Context:
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has recently removed the Preamble to the Constitution from select textbooks for Class 3 and 6, as issued in 2024. This decision aligns with NCERT’s broader educational strategy, which now prioritizes a comprehensive understanding of the Indian Constitution, encompassing its Preamble, fundamental duties, rights, and the National Anthem. This shift in focus is guided by the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020, aiming to promote holistic development in students.
Relevance:
GS II: Polity and Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- Basis and Amendment of Preamble
- Key Words in Preamble
- Overview of the Preamble’s Status
- Significance of the Preamble
- Amendment of the Preamble
Basis and Amendment of Preamble
The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is based on the ‘Objectives Resolution’, drafted and moved by Pandit Nehru, and adopted by the Constituent Assembly. It has been amended by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act (1976), which added three new words—socialist, secular and integrity
Ingredients of the Preamble
The Preamble reveals four ingredients or components:
- Source of 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.
Key Words in 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).
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’.
- 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
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.
- The Indian Constitution embodies the positive concept of secularism that is, all religions in our country (irrespective of their strength) have the same status and support from the state
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.
- Democracy is of two types
- Direct democracy
- People exercise their supreme power directly as is the case in Switzerland.
- There are four devices of direct democracy, namely, Referendum, Initiative, Recall and Plebiscite
- Indirect democracy
- In indirect democracy, on the other hand, the representatives elected by the people exercise the supreme power and thus carry on the government and make the laws. This type of democracy, also known as representative democracy, is of two kinds
- Parliamentary
- Presidential.
- Direct 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
- A democratic polity can be classified into two categories monarchy and republic. In a monarchy, the head of the state (usually king or queen) enjoys a hereditary position, that is, he comes into office through succession, eg, Britain.
- In a republic, on the other hand, the head of the state is always elected directly or indirectly for a fixed period, eg, USA.
- Therefore, 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.
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.
- 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 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.
- The liberty conceived by the Preamble or fundamental rights is not absolute but qualified. 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.
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).
Overview of the Preamble’s Status
The Preamble to the Constitution of India, while not a directly enforceable part of the document in terms of judicial proceedings, plays a crucial role in constitutional interpretation. Its significance and application have been elaborated upon through various landmark judgments.
Key Judicial Interpretations
- Berubari Union Case (1960)
- Context: This case concerned the implementation of an agreement between India and Pakistan regarding the exchange of certain territories.
- Supreme Court’s View: The Court referenced the Preamble under Article 143(1) to understand the intentions of the framers of the Constitution. It concluded that the Preamble, while providing a key to the minds of the framers, does not itself constitute an enforceable part of the Constitution.
- Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973)
- Significance: This landmark decision involved the largest bench ever assembled at the time—a 13-judge bench—to adjudicate a writ petition.
- Ruling: The Court reversed earlier opinions by declaring that the Preamble is indeed a part of the Constitution. However, it emphasized that the Preamble does not confer supreme power, nor does it impose restrictions; rather, it serves a significant interpretative role for understanding the Constitution’s text.
- Union Government vs LIC of India Case (1995)
- The Court reaffirmed its position, recognizing the Preamble as an integral part of the Constitution. However, it maintained that the Preamble is not justiciable, meaning its provisions are not enforceable in courts as direct claims
Significance of the Preamble
- 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.
Amendment of the Preamble
- The question as to whether the Preamble can be amended under Article 368 of the Constitution arose for the first time in the historic case of Kesavananda Bharati (1973).
- It was urged that the Preamble cannot be amended as it is not a part of the Constitution. The petitioner contended that the amending power in Article 368 cannot be used to destroy or damage the basic elements or the
- fundamental features of the Constitution, which are enshrined in the Preamble.
- The Supreme Court, however, held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution.
- The Court stated that the opinion tendered by it in the Berubari Union (1960) in this regard was wrong, and held that the Preamble can be amended, subject to the condition that no amendment is done to the ‘basic features’.
- In other words, the Court held that the basic elements or the fundamental features of the Constitution as contained in the Preamble cannot be altered by an amendment under Article 368.
- 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.
-Source: The Hindu
