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Note On Preamble

The preamble outlines India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic that aims to secure justice, liberty, equality and promote fraternity. It reflects the core constitutional values of justice, equality, liberty for citizens and unity of the nation. These ideals have been realized through establishment of rights and democratic processes but challenges remain regarding their complete fulfillment.

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26 views4 pages

Note On Preamble

The preamble outlines India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic that aims to secure justice, liberty, equality and promote fraternity. It reflects the core constitutional values of justice, equality, liberty for citizens and unity of the nation. These ideals have been realized through establishment of rights and democratic processes but challenges remain regarding their complete fulfillment.

Uploaded by

rmewan30
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Q1) Explain the philosophy of the Preamble to the Indian Constitution.

How far have these


been realized

Ans: The Preamble to the Constitution of India reads as follows:

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.

The Preamble to the Constitution is a reflection of the core constitutional values that embody
the Constitution. It declares India to be a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic
committed to Justice, Equality and Liberty for the people.

The following are the ideals and objectives of our Constitution as delineated in the Preamble:

a) Sovereignty: 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).
b) 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. In other words, what was hitherto implicit in the Constitution has now been
made explicit. Moreover, the Congress party itself adopted a resolution to establish a
‘socialistic pattern of society’ in its Avadi session as early as in 1955 and took
measures accordingly.
Notably, the 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.
c) Secular: the term ‘secular’ too was added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act
of 1976. However, as the Supreme Court said in 1974, although the words ‘secular
state were not expressedly mentioned in the Constitution, there can be no doubt that
Constitution makers wanted to establish such a state and accordingly Articles 25 to 28
(guaranteeing the fundamental right to freedom of religion) have been included in the
constitution. Furthermore, in the kesavananda Bharti case, the supreme court, in no
uncertain terms, declared that secularism was part of the basic structure of the Indian
Constitution
d) Democratic: a Democratic polity, as stipulated in the Preamble, is based on the
doctrine of popular sovereignty, that is, possession of supreme power by 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.
Universal adult franchise, periodic elections, rule of law, independence of
judiciary, and absence of discrimination on certain grounds are the manifestations of
the democratic character of the Indian polity.
The term ‘democratic’ is used in the Preamble in the broader sense embracing
not only political democracy but also social and economic democracy.
This dimension was stressed by Dr. Ambedkar when he stated that political
democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy. He defines
social democracy as a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity.
e) Republic: The preamble declares India to be a Republic. Negatively, this means that
India is not ruled by a monarch or a nominated head of state. Positively, it means that
India has an elected head of state who wields power for a fixed term. The term
republic also means that political sovereignty is vested in the people and not in a
single individual like a king. It also implies the absence of any privileged class and
hence all public offices being opened to every citizen without any discrimination.
f) Justice: The term ‘justice’ in the Preamble embraces three distinct forms–social,
economic and political, secured through various provisions of 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. A combination of social justice and economic justice denotes
what is known as ‘distributive justice’.

Political justice implies that all citizens should have equal political rights,
equal access to all political offices and equal voice in the government.

g) 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 as elaborated in the Preamble is very essential for the successful


functioning of the Indian democratic system. However, liberty does not mean ‘license’
to do what one likes, and has to be enjoyed within the limitations mentioned in the
Constitution itself.
h) Equality: : As a human being, every individual has a dignified self. To ensure its full
enjoyment, inequality in all forms needs to be prohibited. Equality which
substantiates democracy and justice is, therefore, held as an important value under the
Constitution. Our Constitution assures equality: of status and opportunity to every
citizen without any discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place
of birth, by throwing open public places to all citizens, by abolishing untouchability,
by abolishing titles of honour, by guaranteeing equality before the law and equal
protection of the laws.
i) Fraternity: Fraternity means a sense of brotherhood. The Constitution promotes this
feeling of fraternity by the system of single citizenship. Also, the 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 amongst all the people of India
transcending religious, linguistic, regional or sectional diversities
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).
According to K.M. Munshi, a member of the Drafting Committee of the
Constituent Assembly, the phrase ‘dignity of the individual’ signifies that the
Constitution not only ensures material betterment and maintain a democratic set-up,
but that it also recognises that the personality of every individual is sacred.
The phrase ‘unity and integrity of the nation’ embraces both the psychological
and territorial dimensions of national integration. Article 1 of the Constitution
describes India as a ‘Union of States’ to make it clear that the states have no right to
secede from the Union, implying the indestructible nature of the Indian Union. It aims
at overcoming hindrances to national integration like communalism, regionalism,
casteism, linguism, secessionism and so on.

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