The Preamble and the nature of the State
A book begins with a ‘foreword’ which tells what is in the book. The Preamble of the Constitution is like that; it tells the values and aims of the Constitution.
The Preamble tells the values and aims of the Constitution, so it is called the ‘soul’ of the Constitution. It declares India a ‘Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic’. The people of India made this Constitution and accepted it willingly.
Key idea 1 : Origin of the Preamble — On 13 December 1946 Pandit Nehru presented the ‘Objectives Resolution’ in the Constituent Assembly; the Preamble of the Indian Constitution grew from it. The Preamble is the introduction, aims and foreword of the Constitution.
Key idea 2 : Sovereign, Socialist, Secular — Sovereign: a country over which no outside power exercises control and which is fully free to take its own decisions; India has the supreme authority to make its own laws and foreign policy. Socialist: the wealth of the country is made by society together and the State holds ownership; the aim is to reduce economic and social inequality and keep wealth from collecting in a few hands. Secular: the State has no official religion of its own; all religions get equal respect and every citizen has full freedom to follow religion according to faith.
Key idea 3 : Democratic and Republic — Democratic: the people are the final source of power; they elect their own representatives. ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people.’ Republic: no public office — President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Mayor, Sarpanch — is held by heredity; it is held by representatives elected by the people directly or indirectly for a fixed term.
- Easy : Of what is the Preamble called the ‘soul’? — Of the Constitution.
- Medium : A sarpanch post is not hereditary; which word does it match? — Republic.
- Exam-type : The country decides its own foreign policy; which feature? — Sovereignty.
In the figure: The five words of the Preamble in four groups: sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic-republic.
The original Preamble did not have the words ‘Socialist’ and ‘Secular’. They were added in 1976 by the 42nd Amendment. Knowing how today’s words came in shows that the Constitution can be changed through a fixed process.
5 words: sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic; Preamble = soul; origin = Objectives Resolution, 13 Dec 1946.
Secular does not mean anti-religion; the State has no religion of its own and respects all.
Five words in order: sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic. Memory clue: ‘Saa-Sa-Dha-Lo-Ga’ — first letters of the five words.
Spot the difference
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sovereign | Fully free to decide |
| Socialist | Reduce economic-social inequality |
| Secular | No State religion, all faiths equal |
| Democratic | People are the source of power |
| Republic | Posts not hereditary, elected |
Practice questions
- 1What is the Preamble and why is it called the ‘soul’?
- 2From which resolution did the Preamble arise?
- 3Which five words describe India?
- 4What is sovereign?
- 5State the aim of the word ‘Socialist’.
- 6What is a secular State?
- 7State the difference between democratic and republic.
- 8Write the Preamble in your handwriting and explain two words in your own words.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1The introductory part stating the values and aims; it is the soul of the Constitution.
- 2From the Objectives Resolution presented by Pt. Nehru.
- 3Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic.
- 4A country with no outside control that takes its own decisions.
- 5To reduce economic and social inequality and keep wealth from a few hands.
- 6One with no official religion of its own; all religions equal.
- 7Democratic — people elect representatives; republic — no post by heredity.
- 8E.g. secular — everyone is free to follow own faith.
Objectives of the Constitution
If at school all get equal chance, freedom to speak, friendship and justice, the class stays happy. A country too has such four aims.
The Constitution has taken justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as its aims; these values came from India’s freedom struggle.
Key idea 1 : Justice and liberty — Justice: giving equal chances of progress to all without discrimination on caste, religion, race, gender or language; it includes social, economic and political justice. Liberty: no unreasonable restrictions on citizens and an environment for personality to flower; it includes freedom of thought, expression, movement, association, occupation, faith and worship.
Key idea 2 : Equality and fraternity — Equality: equal status to all, with no one treated as superior or inferior on caste, religion, race, gender, language or place of birth. Fraternity: a feeling of unity and belonging that ‘we all Indians are one’ among all citizens; it upholds the dignity of the individual and strengthens the nation’s unity.
Key idea 3 : Values in daily life — Standing in a queue, not pushing, not dividing tasks as ‘for boys’ and ‘for girls’, helping neighbours and seniors — all these are examples of equality and fraternity in daily life. While using our right, remembering others’ rights and our duty is keeping the scale of rights and duties balanced.
- Easy : Not discriminating between boy and girl matches which value? — Equality.
- Medium : The feeling ‘we Indians are all one’ is what? — Fraternity.
- Exam-type : Freedom of speech comes under which value? — Liberty.
In the figure: Four aims: justice, liberty, equality, fraternity.
What happened before the Objectives Resolution was adopted? On 9 December 1946 the Constituent Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi, and on 13 December Jawaharlal Nehru moved the ‘Objectives Resolution’, which set out the aims of the future Constitution.
What happened after the Objectives Resolution was adopted? The Assembly adopted the Resolution on 22 January 1947. Its ideas of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity went into the Preamble, which was adopted with the Constitution on 26 November 1949.
Four values: justice, liberty, equality, fraternity; their origin is in the freedom struggle.
Liberty does not mean doing anything; it is the absence of unreasonable restrictions along with respect for others’ rights.
Justice = chance; liberty = no restriction; equality = equal status; fraternity = unity. Memory clue: ‘Chance-freedom-status-unity’.
Spot the difference
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Justice | Equal chances of progress |
| Liberty | Freedom of thought, expression, worship |
| Equality | None superior or inferior |
| Fraternity | Feeling that all Indians are one |
Practice questions
- 1Which are the four aims of the Constitution?
- 2Which are the three kinds of justice?
- 3What comes under liberty?
- 4What is equality?
- 5What is fraternity and why is it important?
- 6Where did these values come from?
- 7What is the scale of rights and duties?
- 8‘I can play in a public garden’ is a right; what is your duty?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.
- 2Social, economic and political.
- 3Freedom of thought, expression, movement, association, occupation, faith and worship.
- 4Equal status to all, treating none as superior or inferior.
- 5Feeling of belonging among all citizens; it upholds dignity and strengthens national unity.
- 6From India’s freedom struggle.
- 7Rights on one pan and duties on the other, keeping both balanced.
- 8Keep the garden clean, not pluck plants and flowers, let others play.
Features of the Indian Constitution
A school rule book has all rules, rights, responsibilities and division of work. The Indian Constitution too has nine main features like that.
The Indian Constitution is the largest written constitution in the world; it has features like fundamental rights and duties of citizens, directive principles, federal system, parliamentary democracy and universal adult franchise.
Key idea 1 : The first four features — 1. Largest written constitution — the most extensive of all written constitutions of the world. 2. Selected elements from many constitutions — the Assembly studied them and took what suited the country. 3. Blend of rigidity and flexibility — an easily amended constitution is ‘flexible’, one extremely hard to amend is ‘rigid’; India has a mix of both. 4. Fundamental rights of citizens — rights for all citizens; the judiciary is responsible for protecting them.
Key idea 2 : The next five features — 5. Fundamental duties — duties along with rights, to be followed by all. 6. Directive principles — government should be run according to these principles. 7. Federal system — India is a Union of States; powers divided between Centre and State governments; Parliament makes laws on central subjects and the State legislature on state subjects. 8. Parliamentary democracy — voters elect representatives; the Prime Minister is chosen from them and picks the Council of Ministers. 9. Universal adult franchise — every Indian citizen aged 18 years has the right to vote.
Key idea 3 : Members from Maharashtra in the Assembly — Many famous persons from Maharashtra were in the Constituent Assembly: Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh, Keshavrao Jedhe, Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh, Shankarrao Dev, Narhar Gadgil, Balasaheb Khardekar, Dada Dharmadhikari, Brijlal Biyani and Madhav (Bapuji) Aney.
- Easy : What is the minimum voting age? — 18 years.
- Medium : Who protects rights? — The judiciary.
- Exam-type : What kind of union is India? — Union of States (federal).
In the figure: Nine features in four groups: size, rights-duties, federal, parliamentary democracy.
Earlier the voting age in India was 21 years. The 61st Amendment of 1988 made it 18 years and from 1989 young people who had completed 18 could vote. So many new young voters joined democracy.
9 features; voting age 18; rights protected by judiciary; India = Union of States.
Fundamental duties exist along with fundamental rights; not only rights.
Size, rights, duties, principles, federal, parliament, franchise. Memory clue: ‘Rights have duties as partners; the vote waits at 18’.
Spot the difference
| Feature | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rigid + flexible | Some changes easy, some hard |
| Federal | Powers divided between Centre and States |
| Parliamentary democracy | Voters elect representatives; PM from them |
| Adult franchise | Vote for all above 18 |
Practice questions
- 1For what is the Indian Constitution famous in the world?
- 2What are a rigid and a flexible constitution?
- 3Who protects the fundamental rights?
- 4What are directive principles?
- 5What is a federal system?
- 6How is the Prime Minister chosen in a parliamentary democracy?
- 7What is universal adult franchise?
- 8Write in five lines what your ‘Dream India’ will be after ten years.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1As the largest written constitution of the world.
- 2Easy to amend — flexible; extremely hard to amend — rigid.
- 3The judiciary.
- 4Principles according to which the government should run affairs.
- 5A system in which powers are divided between Centre and State governments.
- 6The Prime Minister is chosen from the elected representatives.
- 7Every citizen who has completed 18 years has the right to vote.
- 8E.g. clean cities, education for all, equal chances, care for environment, peace.