Preamble

The preamble to the Constitution of India is a brief introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose, principles and philosophy of the constitution. Preamble gives an idea about the following:

• Source of the authority of the constitution: The authority is derived from the people of India.
• Nature of Indian state: India has been declared as sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republican polity.
• Objectives of the constitution: Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.
• Date of adoption: Adopted on November 26, 1949.

N A Palkhivala, an eminent jurist and constitutional expert, called the Preamble as the ‘identity card of the Constitution.’ The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is based on the ‘Objectives Resolution’. This resolution was drafted and moved by Pandit Nehru, and adopted by the Constituent Assembly.

It has been amended by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act (1976). By this amendment, the following three new words were added: Socialist, Secular and Integrity.

Keywords In Preamble

Sovereign

• Means India is neither a dependency nor a dominion of any other nation but an independent state.
• It is supreme both internally and externally.
• 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.
• India’s membership of the United Nations Organisation also in no way constitutes a limitation on her sovereignty.

Socialist

• Even before the term was added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, the Constitution had a socialist content in the form of certain Directive Principles of State Policy.
• The Indian concept of socialism is a ‘democratic socialism’ and not a ‘communistic socialism’.
• Communistic socialism 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 the public and private sectors co-exist side by side.
• Indian socialism is a blend of Marxism and Gandhism, leaning heavily towards Gandhian socialism. However, the New Economic Policy (1991) of liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation has diluted the socialist credentials of the Indian State.

Secular

• The term ‘secular’ was added by the 42nd constitution amendment act 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.
• The Supreme Court said in 1974, although the words ‘secular state’ was not expressly mentioned in the Constitution, there can be no doubt that Constitution-makers wanted to establish such a state in accordance with Articles 25-28.
• The state has no religion of its own; it is neither religious, nor irreligious, nor antireligious, but is only nonreligious.

Democratic

• A democratic polity as stipulated in the preamble is based on the doctrine of “popular sovereignty,” meaning the position of supreme power lies in the hands of the people.
• The Indian Constitution provides for representative parliamentary democracy under which the executive is responsible to the legislature for all its policies and actions.
• The democratic character of the Indian polity can be manifested by Universal adult franchise, Periodic elections, Rule of law, Independence of judiciary etc.
• The term ‘democratic’ is used in the Preamble in the broader sense embracing not only political democracy but also social and economic democracy.

Note:

• Democracy is of two types: Direct and Indirect.
  • In a direct democracy, the people exercise their supreme power directly as is the case in Switzerland. There are four devices of direct democracy:
    1. Referendum: A procedure whereby proposed legislation is referred to the electorate for settlement by their direct votes.
    2. Initiative: A method by means of which the people can propose a bill to the legislature for enactment.
    3. Recall: A method by means of which the voters can remove a representative or an officer before the expiry of his term when he fails to discharge his duties properly.
    4. Plebiscite: A method of obtaining the opinion of people on any issue of public importance. It is generally used to solve territorial disputes.
  • In an indirect democracy, the representatives elected by the people exercise the supreme power and thus carry on the government and make the laws. This type of democracy is also known as Representative Democracy. It is of the following two kinds:
    1. Parliamentary
    2. Presidential

Republic

• A democratic polity can be classified into 2 categories:
  1. Hereditary monarchy: The example for the hereditary monarchy is the British crown.
  2. Elected head of states: The examples for the elected head of state or the president of India and the President of the US.
• Apart from the elected head of the state, the term republic in our preamble indicates two things:
  1. Resting of political sovereignty in the people.
  2. The absence of any undue privileges to any particular class.

Justice

• The term ‘justice’ in the Preamble embraces three distinct forms: Social, Economic, and Political.
• It has been taken from the Russian Revolution (1917). It is secured through various provisions of Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles.
  1. 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 the absence of privileges being extended to any particular section of society and improvement in the conditions of SCs, STs, OBCs, and women.
  2. 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.
  3. Political Justice implies that all citizens should have equal political rights, equal access to all political offices, and equal voice in the government.
• A combination of social justice and economic justice denotes what is known as ‘distributive justice’.

Liberty

• It 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 that are enforceable in a court of law, in case of violation.
• The liberty conceived by the Preamble or fundamental rights is not absolute but qualified.

Equality

• It 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: Right to Equality (Article 14 to 18) under the chapter on Fundamental Rights ensures Civic Equality for all citizens.
  • Political Equality: There are two provisions in the Constitution that seek to achieve Political Equality:
    1. No person is to be declared ineligible for inclusion in electoral rolls on grounds of religion, race, caste, or sex (Article 325).
    2. 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 in order to ensure Economic Equality.

Fraternity

• The ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity in our Preamble have been taken from the French Revolution (1789–1799). Fraternity means a sense of brotherhood.
• The Constitution promotes this feeling of fraternity by the system of single citizenship.
• Fundamental Duties (Article 51-A) say that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood.
• The word ‘integrity’ has been added to the preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976).

Significance of the Preamble

• The Preamble embodies the basic philosophy and fundamental values i.e., political, moral, and religious, on which the Constitution is based.
• It contains the grand and noble vision of the Constituent Assembly and reflects the dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the Constitution.
  • ‘The preamble to our constitution expresses what we had thought or dreamt so long’ – Sir Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer.
  • ‘The horoscope of our constitution’ – Dr. KM Munshi.
  • ‘Key-note of the constitution’ – Sir Ernest Baker.
  • ‘Preamble is the soul of our constitution, which lays down the pattern of our political society. It contains a solemn resolve, which nothing but a revolution can alter’ – Former Chief Justice of India, M Hidayatullah.

Part of the Constitution or not?

• Preamble was enacted after the rest of the Constitution was already enacted. The reason for inserting the Preamble at the end was to ensure that it was in conformity with the Constitution as adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
• In Berubari Union Case (1960), the Supreme Court specifically opined that the Preamble is NOT a part of the Constitution. SC stated that the Preamble is a key to the minds of the makers of the Constitution. Further, where the terms used in any article are ambiguous or capable of more than one meaning, some assistance at interpretation may be taken from the objectives enshrined in the Preamble.
• In Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973), the Supreme Court overruled its own earlier judgment and held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and the Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of the grand and noble vision expressed in the Preamble.
• In LIC of India case (1995), the Supreme Court again upheld that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution.
• The current opinion held by the Supreme Court is that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution. The Preamble is neither a source of power to legislature nor a prohibition upon the powers of the legislature and it is non-justiciable.

Can the Preamble be Amended?

• The Preamble can be amended, subject to the condition that no amendment is done to the ‘Basic Features’. In simple words, the Court held that the basic elements or the fundamental features of the Constitution as contained in the Preamble cannot be altered by an amendment under Article 368.
• The Preamble has been amended only once in 1976, by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act. By this amendment, the following three new words were added without damaging or altering the basic structure of the Preamble: Socialist, Secular and Integrity.

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Subject: Polity

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