Amendments To Preamble

Preamble is a kind of “introduction to the statute”. Preamble is helpful in understanding the core legislative policy and intent. Ideals of the constitution are contained by the preamble which the constitution wants to achieve. In the Indian constitution, the preamble represents the intention of its makers.  The principle and core values of a nation are reflected through the preamble. The preamble of the Indian constitution provides ideas about many things such as the origin of the constitution, Indian state’s nature, “statement of its objective”, and its adoption date. 

Main body 

Making history of preamble of Indian constitution

The ideals which were behind the design of the preamble of the Indian constitution were laid down by “Jawaharlal Nehru’s objective resolution”. The constituent assembly adopted it on January 22, 1947. Although the preamble is not enforceable in front of the court, the main objective of the Indian constitution was stated by its preamble. When the articles of the constitution are interpreted, the preamble is found to act as an aid if the language of the articles seems ambiguous. 

Preamble of Indian constitution

The preamble of the constitution has taken many objectives to safeguard the rights of Indian people and to maintain peace within the country. Different keywords have been used within the preamble of the Indian constitution which have very significance such as sovereign, secular, socialist, republic and democratic. By mentioning “we the people of India”, ultimate sovereignty has been ensured to the Indian people by indicating this statement. Sovereignty refers to that the state has the independent authority and no external force can control it. 

• Sovereign: the term signifies that the country has independent authority. Any external authority cannot control it. The Indian legislature has the sole power to frame laws and regulations which are subject to some limitations. Although the supreme court of India has the power of judicial review

• Socialist: by the term socialist, it is signified that through the democratic means socialist ends can be achieved. The country has faith in the coexistence of both the private and public sectors to boost economic growth. The term was adopted within the Indian constitution by the “42nd Amendment, 1976”

• Secular: the term secular refers to the citizens of the country having all the freedom to practice any type of religion. All religions get equal protection, support and respect

• Democratic: the term democratic refers to the established constitution that gets its authority by the will of Indian people which they expressed through the election

• Republic: republic term signifies that the Indian people will elect the head of the state. The president is selected as the “Head of the state”

Components of the Indian preamble

The preamble of the Indian constitution indicates that the “source of authority” of the constitution remains with the “people of India”. It is declared by the preamble that India to be a secular, socialist, sovereign and democratic republic. Various objectives are ensured by the Indian preamble to secure equality, liberty and justice. In addition, the promotion of fraternity is also taken as the objective in the Indian constitution to maintain the integrity and unity of the country. The data is mentioned in the Indian preamble when it was accepted. The Indian constitution was accepted on 26 November 1949. The main objective of the Indian constitution is to provide justice to all its citizens by ensuring proper legislation and by preserving fundamental rights which are taken in the Indian constitution. Maintaining the equality aspects to all its citizens is also taken as an objective in the preamble. The liberty aspect is also ensured to give freedom to its entire people in terms of choosing their way of life, behaviour in the society and having any kind of political views. 

Significance of Fraternity in the Indian constitution

Promoting fraternity is taken as an objective in the preamble of the Indian constitution. It is taken to maintain integrity and unity in the country. Fraternity is a feeling of sisterhood and brotherhood. By objective fraternity, the constitution promotes the sense of belonging among its citizens within the country. Therefore, it can be observed that the objective of promoting fraternity is very significant to maintain harmony and unity among the citizens of India. 

Amendments related to preamble 

In the year 1976, by the 42nd constitutional amendment, the preamble of the constitution was amended. Through this amendment, the two terms secular and socialist were added within the Indian constitution. By the “kesavananda bharati case|” in 1973, it was declared by the supreme court of India that the preamble of the constitution is the “integral part of Indian constitution”. 

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the preamble is the introductory statement of the whole constitution. The objective and philosophy of the maker of the constitution is reflected through the preamble. The Preamble was adopted from the objective resolution by the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The main objective of the constitution is reflected in its preamble part which is to maintain fraternity and integrity, secure justice, equality and liberty to all the Indian citizens. Various amendments have been done in the preamble portion of the constitution, but the amendment made by the 42nd, 1976 is very significant by which the word secular and socialist terms are added in the preamble part of the constitution.