This article has been written by Jigyasa Nain, a student studying BBA.LLB from Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak. The author is a 1st year law student.
About
The Indian Constitution’s preamble can be thought of as its introduction. It includes a summary of the entire Constitution. Every law passed by the legislature must abide by the fundamental precepts outlined in the Preamble. The Preamble is frequently seen as embodying the spirit of the Indian Constitution because it inherits the fundamental principle.
History
In the form of “Objective Resolution,” Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru originally presented the Preamble concept to the Constituent Assembly on December 13, 1946. On January 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve it. The idea of putting Preamble in the Indian Constitution was taken from the Constitution of United States. Beohar Rammanohar Sinha drawn and painted the Preamble pages. He was a well-known painter who was from Jabalpur. He lived in Shantiniketan alongside Acharya Nandalal Bose. He completed the work so flawlessly that no one bothered to revise it, and to acknowledge him, he signed the page’s corner in Devanagari script. Prem Behari Narain Raizada was in charge of the text’s calligraphy.
The state was described as “sovereign, democratic, and republic” in the original draft. But afterwards, three additional terms—”Socialist, Secular and Integrity”—were included in the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976. “Berubari and Keshavnanda Bharti” are the two best known cases depending on whether or not the Preamble is a part of the Indian Constitution. Another issue that emerged was whether or not the Legislature could change it. At the end, the Hon’ble Supreme Court said that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution, yet its fundamental structure cannot be changed.
Importance
We will understand the importance through some of the significant phrases included in the Indian Constitution.
- Sovereign
“No external pressure” is synonymous with the word “Sovereign.” Our nation has been ruled by foreign powers for a very long time, and as a result, there have been many horrible occurrences throughout our history where we have been oppressed and reduced to obeying the foreigners who have taken control of our land.
Our constituent assembly took serious note of the situation and decided to include the word sovereign in order to avoid it from happening in any other incidents. India of today is independent, and no other force can impose any rules on it. Only the members who were chosen can make new regulations if we so decide.
The reason it was added to the Preamble rather than an Act, Statute, or Article of the Constitution is that anything written in the Constitution can be modified, but the fundamental framework cannot. Therefore, no one can attempt to change this word in the future, and no rule can be enacted that would go against the meaning of the word.
- Socialists
The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added this term in our Preamble. This phrase describes the addition of the “communism” philosophy. This word rules the legislative, ruling government, etc. to achieve the goal of eradicating inequality with regard to position, income, and other social elements.
When we analyze the history of our nation, it is clear that since the post-Rig Vedic era, there has been a beginning of social segregation based on social class and line of labor. Its traces may be seen in the Harappan civilization as well, where there was a distinct area for the wealthy and the impoverished.
And if our nation calls itself a democratic nation, we must take into account both the majority and the weaker section. This word was added in order to achieve the same goal so that the government would be aware of it before acting or passing any legislation.
- Secular
The term “secular” simply indicates that our nation respects all religions and that we do not practice any particular faith. Our country is home to people of all religions, unlike Pakistan, which is a Muslim country, and is ultimately controlled by the Constitution of India. Therefore, all religions are governed by the Constitution.
As we are all well aware, the Muslim League’s desire for a separate homeland for Muslims caused a violent riot between Muslims and Hindus when our country gained independence. And this unrest ultimately led to the loss of many families’ loved ones.
The constituent assembly decided against choosing a particular religion for the country as a result of this episode. Later, this phrase was added to the Preamble so that any rule enacted must take into account all religions equally and not be motivated by any one particular religion.
- Democratic
This term “democratic” has been derived from the Greek word “demos” means the people and “kratos” which means to rule. It describes a system of government in which people chosen by the general public rule. We should also point out that our nation is the biggest democracy in the world.
Several factors made the addition of this word to our fundamental framework advantageous. One of these is the way in which this kind of system welcome opposition. Multiple arguments make a topic more effective since we can take into account all aspects of the community.
Overall, it achieves the goal of equality under the law. It encourages the expression of ideas without restriction. Additionally, it holds a government responsible for its deeds. As a result, it aids in effective national governance.
- Republic
The word monarch is opposite of this term. In a nutshell, this point corresponds to Democracy in its broadest sense. In the same way that a republic means that its citizens are supreme, a democracy means that the government is chosen by the people. On the other hand, in a republic like the UK, the monarch or queen is supreme.
As our country is has the world’s largest population. As a result, we are unable to include every citizen in decision-making. Therefore, in order to address the issue, we elect representatives on our behalf in a manner that ensures a fair distribution of representatives. Our nation’s elected leader is the President.
Before we became independent, our members of the constituent assembly included the use of the republic in member elections in 1946. We had to wait two months after the constitution-writing process ended on November 26, 1949 to become Republic due to the event with the “Purna Swaraj” slogan in the Lahore session.
Conclusion
In short, the Preamble is crucial to our legal system. It is also known as the Constitution’s Key. It contains the fundamental principles embodied in our Constitution. And as I just indicated, our constituent assembly incorporated all of the components that can improve the quality of the Constitution magnificently. The Preamble’s fundamental principles are kept in mind by the legislature while creating new statutes, laws, etc. Although it does not restrict the validity of any laws, it establishes fundamental principles.
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