CONSTITUTION OF INDIA Preamble
PREAMBLE
The term ‘Preamble’ refers to the introduction or preface to the Constitution.
It contains the summary or essence of the Constitution.
‘Identity card of the Constitution' - N.A. Palkhivala, a constitutional expert
The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is based on the ‘Objectives
Resolution’, drafted and moved by Pandit Nehru, and adopted by the
Constituent Assembly.
It has been amended by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act (1976),
which added three new words–Socialist, Secular and Integrity.
American Constitution was the first to begin with a Preamble.
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TEXT OF THE PREAMBLE
INGREDIENTS OF THE PREAMBLE
The Preamble reveals four ingredients or components:
1. Source of authority of the Constitution: The Preamble states that the
Constitution derives its authority from the people of India.
2. Nature of Indian State: It declares India to be of a sovereign,
socialist, secular democratic and republican polity.
3. Objectives of the Constitution: It specifies justice, liberty, equality and
fraternity as the objectives.
4. Date of adoption of the Constitution: It stipulates November 26, 1949,
as the date.
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KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic, Justice, Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity
Sovereign
The word ‘sovereign’ implies that India is neither a dependency nor a
dominion of any other nation, but an independent state.
There is no authority above it, and it is free to conduct its own affairs
(both internal and external).
Being a sovereign state, India can either acquire a foreign territory or
cede a part of its territory in favour of a foreign state.
KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Socialist
Added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976
The Indian National Congress party adopted a resolution to establish a
‘socialistic pattern of society’ in its Avadi session in 1955 and took
measures accordingly.
Indian brand of socialism is a ‘democratic socialism’ and not a
‘communistic socialism’ (also known as ‘state socialism’) which involves the
nationalisation of all means of production and distribution and the
abolition of private property.
Democratic socialism, on the other hand, holds faith in a ‘mixed economy’
where both public and private sectors co-exist side by side.
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KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Secular
Added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976.
The Indian Constitution embodies the positive concept of secularism i.e, all
religions in our country have the same status and support from the state.
(a) Atheistic State: The state is anti-religion and condemns all religions.
(b) Theocratic State: The state is pro-religion and declares one particular
religion as the state religion, as for example, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, etc.
(c) Secular State: The state is neutral in the matter of religion and does not
uphold any particular religion as the state religion, as for example, USA and
India.
KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Democratic
Based on the doctrine of popular sovereignty, that is, possession of supreme
power by the people.
Democracy is of two types–direct and indirect.
In direct democracy, the people exercise their supreme power directly
(Switzerland).
There are four devices of direct democracy:
Referendum
Initiative
Recall
Plebiscite
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KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Democratic….
Referendum - proposed legislation is referred to the electorate for their
direct votes.
Initiative - people can propose a bill to the legislature for enactment.
Recall - voters can remove a representative before the expiry of his term,
when he fails to discharge his duties properly.
Plebiscite - obtaining the opinion of people on any issue of public
importance (generally to solve the territorial disputes).
KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Democratic….
In indirect democracy, on the other hand, the representatives elected by the
people exercise the supreme power and thus carry on the government and
make the laws. This type of democracy, also known as representative
democracy, is of two kinds–parliamentary and presidential.
The Indian Constitution provides for representative parliamentary
democracy under which the executive is responsible to the legislature for all
its policies and actions.
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KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Republic
In a republic, the head of the state is always elected directly or
indirectly for a fixed period
India has an elected head called the president. He is elected
indirectly for a fixed period of five years.
In USA, directly elected. In Britain, monarch (King or Queen) -
inherited.
KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Justice
The term ‘justice’ embraces three distinct forms–social, economic and political
Secured through Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles.
Social justice denotes the equal treatment of all citizens without any social
distinction based on caste, colour, race, religion, sex and so on.
It means absence of privileges being extended to any particular section of
the society, and improvement in the conditions of backward classes (SCs, STs
and OBCs) and women.
Economic justice denotes the non-discrimination between people on the
basis of economic factors. It involves the elimination of glaring inequalities in
wealth, income and property.
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KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Justice….
Political justice implies that all citizens should have equal political rights,
equal access to all political offices and equal voice in the government.
The ideal of justice–social, economic and political–has been taken from the
Russian Revolution (1917).
KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Liberty
The term ‘liberty’ means the absence of restraints on the activities
of individuals, and at the same time, providing opportunities for
the development of individual personalities.
The Preamble secures to all citizens of India liberty of thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship, through their Fundamental
Rights, enforceable in court of law, in case of violation.
Liberty does not mean ‘license’ to do what one likes, and has to be
enjoyed within the limitations mentioned in the Constitution itself.
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KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Equality
The term ‘equality’ means the absence of special privileges to any section of the society,
and the provision of adequate opportunities for all individuals without any discrimination.
The Preamble secures to all citizens of India equality of status and opportunity.
This provision embraces three dimensions of equality–civic, political and economic.
Civic equality:
(a) Equality before the law (Article 14).
(b) Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
(Article 15).
(c) Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment (Article 16).
(d) Abolition of untouchability (Article 17).
KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Equality….
Political equality:
No person is to be declared ineligible for inclusion in electoral rolls on
grounds of religion, race, caste or sex (Article 325).
Elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies to be on the basis of
adult suffrage (Article 326).
Economic equality:
The Directive Principles of State Policy (Article 39) secures to men and
women equal right to an adequate means of livelihood and equal pay for
equal work.
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KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE
Fraternity
Fraternity means a sense of brotherhood.
Promoted by :
Single citizenship
Fundamental Duties (Article 51-A): It shall be the duty of every citizen of
India to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all
the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, regional or sectional
diversities.
