Preamble of the Indian Constitution| Important Facts

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Preamble

The American constitution was the first to begin with a preamble. Preamble refers to the introduction or preface to the constitution.

N A palkhivala called the preamble as the identity card of the constitution.
Based on the Objectives Resolution, drafted and moved by nehru and adopted by the constituent assembly.

Amended by the 42^nd amendment act 1976, which added three words socialist, secular and integrity.
Keywords : sovereign, socialist, secular, Democratic, republic, justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity.
The Preamble to the constitution embodies the essence of the entire constitution and is like an introduction or preface of a book.
It explains the purposes and objectives with which the constitution has been written, and hence provides a guideline to the constitution.
The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is based on the ‘Objectives Resolution’, drafted and moved by Pandit Nehru on December 13, 1946, and adopted by the Constituent Assembly on January 22, 1947.
The Preamble is neither a source of power to the legislature nor a prohibition upon the powers of the legislature.

It is non-justiciable, that is, its provisions are not enforceable in courts of law.

Ingredients

The Preamble reveals four ingredients or components

Source of the authority of the Constitution: The Preamble states that the Constitution derives its authority from the people of India.
Nature of Indian State: It declares India to be of a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic and republican polity.
Objectives of the Constitution: It specifies justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity as the objectives.
Date of adoption of the Constitution: It stipulates November 26, 1949, as the date.

Objectives

Description of Indian State as Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic.
Provision to all the citizens of India i.e.,
- Justice – social, economic and political.
- Liberty – of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.
- Equality – of status and of opportunity.
- Fraternity – assuring the dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of the nation

Preamble: A Part of the Constitution or Not?

In the Berubari case (1960) : Preamble is not a part of constitution.
In the keshavananda Bharti case(1973): Supreme Court rejected the earlier opinion and held that preamble is a part of constitution and can be amended, subject to the condition that no amendment is done to the basic features.
It is an important guide to interpret the true spirit of the Constitution.

LIC of India Case (1995) – upheld the Preamble and said that it is an integral part of the Constitution.
The preamble is neither a source of power of legislature or a prohibition upon the power of legislature.
It is non justiciable, that is its provisions are not enforceable in court of laws.

Can the Preamble be Amended?

Keshvananda Bharti Case (1973) has held that the Preamble may be amended subject to the basic structure of the Constitution.
In other words, the amendment should not destroy the basic features of it.

In fact, Preamble has been amended by 42nd Amendment 1976, whereby three words viz. socialist, secular and integrity were added.

Keywords Mentioned in the Preamble

Sovereign : The word ‘Sovereign’ emphasizes that there is no authority outside India on which the country is in any way dependent.
Socialist : By the word ‘Socialist’ the Constitution means that the achievement of the socialistic pattern of society through democratic means.
Secular : India is a ‘Secular State’, does not mean that India is non-religious or irreligious, or anti-religious, but simply that the State in itself is not religious and follows the age-old Indian principle of “Sarva Dharma Samabhava”. It also means that the State shall not discriminate against the citizens in any way on the basis of religion. The State regards religion to be the private affair of a person, including the right to believe or not to believe in a religion.
‘Democratic: The term ‘Democratic’ means that the rulers elected by the people only, have the authority to run the government. India follows a system of ‘Representative Democracy’, where the MPs and MLAs are elected directly by the people. Efforts are being made to take democracy to the grassroots through Panchayats and Municipalities (73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992). However, the Preamble and DPSP envisages not only political democracy, but also social and economic democracies.

Republic: The word ‘Republic’ means, the head of the state is an elected representative (directly or indirectly) and not the hereditary monarch.
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. The ideal of justice—social, economic and political—has been taken from the Russian Revolution (1917).
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 ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity in our Preamble have been taken from the French Revolution (1789–1799).
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. 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 phrase ‘unity and integrity of the nation’ embraces both the psychological and territorial dimensions of national integration.

Significance of the Preamble

The Preamble sets out the aims and aspirations of the people and these have been embodied in various provisions of the constitution. The Preamble of the Constitution contains the basic objectives of the Constitution such as:
To secure to all its citizens social, economic and political justice
Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship
Equality of status and opportunity, and
To promote among them fraternity so as to secure the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

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.
The constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of grand and novel vision expressed in the preamble.
The preamble enshrines the ideas and philosophy of the constitution and not the narrow objectives of the government.