Government of Tamilnadu

Department of Employment and Training

Course : TNPSC Group I Mains Material

Subject : Indian Polity
Topic : Preamble

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 PREAMBLE

PREAMBLE
• The American Constitution was the first to begin with a Preamble. Many
countries, including India, followed this practice. The term ‘preamble’ refers to
the introduction or preface to the Constitution.
• The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is based on the ‘Objectives Resolution’,
drafted and moved by Pandit Nehru, and adopted by the Constituent Assembly1.
It has been amended by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act (1976), which
added three new words —socialist, secular and integrity.

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.
The Preamble embodies the basic philosophy and fundamental values— 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.

KEY WORDS IN THE PREAMBLE

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).

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Socialist
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. As the Supreme Court says, ‘Democratic
socialism aims to end poverty, ignorance, disease and inequality of opportunity. Indian
socialism is a blend of Marxism and Gandhism, leaning heavily towards Gandhian
socialism’

Secular:
The Indian Constitution embodies the positive concept of secularism i.e., all religions
in our country (irrespective of their strength) have the same status and support from
the state

Democratic:
The term ‘democratic’ is used in the Preamble in the broader sense embracing not only
political democracy but also social and economic democracy.

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.

Republic:
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 five years.

A republic also means two more things: one, vesting of political sovereignty in the
people and not in a single individual like a king; second, the absence of any privileged
class and hence all public offices being opened to every citizen without any
discrimination.

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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.

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

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

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.

Fraternity
Fraternity 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.

PREAMBLE AS PART OF THE CONSTITUTION:

One of the controversies about the Preamble is as to whether it is a part of the
Constitution or not.
Berubari Union16 case (1960) - The Supreme Court said that the Preamble shows the
general purposes behind the several provisions in the Constitution, and is thus 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
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interpretation may be taken from the objectives enshrined in the Preamble. Despite
this recognition of the significance of the Preamble, the Supreme Court specifically
opined that Preamble is not a part of the Constitution.

Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) - The Supreme Court rejected the earlier opinion
and held that Preamble is a part of the Constitution. It observed that the Preamble is of
extreme importance and the Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of
the grand and noble vision expressed in the Preamble.

LIC of India case (1995) – The Supreme Court again held that the Preamble is an
integral part of the Constitution. Like any other part of the Constitution, the Preamble
was also enacted by the Constituent Assembly, but 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.

While forwarding the Preamble for votes, the president of the Constituent Assembly
said, ‘The question is that Preamble stands part of the Constitution’. The motion was
then adopted. Hence, the current opinion held by the Supreme Court that the Preamble
is a part of the Constitution, is in consonance with the opinion of the founding fathers
of the Constitution.

However, two things should be noted:

1. The Preamble is neither a source of power to legislature nor a prohibition upon
the powers of legislature.
2. It is non-justiciable, that is, its provisions are not enforceable in courts of law.

Amendment in Preamble:
The Preamble has been amended only once so far, in 1976, by the 42 nd Constitutional
Amendment Act, which has added three new words— Socialist, Secular and Integrity—
to the Preamble. This amendment was held to be valid.

Questions:

1. Discuss in detail about the Preamble of Indian Constitution.

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