The Preamble

The Preamble opens with "We, the People of India" and ends with the date of adoption, declaring the nature of the State and the justice, liberty, equality and fraternity it secures.

• 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 word "preamble" means the introduction to the Constitution, and it captures the philosophy, ideals and objectives that the makers intended to achieve.

• The Preamble contains the summary (gist) of the Constitution.
• A preamble is an introductory statement that explains the document's philosophy and objectives, setting the tone and purpose of the document.
• It sets the ideals and goals the makers intended to achieve, and so is regarded as a "key to open the mind of the makers" of the Constitution.
• The ideals behind the Preamble were laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru's Objectives Resolution, adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 January 1947.

A few descriptions of the Preamble are frequently asked, especially the famous phrases coined by jurists and members of the Constituent Assembly.

• It reflects the aims and aspirations of the nation.
• It guides the interpretation of the Constitution.
• N. A. Palkhivala called the Preamble the "identity card" of the Constitution.
• Pandit Thakur Das Bhargava called the Preamble the "soul" of the Constitution.

The opening words make it clear from whom the Constitution derives its power.

The Preamble declares the type of polity India is, described by five key words.

### 5(a). Sovereign

• Sovereignty denotes supreme and ultimate power.
• It means the independent authority of the State, not being subject to the control of any other State or external power.
• The word 'sovereign' implies that India is neither a dependency nor a dominion of any other nation, but an independent State.

### 5(b). Socialist

• The word "socialist" was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976.
• It indicates the incorporation of the philosophy of socialism, which aims at the elimination of inequality in income, status and standards of life.
• In D. S. Nakara v. Union of India (1983), the issue related to the elimination of inequality in income, status and standards of life.
• In Excel Wear v. Union of India (1978), the Supreme Court observed that the word "socialist" might enable the Courts to lean more in favour of nationalisation and State ownership of industry.
• In G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology v. State of U.P. (2000), the Supreme Court ruled that 'democratic socialism' aims to end poverty, ignorance, disease and inequality of opportunity.
• India has adopted 'Democratic Socialism', holding faith in a mixed economy where both private and public sectors co-exist side by side.

### 5(c). Secular

• The word "secular" was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976.
• In the Indian context, a secular State means the State protects all religions equally and has no State religion of its own.
• In St. Xavier's College v. State of Gujarat, the Supreme Court explained that secularism is neither anti-God nor pro-God; it treats alike the devout, the agnostic and the atheist and eliminates discrimination on the ground of religion.
• In S. R. Bommai case (1994), the Supreme Court held that secularism is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
• In Aruna Roy v. Union of India (2002), the Supreme Court held that secularism has a positive meaning — developing understanding and respect towards different religions.

### 5(d). Democratic

• The word 'democracy' comes from the Greek "demos" (people) and "kratos" (power), so in a democracy ultimate power lies with 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.
• 'Democratic' is used in a broad sense, embracing not only political democracy but also social and economic democracy.

### 5(e). Republic

• The term 'republic' indicates that India has an elected head — the President.
• India is a republic because the head of State is elected and is not a hereditary monarch.
• In a republic, political sovereignty is vested in the people.

The Preamble specifies four objectives — justice, liberty, equality and fraternity — to be secured to all citizens.

### 6(a). Justice

The term 'justice' embraces three distinct forms — social, economic and political.

### 6(b). Liberty

• It does not mean absolute liberty to do whatever one feels like — it is responsible freedom within reasonable limits.

### 6(c). Equality

• 'Equality' means the absence of special privileges to any section of society and the provision of adequate opportunities for all individuals without discrimination.

### 6(d). Fraternity

• Fraternity means a sense of brotherhood, a feeling that all people are children of the same soil and the same Motherland — the spirit of "Unity in Diversity".

The Preamble records when the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution.

Whether the Preamble forms part of the Constitution was settled through a series of Supreme Court judgments.

The Preamble can be amended, but only within the limits of the basic structure doctrine, and it has in fact been amended just once.

• The Preamble has been amended only once so far — in 1976 by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, which added three new words.