Chapter 9 – Indian Constitution (Preamble and salient Features of the Indian Constitution)

The Preamble of Indian Constitution

Preamble declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic.

TEXT TO THE PREAMBLE:

We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN,
SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC and to secure to all of 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 26th day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT
AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

The preamble to the constitution set out the philosophy on which the political system of our country
rests. It clearly establishes the main objectives of the Indian constitution. Preamble is normally
known as the preface or introduction to the constitution, which contains the spirit or the essence of
the constitution.

▪ It begins with “We the people of India”, clearly meaning that the people gave
themselves this Constitution. It indicates the source of authority.
Sovereign: Sovereignty refers to ultimate power, legal-political, individual, etc. the
power is absolute and supreme. Sovereignty signifies independence. It can be
categorized into external sovereignty i.e. sovereignty in international law and internal
sovereignty i.e. the relationship between the states and the individuals.
▪ Socialist: socialist means the political-economic system which advocates the state’s
ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. Our constitution
does not define socialist. It means state ownership, not totally excluding private
enterprise. The term socialist was used in reference to equality of opportunity or the
better life for the people.
▪ Secular: It is the view of life. The term secular was introduced in the
42nd amendment of the Constitution in 1976 but without a definition. The term
explains that the state has no religion and it will and shall always treat all religions
equally and with equal respect.
▪ Democratic: It enshrines the concept that the government is of the people by people,
for the people, directly or indirectly control the ruling of the government.
▪ Republic: the power rests with the people, through the elected representatives.
Republic derived from res publica (the state republic or common wealth) means
public property. Indian Government is a republic form of government, the power via
universal adult Suffrage rests with the people. The President of India is the Nominal
 or sovereign head of the State indirectly elected by the People, and actual elected head
being the Prime Minister.
▪ Justice: It means the abolition of all types of discriminations and inequalities such as
race, caste, title, religion, language, etc. To attain justice, part IV (Directive Principles
of State Policy) was enacted. The constitutional goal is to achieve social political and
economic equality. This was enshrined for the welfare of society.
▪ Liberty: for the development of every individual along with the nation, there should
be liberty. Being allowed to do something which is legal is liberty, quoted by
Aristotle. Liberty is granted to people and is control by the law, which is created by
the elective representatives of the people. So simple terms, the Constitution is for the
people.
▪ Equality: it is the principle to treat everyone equally and grant the same treatment. In
furtherance of this goal, article 14 of the Indian Constitution was enacted i.e. equality
of the law and equal before the law. Equality of status and equal opportunity for all is
professed. In India, likes are treated alike and unlike are treated unlike.
▪ Fraternity: By considering the diversities which prevailed in India, the word
fraternity was added to the preamble to promote brotherhood and belongingness
amongst the people. The dignity of the Individual needs to be preserved to promote
and practice fraternity.

Conclusion / Evaluation
The preamble is a guiding star of the Indian Constitution providing for rights, duties,
and values. It plays a very significant role in the case of any ambiguity with reference
to the interpretation of any term or phrases. The spirit of an independent nation is with
the preamble. It is of considerable legal significance. Though it cannot be regarded as
a source of power to the people, it is a key to the makers of the Constitution. The
preamble has an important role in the interpretation of the statute and its provisions.

Some critics argue that the Indian Constitution is not an adopted and self made
Constitution because it was never put to a referendum. This logic of the critics is
however, rejected by most of the Constitutional Experts on the ground that the
Constituent Assembly was fully representative of Indian Public opinion and adoption
and enactment of the constitution by it meant its adoption by the people.

Indian Constitution

The Major Features of the Constitution of India

The constitution is a fundamental law of a country that reflects the
fundamental principles on which the government of the country is
based. In this article, learn some of the interesting features of
the Indian Constitution.

The bulkiest constitution of the world

The Indian constitution is one of the bulkiest constitution of

the world, comprising of 395 articles, 22 parts and 12
schedules. So far the constitution underwent 102
amendments (August 2018).

Rigidity and flexibility

The Indian constitution is combination of rigidity and

flexibility, which means some parts of it can be amended by the
Parliament by a simple majority, whereas some parts require
a two-third majority as well as not less than one-half of the
state legislatures.
Parliamentary system of government

The Indian constitution provides for a parliamentary system

of government, i.e., the real executive power rests with the
council of ministers and the President is only a nominal
ruler (Article 74).

Federal system with a unitary bias

The Indian constitution described India as a 'Union of

States' (Article 1), which implies that Indian federation is not the
result of any agreement among the units and the units cannot
secede from it.

Fundamental rights and fundamental duties

The Indian constitution provides an elaborate list

of Fundamental Rights to the citizens of India, which cannot be
taken away or abridged by any law made by the states (Article 12–
35). Similarly, the constitution also provides a list of 11 duties of
the citizens, known as the Fundamental Duties (Article 51A).

Directive principles of state policy

The Indian constitution mentions certain Directive Principles

of State Policy (Article 36–51) which that government has to
keep in mind while formulating new policy.
Secularism

The constitution makes India a secular state by detaching from

religious dogmas (Forty-second Amendment).

Independent judiciary

The constitution provides an independent judiciary (Article

76) which ensures that the government is carried on in accordance
with the provisions of the constitution and acts as a guardian of
the liberties and fundamental rights of the citizens.

Single citizenship

The Indian constitution provides a single citizenship for all the

people residing different parts of the country and there is no
separate citizenship for the states (Article 5–11).

Bicameral legislatures

The Indian constitution provides a bicameral legislatures at centre

consisting of Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and Lok Sabha
(House of the People) (Article 79).

Emergency powers

The constitution vests extraordinary powers, known

as Emergency Powers in the President during emergencies out
of armed rebellion or external aggression or due to failure of
constitutional machinery in the state (Article 352–360).

Special provisions for minorities

The constitution makes special provisions for minorities,

Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes, etc. by granting them certain
special rights and provisions.

Basically those are some of the interesting features of Indian

constitution. Moreover, the constitution also has many other
features such as, Panchayati Raj, Rule of Law, Provisions
for Independent Bodies, etc. which are very unique in nature.

List of Borrowed Features of Indian Constitution:

Name of Countries Borrowed Features of the
Constitution
Britain 1. Parliamentary government
2. Rule of Law
3. Legislative procedure
4. Single citizenship
5. Cabinet system
6. Prerogative writs
7. Parliamentary privileges
8. Bicameralism
Ireland 1. Directive Principles of State
Policy
2. Method of Election of the
president
3. Members nomination to the
Rajya Sabha by the President
Unites States of 1. Impeachment of the president
America 2. Functions of president and vice-
president
 3. Removal of Supreme Court and
High court judges
4. Fundamental Rights
5. Judicial review
6. Independence of judiciary
7. The preamble of the constitution
Canada 1. Centrifugal form of federalism
where the centre is stronger than the
states.
2. Residuary powers vest with the
centre
3. Centre appoints the Governors at
the states
4. Advisory jurisdiction of the
supreme court
Australia 1. Concept of Concurrent list
2. Article 108 i.e. Joint sitting of the
two houses
3. Freedom of trade and commerce
USSR (Now 1. Fundamental duties
Russia) 2. The ideals of justice (social,
economic and political), expressed
in the Preamble.
France 1. Concept of “Republic”
2. Ideals of Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity(contained in the
Preamble)
Germany 1. Fundamental Rights are
suspended during Emergency
South Africa 1. Election of members of the Rajya
Sabha
2. Amendment of the Constitution
Japan 1. Concept of “procedure
established by Law”

The Government of India Act of 1935: This was an Act passed by the Parliament of
Britain. It provided a framework for the government of India and was passed in the
response to demands of the Indian leaders for democracy. The Constitution borrows
from it the Federal Scheme of government, Office of Governor, the system of the
judiciary (establishing a supreme court), Public Service Commissions, and the
Emergency provisions.
Other Sources

• Values of National Liberation Movement

• The Constituent Assembly and its records
• Reports, Debates, of Constituent Assembly/Committee
• Constitutional Amendments
• Parliamentary Statutes
• Judicial Decisions
• Conventions
• Views of Constitutional Jurists and Experts