Text of the Preamble

While drafting the constitution, Pt. J. L. Nehru presented ‘the objectives resolution’ to the constituent assembly on December 13, 1946, and it was adopted on January 22, 1947, by the constituent assembly. It was added to the constitution as an introductory statement and is known as the ‘Preamble’ of the constitution since then.  The preamble was said to be the ‘soul of the constitution’ because it contains an outline of everything present in the constitution. The committee drafting the constitution realized that the preamble should be limited in explaining the socio-political objectives, the important features of the new state and other necessary affairs should be polished further in the constitution. There were amendments later in the preamble, replacing and adding some keywords and lines. The Preamble text contains a total of 8 keywords, including Socialist, Sovereign, Secular, Republic, Democratic, Liberty, Equality, and Justice. The keywords – Integrity, Socialist, and Secular have been added with the 42nd Amendment of 1976 under article 368. The Preamble has its objectives with which it abides, and there are four essential ingredients of the Preamble derived from the text of the Preamble.

The text reads as follows:

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic, and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship;

EQUALITY of status and 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 ADOPT, ENACT, and GIVE OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”

Keywords embedded in the Preamble:

We, the people of India: this expresses that the source of our constitution is the citizens, i.e., the people of India.

Sovereign: Sovereign implies that the state is neither dominion nor a dependency on any other state but an Independent nation; it deals with its affairs (internal and external) solely.

Socialist: It depicts that our Nation believes in an economy that is a mixture of both public and private sectors.

In the Preamble, it was embedded with the 42nd Amendment, 1976.

Secular: It represents that a nation should not have any specific religion; all religions shall get equal respect and authority within the state.

In the Preamble, it was embedded with the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976.

Democratic: Democratic is a broad term that depicts that the Indian constitution is established from the will of citizens in a free election. 

Republic: In the context of a republican form, the head of the nation is always selected for a specific period. With the decision to be a republic, India has decided on a system in which the citizens are elected the President, who is considered the head of the state.

Justice: Justice denotes the balanced accommodation of sole conduct with the concept of the public good. It stands for rule of law, a system of equally distributed rights, the absence of any arbitrary decision, and free and equal chances for all in society. 

It includes the three elements – social, economic, and political.

Equality: Equality comes in handy with liberty; they are complementary. It equally implies that special privilege to anyone is not acceptable; it signifies equality of status.

Liberty: Liberty stands for the freedom to do legitimate things for Indians; it implies that there shall not be an unreasonable restriction on nationals about the general things they do. It does not mean little freedom, too; liberty must be exercised within the constitutional limits. 

Fraternity: ‘Fraternity’ refers to a feeling of sisterhood and brotherhood amongst the country’s people and an emotional attachment with each other which supports promoting nobility and unity within the Nation.

Amendment of the Preamble

The Indian National Congress ordered the 42nd Amendment of the constitution. The act is also famous as The Constitution Act, 1976 – a controversial event in the history of amendments to the Indian Constitution. It introduces the provisions mentioned below:

• The powers of the high court and supreme court were reduced.

• Fundamental duties were entrusted to the citizens.

• Three terms -integrity, secular, and socialist were added in the Preamble.

• Changes brought by the Amendment.

• The description of India was changed from “democratic, sovereign, republic” to “socialist, sovereign, democratic, secular, republic”.

• “Unity and integrity of the nation” was added in place of “Unity of the nation.”

However, these changes created political chaos in the country’s social landscape.

Conclusion

The Preamble is an identity of the constitution that contains the principles, inspirations behind, and objectives of the constitution. It is the quintessence of the whole political system of a country through which a mechanism is established to run the country. The Preamble text was drafted considering every aspect and from various perspectives so that the “spirit of the constitution” maintains its dignity. The Preamble text represents the ideas and efforts of members of the constituent assembly.