Preamble of the Constitution of India & Significance
Preamble of the Constitution of India
Table of Contents
Preamble was first introduced in American Constitution.
The Preamble refers to the introduction of the Constitution and contains the summary or essence of the Constitution.
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- Preamble is based on the ‘Objectives Resolution’, drafted and moved by Pandit Nehru, and adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
- It was enacted at the end of the constitution to reflect constitution.
- Preamble is not a source of power to legislature and not a prohibition upon the powers of legislature.
- It is non-justiciable.
- The Preamble has been amended only once so far, in 1976, by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, which has added three new words— Socialist, Secular and Integrity—to the Preamble.
Preamble of Indian Constitution
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST ,SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this 26th day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
Components of the Preamble of the Constitution
Preamble have 4 components namely –
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- The Preamble states that the Constitution drives its authority from the people of India.
- It declares India to be Sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republican nature of the state.
- It specifies Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity as the Objective of Constitution.
- It stipulates November 26, 1949 as the date of adoption of Constitution.
Key Words in the Preamble of the Constitution
Sovereign
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- India is neither a dependency nor a dominion of any other nation, but an independent state.
- Being a sovereign state, India can either acquire a foreign territory or cede a part of its territory in favour of a foreign state.
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Socialist
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- Added by 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in1976.
- Indian brand of socialism is a ‘democratic socialism’ (coexistence of public and private sector) and not a ‘communistic socialism’ (also known as ‘state socialism’). Indian socialism is a blend of Marxism and Gandhism, leaning heavily towards Gandhian socialism’.
- The new economic policy (1991) of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation has, however, diluted the socialist credentials of the Indian State.
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Secular
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- Added by 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in1976.
- 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.
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Democratic
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- The Indian Constitution provides for representative parliamentary democracy under which the executive is responsible to the legislature for all its policies and actions.
- The term ‘democratic’ is used in the Preamble in the broader sense embracing not only political democracy but also social and economic democracy.
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Republic
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- The term ‘republic’ in our Preamble indicates that India has an elected head called the president. He is elected indirectly for a fixed period of 5 years.
- It also implies that political sovereignty lies with the people and public offices are open to all without any discrimination.
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Justice
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- The term ‘justice’ in the Preamble embraces three distinct forms—social, economic and political, secured through various provisions of Fundamental Rights and Directive
- Political Justice is provided through Fundamental Rights and social and economic justice through Directive Principles of State Policies.
- The ideal of justice, social, economic and political, has been taken from the Russian Revolution (1917).
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Liberty
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- The term ‘liberty’ means 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 Fundamental Rights which are enforceable in court of law, in case of violation.
- The ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity in our Preamble have been taken from the French Revolution (1789–1799).
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Equality
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- 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
- The Preamble secures to all citizens of India equality of status and opportunity. This provision embraces three dimensions of equality—civic, political and economic.
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Fraternity
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- It means a sense of brotherhood, the Constitution promotes this feeling of fraternity by the system of single citizenship.
- The Preamble declares that fraternity has to assure two things—the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.
- The word ‘integrity’ has been added to the preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976).
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Significance of the Preamble of the Constitution
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- Basic Philosophy and Fundamental values of the constitution are stated.
- Contains the grand and noble vision of the Constituent Assembly, and reflects the dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the Constitution.
- Soul to Indian Constitution.
- Date of enactment of constitution – Nov 26, 1949 mentioned only in Preamble.
- Source of the constitution as People of India is mentioned in Preamble.
- Nature of Indian state-sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republican polity.
- Objectives- it specifies justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, unity and integrity.
Preamble as Part of the Constitution
Berubari case (1960): The Supreme Court specifically opined that Preamble is not part of the constitution.
Keshavananda Bharati case (1973): The Supreme Court rejected its previous judgement and held that Preamble is part of the constitution.
LIC of India case (1995): the Supreme Court again held that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution.
Amendment of the Preamble of the Constitution
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- The Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973) stated that Preamble can be amended without affecting Basic features of the constitution.
- The Preamble has been amended only once so far, in 1976, by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, which has added three new words, Socialist, Secular and Integrity, to the Preamble. This amendment was held to be valid.
So, this was all about the Preamble of the Constitution of India.
In the next post (Click Here), we will study about the Parts of the Indian Constitution.