UNDERSTANDING INDIA’S CONSTITUTION: PRINCIPLES & PREAMBLE OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

UNDERSTANDING INDIA’S CONSTITUTION: PRINCIPLES & PREAMBLE OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

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”.

• Complete independent State + Not a dominion of any other country. + Sovereign in internal & external matters. + As a sovereign country, India can acquire a foreign territory or cede a part in favor of any other country.

• Added by 42nd amendment (1976) + Socialist contents are implicit in DPSPs (Art 36-51) but 42nd amendment mentioned it explicitly.
• Indian Socialism (Marxism + Gandhism, heavily leaning towards Gandhism) à Democratic Socialism à Adopted Mixed Economic model where both public & private sector coexists side by side.

• Added by 42nd amendment (1976) + Part of basic structure doctrine. + SC (1974): Secular State was implicitly mentioned in articles 25 to 28
• Positive Secularism in India: All religions have the same status and support from the state.

• Democratic à Doctrine of popular sovereignty – possession of supreme power by the people.
• It embraces = political + social + economic democracy.
• Indian democracy: Representative Parliamentary democracy. Executive is responsible to the legislature for all its policies and actions.
• Manifestation of Indian Democracy: Universal adult franchise, periodic elections, rule of law, independence of judiciary and absence of discrimination on certain grounds.

INSTRUMENTS OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY

• Two Categories: Monarchy (Britain) & Republic (USA/India).
• Indian republic: Head of State (President) is indirectly elected.
• Republic means: Vesting political sovereignty in people. Absence of any privileged class and all public offices open to all without any discrimination.
• Article 54-55– related to the election of the President.

• Taken from the Russian Revolution (1917).
• Embraces three types of justice: Social, Economic, Political.
• Distributive Justice = Social Justice + Economic Justice

• Equal treatment of all citizens without any social distinction based on caste, colour, race, religion, sex etc.
• Absence of privileges to any particular section.
• Improvement in the conditions of backward classes & women.

• Non-discrimination between people based on economic factors.
• Elimination of inequalities in wealth, income & property.

• All citizens should have equal political rights, equal access to all political offices & equal voice in the government.

• Ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity: from French Revolution (1789).
• Absence of restraints on the activities of individuals.
• Providing opportunities for the development of individual personalities.
• Preamble secures: liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith & worship.
• Liberty does not mean: License to do what one likes. Need to be enjoyed within limitations mentioned in the constitution.
• Liberty ensured in preamble & Fundamental Rights is not absolute but qualified.

• Absence of special privileges to any section of society.
• Adequate opportunities for all without discrimination.
• Preamble secures: Equality of status + opportunity.

• Equality before law (Art.14)
• Prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth (Art.15)
• Equality of opportunity in public employment (Art.16)
• Abolition of untouchability (Art.17)
• Abolition of titles (Art.18)

• No one is ineligible for inclusion in the electoral rolls on the grounds of religion, race, caste or sex (Art.325)
• Lok Sabha & state assembly elections based on adult franchise. (Art.326)

• Equal right to adequate means of livelihood & equal pay for equal work to men and women. (Art.39)

• Sense of brotherhood. + Single Citizenship promotes fraternity.
• Article 51-A: Fundamental duty of every citizen to promote harmony and spirit of common brotherhood transcending religious, linguistic, regional or sectional diversities.
• Fraternity: dignity of individual (personality of every individual is sacred) + unity & integrity of India. (Word Integrity is added through 42nd amendment).
• Dignity of individual is ensured in Fundamental Rights, DPSPs, Fundamental Duties.
• Unity & integrity of nation embraces both psychological + territorial dimensions of national integration.

If terms used in articles are ambiguous, some assistance of preamble could be taken for interpretation.

SC held that Preamble is not a part of Constitution.