Preamble and Salient Features of the Constitution

Constitution is the set of rules which tells about the political structure of the country, it is
the supreme law of land which provides convenience as well as regulations for all the
citizens living in a country.
The term preamble refers to the first page of the Constitution or we can say it is the preface
of the Constitution, an eminent jurist N.A Palkhivala called the preamble as the “identity
card of the constitution’.
The preamble of the Indian Constitution is based on the ‘Objective Resolution’, moved by
J.L. Nehru.
The American constitution was the first to begin with Preamble. Many countries including
India followed this practice.
The preamble of Indian Constitution was once amended by the 42nd Amendment Act 1976
when three words Socialist, Secular and Integrity was added to the preamble of India.
The preamble cannot be enforced in the court, this decision was announced in the decision
of Union of India v. Madan Gopal, 1957.
Is Preamble a part of the Constitution?
In the Berubari Union case, 1960, the Supreme Court did not consider the Preamble to be a
part of the Constitution.
Therefore, the legislature cannot amend the Preamble.
The Preamble is the part of the Constitution and the Parliament of India has the right to
amend the Preamble but the Parliament of India does not have the power to amend the
basic structure of the Constitution as it was decided by the Supreme Court of India in the
famous case Keshvanand Bharti vs State of Kerala in the year 1973
The four components of the preamble are as follows:
1. reveals the source of the authority of the constitution i.e. the people of India.
2. It tells the nature of Indian state as sovereign, socialist, secular, republic and democratic
polity.
3. It specifies the objective of the constitution as justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to its
people.
4. It mentions the date (26 November 1949) on which the Constitution was adopted.
Analysis of Preamble terms
1. Sovereign
The word sovereignty has been taken from the French Constitution.
Sovereign country is a country which is not only physically free but it is also free to make its
own policies and laws i.e. there is no interference of any foreign country while making the
policies and laws by the government of India.
2. Socialist

The socialist system was first introduced in USSR. Under this system the Government holds

the ownership of the sources of production as well as in all the economic activities.
The ideas of socialism in India were given by Mahatma Gandhi and that’s why Indian
socialism is known as Democratic Socialism or Gandhian Socialism.
Socialist goals should be achieved through democratic means. The term establishes India
as a public welfare state.
3. Secular
A secular country is a country where there is absence of religion i.e. a country which is not
having its own state religion. In India positive form of secularism is followed where all the
religions have been given equal right
4. Democratic
A democratic country is a country where the government of the country is elected by people
and where all the citizens of the country has the right to take part in the elections. In the
democracy there is concept of Bi party or the Multi-party System.
5. Republic
Republic country is a country where the head of the country comes through the electoral
process and not through the hereditary process.
6. Justice
The preamble encompasses the term justice in three different forms — social, economic and
political, which have been achieved through various provisions of fundamental and directive
principles of policy.
Social justice in the Preamble refers to the creation of a more equitable society by the
Constitution based on equal social status.
Economic justice refers to the equal distribution of wealth among different members of
society, so that wealth cannot be concentrated in a few hands.
Political justice refers to the right of all citizens to equal political participation.
The Indian Constitution provides universal adult suffrage and equal value for every vote.
Equality
Equality refers to the abolition of privilege or discrimination against any section of society.