The Preamble

The Origin of the Preamble

▸ The Preamble contains the summary of the Constitution. The Preamble is as much inspired by the cherished political values practiced for ages throughout the history of Indian civilisation as well as the contemporaneous political systems elsewhere.
▸ Indeed, much of the substance of the Preamble has been the outcome of the steadfast freedom struggle that our leaders carried upon aiming at not just throwing out the colonial cocoon, but integrating the nation in the quest for justice, equality and democracy.
▸ The Objective Resolution, proposed by Pandit Nehru and passed by the Constituent Assembly, ultimately became the Preamble to the Constitution of India.

The Text of the Preamble

▸ ''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 twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do Hereby Adopt, Enact and Give to Ourselves this Constitution.''

Importance of the Preamble

▸ The enacting words we, the people of India, do hereby give to ourselves this Constitution, signifies the democratic principle that the source of power, authority and legitimacy comes from and ultimately vests in the people of India.
▸ It emphasises that the Constitution is neither a handout given by any outside power nor is based on any theological tenet, but is enacted by the people of India for the people of India and of the people of India. It declare India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republic.
▸ It specifies justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as the objectives of Indian Constitution.
▸ However, the Preamble is neither a source of power nor a prohibition upon powers of legislature. Also, it is not enforceable in courts of law.
▸ Thus, the Preamble of the Constitution of free India remains the most beautifully worded prologue. It contains the basic ideals, objectives and philosophical postulates the Constitution of India stands for. In short, it is the reflection of Indian Constitution.

Terms Used in the Preamble

Some important terms used in Preamble are as follows:
Sovereign
▸ The word sovereign means supreme or independent. India is internally and externally sovereign-externally free from the control of any foreign power and internally, it has a free government which is directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern the people.
▸ The doctrine of popular sovereignty is also one of the basic structure of Constitution of India. Hence, citizens of India also enjoy sovereign power to elect their representatives in elections held for Parliament, State Legislature and Local Bodies as well.
▸ India's membership in commonwealth and UNO in no way constitute a limitation on its sovereignty.
Socialist
▸ The word 'socialist' was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment.
It implies social and economic equality which are as follows:
— Social Equality In this context means the absence of discrimination on the grounds only of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion or language. Under social equality, everyone has equal status and opportunities.
— Economic Equality In this context means that the state will endeavour to make the distribution of wealth more equitable and provide a decent standard of living for all. This in effect emphasises a commitment towards the formation of a welfare state. India has adopted a socialistic and mixed economy and the state has framed many laws to achieve the aim.
Secular
▸ The word secular was also inserted into the Preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976. It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance.
▸ The meaning of secularism in the West is different from that of India. In the West secularism implies complete separation between state and religion. In India secularism means that the state shall respect all religions equally and there will be no special provisions for any religion. State will give its commitment to religious freedom and worship to everyone.
▸ India therefore does not have an official state religion. Every person has the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion, they choose. The government must not favour or discriminate against any religion. It must treat all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of law. No religious instruction is imparted in government schools.
▸ The Supreme Court in the SR Bommai vs Union of India held that secularism was an integral part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
Democratic
▸ The first part of the Preamble We, the people of India and its last part give to ourselves this Constitution clearly indicate the democratic spirit involved even in the Constitution.
▸ The people of India elect their governments at all levels (Union, State and Local) by a system of universal adult suffrage; popularly known as one man one vote.
▸ Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above and not otherwise debarred by law, is entitled to vote.
▸ Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex, religion or language.
▸ The word democratic indicates not only political democracy, but also social and economic democracy.
Republic
▸ It means that the political sovereignty is united with the people and not in a single hand like a king.
▸ As opposed to a monarchy, in which the head of state is appointed on hereditary basis for a lifetime or until he/she abdicates from the throne, a democratic republic is an entity in which the head of the state is elected, directly or indirectly, for a fixed tenure.
▸ The President of India is indirectly elected by an electoral college for a term of 5 years.
▸ The post of the President of India is not hereditary and is open to all citizens.

Values Enshrined in the Preamble

Values Enshrined in the Preamble are as follows:
Justice
▸ The ideal of justice embodied in the Constitution is of integrated and holistic kind. It envisages political justice, social justice and economic justice. Political justice is the equality of political rights and access to all political offices, social justice means equal treatment of all citizens without any social discrimination based on caste, colour, race, religion and sex.
▸ Economic justice is non-discrimination on the basis of economic factors. It also includes removal of inequalities in income, wealth and property. Social and economic justice together is called as the distributive justice. Achieved if the policies of the state are directed largely towards political democracy, i.e., granting voting rights, liberties etc.
▸ This requires that the state must steer the society-building through welfare policies aiming at the betterment of the poor and dispossessed lot.
Liberty
▸ It means freedom or the free will of the individual to pursue his/her interests. It means that an individual cannot be arbitrarily restricted to do or profess something unless there are valid reasons to do so.
▸ The Preamble mentions these freedoms and rights as freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship and these are guaranteed against arbitrary interference by the state.
Equality
▸ It means equal treatment under law irrespective of the status of the individual.
▸ Constitution aims to secure these objects by prescribing the non-discrimination based on caste, creed, religion and sex etc.
▸ Fundamental Rights under the Articles 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 are based on the principle of equality.
Fraternity
▸ It refers to the common brotherhood of all Indians.
▸ It asserts that social divisions should be removed and the identity of belongingness of Indian Nationality is nurtured.
▸ Fraternity is promoted by the Constitution through the System Single Citizenship and Fundamental Duties.
▸ The Preamble declares that fraternity has to assure, 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.

Preamble as Part of the Constitution

▸ The Preamble though not an operative part of the Constitution, aids in the legal interpretation where the language of the Constitution is found ambiguous.
▸ It declares the basic type of government and policy which is sought to be established in the country.
▸ The Constitution being a legal document, the date of adoption is clearly mentioned in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution.
▸ In legal parlance, the Preamble connotes, the preface and introductory part of any legal political doctrine and is conventionally not treated as the executive part of it.
▸ The executive part includes the detailed provisions, articles and clauses that have a legal effect and can be enforced with authority. The Preamble is conceived to be more of visionary objective.
▸ Riding upon this line of thinking the Supreme Court had in Berubari Union Advisory Opinion Case (1960), indicated that the Preamble of the Indian Constitution too cannot be treated as a part of the Constitution. However, in the Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala Case (1973), the Supreme Court reversed the opinion and pronounced that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and the values enshrined must be the fundamental guiding principles for governance.
▸ In the LIC of India Case (1995), the Supreme Court again held that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution.
▸ Preamble was enacted by the Constituent Assembly after the rest of Constitution was already enacted because they want to ensure that it was in conformity with the Constitution as adopted the Constituent Assembly.

Amendment in the Preamble

▸ Since the Preamble is the part of the Constitution as ruled in Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973). It is subject to the ammending power of the Parliament as any other provisions of the Constitution, provided the basic structure of the Constitution as found in the Preamble is not destroyed.
▸ 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.
▸ The amendment is based upon the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee, an internal committee set-up by the Indian National Congress.