power to acquire or cede territory. The second statement is false because the Constitution already contained implicit socialist elements (specifically the Directive Principles of State Policy) long before the word 'socialist' was added to the Preamble in 1976. The third statement is false; while a sovereign state can cede territory, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that doing so requires a formal constitutional amendment under Article 368, not a simple executive order.

The Assertion is true; the 1976 amendment labeled what was already there. Reason 1 correctly supports this by identifying the socialist nature of the original DPSP. Reason 2 is completely false; the 1950 text explicitly included robust protections for minority rights (Fundamental Rights) and welfare directives (DPSP).

The second response is correct. The critic fundamentally misunderstands sovereignty. Absolute sovereignty grants a state the supreme geopolitical power to both acquire and cede territory. However, in India, this sovereign power must be exercised procedurally through a formal constitutional amendment under Article 368 (e.g., the 9th and 100th Amendments), not just a simple treaty.

Three propositions are valid (Statements 1, 3, and 4). Sovereignty allows ceding territory, DPSP acted as implicit socialism, and ceding territory requires an amendment. Statement 2 is false because socialist principles (via DPSP) were already present long before the 1976 amendment.