What the Preamble says and where it came from, how the Constitution turns ‘sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic’ into real provisions, why the Preamble matters in law, and why India’s Parliament is powerful but not sovereign.
Enacted26 Nov 1949Date of AdoptionRecorded in the Preamble itself.
Origin13 Dec 1946Objectives ResolutionMoved by Nehru; the Preamble is built on it.
Amended3 Words42nd CAA, 1976Socialist, Secular and Integrity added.
Popular SovereigntyWe, the PeopleSource of AuthorityThe Constitution draws its power from the people.
Judicial Status1973Kesavananda BharatiPreamble held to be a part of the Constitution.
Limited ParliamentHalf the StatesRatification RuleNeeded to amend specified matters; Parliament alone cannot.
The identity card of the Constitution
The Preamble is the introduction to the Constitution. It contains the summary, or essence, of the whole Constitution — in a few lines it tells us who made the Constitution, what kind of State India is, and what goals the State must pursue.
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all 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 twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
“identity card of the Constitution”
— N.A. Palkhivala, constitutional expert
13 Dec 1946
Objectives Resolution moved
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru drafted and moved the ‘Objectives Resolution’ in the Constituent Assembly. The Preamble is based on it.
22 Jan 1947
Adopted by the Assembly
The Constituent Assembly adopted the Objectives Resolution, which later took shape as the Preamble.
26 Nov 1949
Constitution adopted
The date of adoption of the Constitution is mentioned in the Preamble itself.
1976
Amended by the 42nd CAA
The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act added three new words — socialist, secular and integrity.
Sovereign · Socialist · Secular · Democratic · Republic
The terms sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republic in the Preamble describe the nature of the Indian State. The Constitution does not leave them as words alone — each one is backed by specific provisions that put it into practice.
What it means
India’s membership of the United Nations (UNO), the Commonwealth and similar bodies is not a limitation on its sovereignty.
Example: India stayed in the Commonwealth even after becoming a republic in 1950. Membership is voluntary and places no legal authority above India.
Being a sovereign State, India can acquire foreign territory or cede (give up) a part of its own territory in favour of a foreign State.
Example: Acquisition: Sikkim became a state of India in 1975 (36th Amendment). Exchange: enclaves were transferred with Bangladesh under the Land Boundary Agreement (100th Amendment, 2015).
Taken together, these provisions show that the Constitution has adequate provisions to realise the nature of the State it promises in the Preamble.
Objectives of the Constitution
The Preamble names justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as the objectives of the Constitution.
The term ‘justice’ in the Preamble embraces three distinct forms — social, economic and political. They are secured through various provisions of the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles.
In practice
The Preamble secures to all citizens liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, through their Fundamental Rights. These are enforceable in a court of law if they are violated.
In practice
The Preamble secures to all citizens equality of status and of opportunity. This embraces three dimensions of equality — civic, political and economic.
In practice
The Preamble declares that fraternity has to assure two things — the dignity of the individual, and the unity and integrity of the nation.
Dignity of the individual
Unity and integrity of the nation
In practice
Why the Preamble matters
The Preamble is the philosophy of the Constitution in a few lines. Courts use it as a guide, and its words carry the vision of the people who framed the Constitution.
The words of the Preamble are some of the noblest in the Constitution. They embody the highest values that human ingenuity and experience have been able to devise so far.
It embodies the basic philosophy and fundamental values — political, moral and religious — on which the Constitution is based. It contains the grand and noble vision of the Constituent Assembly and reflects the dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers.
It sums up the principles on which the Government was meant to function.
Where words in the Constitution are vague or their meaning is unclear, the Preamble helps in understanding what the framers intended.
“The horoscope of our sovereign democratic republic.”
Berubari Union case
The Supreme Court first said the Preamble is not a part of the Constitution.
Kesavananda Bharati case
The Supreme Court held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution.
LIC of India case
The Supreme Court again held that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution.
However, two things should be noted
Not a source of power
The Preamble is neither a source of power to the legislature nor a prohibition upon the powers of the legislature.
Non-justiciable
Its provisions are not enforceable in courts of law.
Words like ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ used in the Preamble are seen as very ambiguous, and our polity has suffered because they have not been precisely defined in the Constitution. It may therefore be advisable to define them through a constitutional amendment.
Powerful, but not sovereign
Parliamentary sovereignty (also called parliamentary supremacy) is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. Unlike the British Parliament, the Indian Parliament is not considered a fully sovereign body.
The legislature has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all other government institutions, including the executive and the judiciary.
It may change or repeal any previous legislation, so it is not bound by written law (in some cases, not even a constitution) or by precedent. There is no law which Parliament cannot make, repeal or modify.
There is no distinction between laws that are fundamental or constitutional and laws that are not.
The doctrine is associated with the British Parliament, where there is no limitation on its power.
Example: As the jurist A.V. Dicey put it, the British Parliament has “the right to make or unmake any law whatever”.
In some countries, it is contrasted with
Separation of powers
Limits the legislature’s scope, often to general law-making.
Judicial review
Laws passed by the legislature may be declared invalid in certain circumstances.
Where India stands
Britain
Parliamentary sovereignty
No limit on Parliament’s power; Parliament is also a constituent body.
India
A synthesis
Framers combined the British principle of parliamentary sovereignty with the American principle of judicial supremacy.
USA
Judicial supremacy
Congress is limited by a written constitution enforced through judicial review.
The laws Parliament is empowered to pass and repeal are limited by the Constitution.
Its powers are curbed by Part III of the Constitution (Fundamental Rights) and by the State List in the Seventh Schedule.
Example: Shreya Singhal (2015): Section 66A of the IT Act was struck down for violating free speech. Parliament also cannot normally legislate on State List subjects like police or public order.
These limits are enforced by giving the courts the power of judicial review. In this respect, the Indian Parliament is more like the American Congress.
Example: In 2015 the Supreme Court struck down the 99th Amendment, which had created the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).
Unlike the British Parliament, which is both a constituent assembly and a legislative body, the Indian Parliament is not fully a constituent assembly. India clearly distinguishes between ordinary laws and constitutional laws.
In some important specified matters, Parliament alone cannot amend the Constitution. At least half of the state legislatures must also approve the amendment.
Example: The GST amendment (101st CAA, 2016) needed ratification by at least half of the state legislatures before it could take effect.
The Indian Parliament is a creature of the Constitution, whereas the British Parliament is the result of conventions and gradual growth. In England, Parliament has de facto control over the King, who is the de jure sovereign.
The Indian Parliament enjoys authority and possesses power by virtue of the Constitution — not because of any control over the President, who is also a creation of the Constitution.
The Indian Parliament therefore has vast, but not unlimited, authority.
Because of the rigid party system and the dominant position of the Prime Minister and the ruling party, some experts argue that Parliament has become a subservient tool in the hands of a Prime Minister who commands a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha.
Some others argue that the Indian Parliament is a sovereign body, reading ‘sovereignty’ in a different way. They emphasise that the Indian Parliament:
The framers of the Constitution preferred a proper synthesis between the British principle of parliamentary sovereignty and the American principle of judicial supremacy. So the Indian Parliament is not a truly sovereign body.
Since India has a written Constitution, and the powers and functions of every organ are defined and limited by it, there is no question of any organ — not even Parliament — being sovereign.
Both Parliament and the Supreme Court are supreme in their respective spheres.
Supreme Court
Can declare laws made by Parliament unconstitutional through its power of judicial review.
Parliament
Can amend the major portion of the Constitution through its constituent power.
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