Preamble of Indian Constitution
SYNOPSIS Of THE TOPIC
·
General
Understanding of the topic.
·
Detail
discussion
·
Preievous
year question
·
Model
Question (Prelims and Mains)
Constitution
Day
also known as 'Samvidhan Divas’ is celebrated in our country on 26th
November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of
India. On 26th November 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the
Constitution of India, which came into effect from 26th January 1950. The
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 19th November 2015
notified the decision of Government of India to celebrate the 26th day of November every
year as 'Constitution Day' to promote Constitution values among citizens.
Meaning of the term Preamble:
If you go by the dictionary meaning of
the term preamble it means an introductory statement, especially the
introductory part of a constitution or statute that usually states the reasons
for and intent of the law.
So the preamble of the Indian
Constitution sets out the guiding purpose, principles and philosophy of the
Indian Constitution.
Historical Source for the Preamble:
The Objective Resolutions
which was proposed on 13th December, 1946 by Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru and was unanimously adopted by the Constituent
Assembly on 22 January 1947.
This objective resolution defined the
aims, aspirations, and values behind the constitution making. It said, all
power and authority of the Sovereign Independent India, its constituent parts
and organs of government, are derived from the people and shall guaranteed and
secured to all the people of India justice, social economic and political :
equality of status, of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of thought,
expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject
to law and public morality; and WHEREIN adequate safeguards shall be provided
for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward
classes; and WHEREBY shall be maintained the integrity of the territory of the
Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea, and air according to justice
and the law of civilized nations; and This ancient land attains its rightful
and honored placed in the world and make its full and willing contribution to
the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind”.
Importance of the preamble:
The preamble of the Indian constitution
provides us four basic information’s. Firstly, the source of the Indian
constitution. Secondly, the nature of the Indian state. Thirdly, the objectives
of the Indian constitution and lastly the date of adoption of the Indian
constitution.
1. The source of authority for the Indian Constitution:
The opening lines of the preamble of the
Indian constitution “We the people of India” suggests us that the
source of authority are the people of India.
2.
The nature of the
Indian state:
The nature of Indian state till 1976 was: Sovereign,
Democratic,
Republic.
Only by the 42nd constitutional
amendment Act, 1976 the nature of the Indian state was changed
into: Sovereign,
Socialist,
Secular,
Democratic,
Republic.
Now
we will discuss all the above mentioned terms in detail to have better understanding.
I. Sovereignty:
Sovereignty is one of the essential
elements of any independent State. It means that the State
has the power to legislate on any subject and is not subject to the control of
any State or external power. No external power can dictate the
government of India. India’s membership of the commonwealth or of the United
Nations does not impose any external limit on her sovereignty. The Commonwealth
is a free association of sovereign Nations and is no longer British
Commonwealth. India does not accept the British Queen as the head of state. The
sovereignty empowers India to either acquire a foreign territory or cede a part
of its territory.
Sovereignty can be divided into two parts:
Internal Sovereignty and External Sovereignty. Internal Sovereignty is
reflected by a free government which is directly elected by the people of India
and which makes laws that govern the people of India. Whereas external sovereignty
is reflected in the decision to remain in the Commonwealth Association. It reflects
the ideal of promoting international cooperation and peace, a concept expressed
in our Constitution.
II.
Socialist:
The original Constitution did not
mention the term socialist, but the constitution did speak to resolve and
securing to the citizens economic justice and equality of opportunity (Part 4-Directive
Principles of State Policy). The ‘socialism’ envisaged by the Indian
Constitution is not the usual scheme of State socialism, which involves ‘nationalization’
of all means of production, and the abolition of private property. Instead, Indian
Socialism is ‘democratic Socialism’, influenced by Fabianism. It is a peaceful
gradual transformation of the society in participation with the state and not
against the state.
The word ‘socialist’ was introduced in the
Preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. The term, however, is
not defined in the Constitution. It may be pointed out that the socialism
envisaged in India does not mean abolition of private property or
nationalization of all means of production. Thus a ‘mixed economy’ was
envisaged, along with provision of equal opportunity, abolition of vested
interests, and elimination of inequality in income and status and standards of
living. In the present context of economic liberalization, however, the
socialist credentials of our State may well be questioned.
III.
Secular:
Secular means the relationship between
the government and the people which is determined according to constitution and
law. Secularisms
in India is unique. ‘India is neither religious, nor irreligious nor
anti-religious.’ It means that in India there will be no State
religion
The State will not support any
particular religion out of public fund. This has two implications:
·
Every individual is free to believe in,
and practice, any religion he/she belongs to.
·
State will not discriminate against any
individual or group on the basis of religion.
The term “secular” was added by the 42nd
Amendment Act, 1976. And the reasons for the necessity of
secularism in India are because of the heterogeneous society, the diversity prevalent
in India (in terms of religion, culture, geographical, customs, fooding-habbits,
festivals etc).
IV.
Democratic:
Democracy is generally known as
government of the people, by the people and for the people. Effectively this
means that the Government is elected by the people, it is responsible and
accountable to the people. The democratic principles are highlighted with the
provisions of universal adult franchise, elections, fundamental rights, and
responsible government. India has adopted the representative
parliamentary democracy.
Parliamentary democracy envisages the
following:
·
Representation of People
·
Responsible Government
·
Accountability of the Council of
Ministers to the Legislature
V.
Republic:
The term ‘Republic’ indicates that the
head of the state is elected by the people directly or indirectly. In a
republican form of government, the head of the state is an elected person and
not a heredity monarch. This word denotes a government where no one holds a
public power as proprietary right. As opposed to a monarchy, in which the head
of state is appointed on hereditary basis for a lifetime or until, he abdicates
from the throne.
A democratic republic is an entity in
which the head of state is elected, directly or indirectly, for a fixed tenure.
The President of India is elected by an electoral college for a term of five
years. The post of the President of India is not hereditary. Every citizen of
India is eligible to become the President of the country. In India, the
President is the head of the state and he is elected indirectly by the people.
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The objectives of the
Indian Constitution:
·
Justice: Social, Economic and
Political.
The concept of justice goes beyond its
narrow legal connotation. Significantly the words social and economic occur
before the word political.
Social justice
implies that discrimination on the basis of birth, caste, race, sex or religion
should cease. To that end all citizens should enjoy equal opportunities in the
matter of public appointment. It is the good of all people that the Government
must strive to achieve. The concept of a welfare state as envisaged in the
Directive Principles is an embodiment of guidelines for ensuring the social
justice expected in the Preamble.
Economic justice
implies that the gap between the rich and the poor is bridged, and the
exploitation ceases. Removal of poverty is to be achieved not by taking away
assets from those who have but by ensuring a more equitable distribution of
national wealth ana1 resources among those who contribute to its creation. This
the Directive Principles call upon the state to try and secure ownership and
control over resources to sub serve common good, reduce concentration of
wealth, ensure equal pay for equal work, and see that people, especially women
and children, are not abused or forced by economic want into work unsuitable
for their age or strength.
Political justice
implies that all citizens should have equal opportunity to participate in the
political system. One person-one vote is ensured irrespective not only of
caste, sex or religion, but also of proprietary or educational qualifications.
It is the basis of the political democracy envisaged in the Constitution.
The ideal of justice – social, economic
and political has been taken from the Russian Revolution.
·
Equality: of status and
opportunity.
The term ‘equality’ means 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 equality of status and opportunity.
·
Liberty: of thought, expression,
belief, faith and worship
The term liberty means an absence of
restraints on the activities of individuals and at the same time, providing
opportunities for the development of individual personalities. The Constitution
secures to all citizens liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship
through Fundamental Rights, which are enforceable in Court of Law. However,
reasonable restrictions are placed on liberty by the Constitution itself.
The ideals of liberty, equality and
fraternity are taken from the French Revolution.
·
Fraternity: assuring the dignity of
the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.
A
democratic system would function in a healthy manner only if there is a spirit
of brotherhood, of oneness, among the people of the land. India being a land of
immense diversity is all the more in need of this spirit of unity, the sense of
belonging to one nation. The principle of common citizenship is directed
towards strengthening this sense of ‘unity and integrity’ of the nation.
Fraternity is also sought to be promoted by ensuring equal rights to all.
According
to DR. B.R Ambedkar, “Fraternity is the principle which gives unit and
solidarity to social life”. It is the feeling that will protect the unity of
India against external attack or disintegration through internal unrest born of
social, political and economic causes.
Fraternity
however is not possible unless the dignity of each individual is preserved and
respected. Maintaining this dignity requires the guarantee of certain minimal
justiciable rights to each individual. The ensure that an individual is free
from want and misery without which freedom, ideas of self-respect and dignity
are meaningless.
The
Directive Principles have been framed calling upon the State to from its
policies to benefit all citizens equally in the matter of providing adequate
means of livelihood. The State is also asked to provide just and humane
conditions of work and create conditions in which a decent standard of life and
full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities become possible
for all the people of this land. It is in keeping with the principle of
individual dignity that the practice of untouchability has been abolished by
the Constitution. In the context of fraternity, it may also be mentioned that
India’s Constitution goes beyond national boundaries, and speaks of the ideal
of universal brotherhood, an international fraternity with all nations and
peoples coexisting in peace and amity.
The
word ‘integrity’ was added by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.
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The date of adoption:
Date of adoption of the Constitution is
26th November, 1949. But most of the
articles in Constitution came into force on January 26th, 1950. Those articles
which came into existence on 26th November 1949 is given by Article
394.
Article 394 states that this article
(394) and articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392
and 393 shall come into force at once, and the remaining provisions of this
Constitution shall come into force on the 26th January, 1950, which
day is referred to in this Constitution as the commencement of this
Constitution.
26th January was selected for
this purpose because it was this day in 1930 when the Declaration of Indian
Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress.
The Controversy
1.
Can Preamble of the Indian constituion be amended?
The question regarding the amendability
of the Preamble was raised in the Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973).
The argument of the petitioner was that the Preamble is not a provision of the
Constitution, hence it cannot be amended. The supreme court held that Preamble
is an essential and integral part of the Constitution. Hence, it can be
amended; otherwise the harmony of the Constitution may get disturbed. It held
that the Preamble could be amended, subject to the condition that no amendment
is done to the ‘basic features’ of the Constitution. Consequently the Preamble
was amended by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. It added three new words:
Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble.
2. Whether preamble is part of the Indian constituion or
not?
The traditional view is that it is not a
necessary part of the Constitution, but an ornamental part. This means that if
we drop it from the statute, it will not impact the provisions of the law or
enactment. In Berubari Union 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 ofthe Constitution. Further, where
the terms used in any article are ambiguous or capable of more than one
meaning, some assistance at interpretation may be taken from the objectives
enshrined in the Preamble. Despite this recognition of the significance of the Preamble, the Supreme
Court held that the Preamble is not a part of the Constitution. Further,
the Preamble is not enforceable in a Court of Law.
The modern view is that the Preamble is
a part of the Constitution and it is subject to amendment by the Parliament.
In Kesavananda Bharaticase, 1973 ,the Supreme Court rejected the earlier
opinion (Berubari Case) and held that the 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.
In S.R Bommai case, 1994 and in
the case of Union Government Vs LIC of India,1995.The Supreme Court has
once again held that Preamble is the integral part of the Constitution.
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