Preamble
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 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.
Constitutions all over the world generally have a preamble. The form, content and length of the
preamble differ from constitution to constitution. Irrespective of these differences, the Preamble
generally sets the ideals and the goals which the makers of the constitution intend to achieve
through the Constitution. Therefore it is also regarded as ‘a key to open the mind of the makers’
of the constitution which show the general purposes for which they made several provisions in the
Constitution. Preamble serves several important purposes:
1. It contains the enacting clause which brings the constitution into force.
2. It contains the great rights and freedoms which the people of India intended to secure to all its
citizens.
3. It declares the basic type of government and polity which is sought to be established in the
country.
4. It throws light on the source of the Constitution, viz. the People of India.
Preamble of our constitution stands on a different footing from the preamble of an Act. The
Preamble of an Act is not enacted by the legislature. But, the Preamble of our Constitution, unlike
the Preamble of an Act or Preamble of any other Constitution was adopted and enacted by the
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Constituent Assembly. It was, however, finalized as the last item in the Constitution to ensure its
consistency with the rest of the Constitution. In Berubari Union case, it was observed by the apex
court that the Preamble is not a part of the Constitution. But later in Kesavanand Bharati v. State
of Kerala, the same court observed that not only the Preamble is a part of the Constitution but also
a part of its basic structure.
The framers of the Constitution sought to constitute India into a “Sovereign Socialist Secular
Democratic Republic”. India is a republic because the head of the State is elected and not a
hereditary monarch. It is democratic because Constitution ensures creation of government through
the will of the people by the system of universal adult franchise. The term sovereign denotes that
India is subject to no external authority and the state has the power to legislate on any subject in
conformity with constitutional limitations. The words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were added in the
preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. The addition of the term ‘socialist’ indicates the
incorporation of philosophy of ‘socialism’ which aims at elimination of inequality in income and
status and standards of life. The word ‘secular’ recognizes the concept of secularism as manifested
in the guarantee of freedom of religion as fundamental right in the Constitution. It was held in SR.
Bommai v. Union of India that secularism is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
The Constitution makers sought to secure to citizens of India justice – social, economic, and
political; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; equality of status and of
opportunity; and to promote among the People of India, fraternity, assuring the dignity of all
individual and unity and integrity of the nation. Dr. Ambedkar in his closing speech in the
Constituent Assembly on 25 November 1949 observed: “The principles of liberty, equality and
fraternity are not to be treated as separate items in a trinity. They form a union of trinity in the
sense that to divorce one from other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy. Liberty cannot be
divorced from equality, and equality cannot be divorced from fraternity. The words ‘fraternity
assuring the dignity of the individual’ have a ‘special relevance in Indian context’ because of social
backwardness of certain sections of the community who had in the past been looked down upon.
The term ‘and integrity’ was added in the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. Lastly, the
Constitution makers make it clear that the Constitution emanates from “We, the people of India”
and not from any external or lesser source. The source of the Constitution are the people of India
and thus the ultimate sovereignty lies with them.
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