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Subject: Polity

Topic: Preamble

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.

The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act 1976 introduced the words — socialist, secular and integrity- into the Preamble. A committee under the chairmanship of Sardar Swaran Singh recommended that this amendment be enacted.

1 : “Preamble is a Microcosm of the Constitution and is a key to the Constitution”. Discuss the statement with various Supreme Court Judgments?

Preamble contains the essence of the Constitution- its values and goals. It is a microcosm of the Constitution and has the following significance

• It categorically says that people of the country are sovereign
• It has the ‘basic features’ of the Constitution
• If there is any lack of clarity in the Constitution, the judiciary turns to the Preamble in its interpretation of the relevant provisions

The Supreme Court, in the Berubari case (1960) ruled that Preamble is not a part of the Constitution but in the Keshavananda Bharati case in 1973 reversed its earlier verdict and ruled that Preamble is a part of the Constitution.It is non-justiciable i.e. its provisions are not enforceable in courts of law.

The  Supreme Court in  the Keshavananda Bharati case held that  Preamble can  be amended but no changes should be made to the basic elements or the fundamental features of the Constitution by any amendment.

2 : Bring out the ‘Preambular Values” of the Indian Constitution?

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is a characteristic of government. It means that there is no authority above the government either outside or inside the country. Government itself is the choice of the people expressed through periodical elections.It means India is a independent state.It can acquire any foreign territory or give a part of its teritory to a foreign state.

It is the modern notion of supreme political authority within a territory. According to the Preamble of the Constitution, people of India are sovereign. That is, Preamble establishes popular sovereignty which means that no law or rule is legitimate unless it rests directly/or indirectly on the consent of the people. All modern democracies are based on popular sovereignty. According to some constitutional experts, the word ‘people’ in the Preamble means representatives of the people in the Parliament and thus implies parliamentary sovereignty in an indirect democracy like ours.

However, Indian parliament is not sovereign as ours is a federal country where the powers of Parliament are restricted and shared with the states. Indian parliament is not sovereign also for the reason that the laws it makes are subject to the provisions of the Constitution. Whether the laws made by the Parliament are constitutionally compatible or not is ruled by the judiciary.

Supreme Court, by virtue of its powers to uphold the Constitution, imposed limitations on the powers of the Parliament to amend the Constitution in the form of ‘basic features’ (Keshavananda Bharati case 1973) in which the Court held that Parliament could amend any part of the Indian Constitution except the basic features. Thus, Indian Parliament is not sovereign but is supreme.

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3 : “the objective of ‘Socialism’ is no more relevant and hence should dropped from the Preamble”. Do you agree?

The word ‘Socialist’ was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act in 1976. Socialism means ownership of productive forces by the Government so that they benefit people equitably. Private ownership can deepen inequalities and create and perpetuate divisions. Public ownership and control can reduce the disparities and ensure equitable enjoyment of resources. That is, disparities in socialist society are not as steep as they are in market societies. Distributive justice is a part of the socialist societies.

Since 1991, there is a new direction to Indian economic system towards greater role for markets in economic development and retreat of state. It has triggered a debate as to whether the Constitutional goal of socialism is being implemented or not. However, the basis for the new economic policy centered around liberalization of economy is to generate wealth which in turn can be distributed to all sections. Markets have proven their value as wealth generators. Government continues to play an active role in social security and distributive justice.

Thus, while India continues to strive for the Preambular value of socialism, the method of achieving the goal is modified towards market forces playing a greater role in the economy.

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