INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND POLITY

Preamble Of the constitution

 The American Constitution was the first to begin
with preamble.
 Preamble refers to introduction or preface to the
constitution it contains the summary essence of
the constitution.
 N.A.Palkhivala, a jurist called preamble as ‘identity
card of the constitution’.
 Preamble is based on ‘Objectives resolution’
drafted and moved by Nehru and adopted by CA. It
has been amended by 42nd CAA 1976 which added
3 new words – Socialist, Secular and Integrity.
 Key words in the Preamble –
 Sovereign = this states that India is neither a
dependency nor a dominion of any other nation,
but an independent state and free to conduct its
own affairs (both internal and external).
 Socialist = Though added in 1976, the constitution
had a socialist content in the form of DPSP’s.
Moreover, the congress party itself adopted a
resolution to establish a ‘socialistic pattern of
society’ in its Avadi session as early as 1955.
Notably, the Indian Socialism is a ‘democratic
socialism’ which holds faith in mixed economy
 where both public and private sectors co-exist side
by side and not a ‘communistic socialism’ (aka
state socialism) which involves nationalization of
all means of production and distribution and
abolition of private property.
Indian Socialism is a blend of Marxism and
Gandhism leaning heavily towards gandhian
socialism.
The New Economic Policy 1991 of LPG has
however diluted the socialist credentials.
 Secular = all religions in our country have same
status and support from our country.
 Democratic = democratic polity that is possession
of supreme power by the people.
Democracy is of 2 types – Direct and Indirect
In Direct Democracy people exercise their
supreme power directly e.g. Switzerland
In Indirect Democracy the representative elected
by the people exercise the supreme power and run
the government. This type of democracy also
known as representative democracy is of 2 kinds –
parliamentary and presidential
 Republic = A democratic polity can be classified
into 2 categories – monarchy and republic. In
Monarchy the head of the state is king or queen
 whose position is hereditary. In Republic the head
of the state is elected like ours.
 Justice = The term justice in the preamble
embraces 3 distinct forms – social,economic and
political secured through various provisions of
fundamental rights and DPSP.
Social justice denotes the equal treatment of all
citizens without any social distinction based on
caste,sex etc.
Economic justice denotes the non discrimination
on the basis of economic factors.
Political justice implies that all citizens should have
equal political rights and access to all political
offices.
This idea of justice has been taken from Russian
Revolution.