Polity 03 - Daily Class Notes (English)

UPPSC 2024
DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Polity
Lecture – 03
Preamble Part -2
Preamble Part -2
Preamble:
The term ‘Preamble’ refers to the introduction or preface to the Constitution. It contains the summary or essence of
the Constitution.
Ingredients of the Preamble:
The Preamble has four main components:
❖ Source of Authority: The Constitution gets its authority from the people of India.
❖ Nature of the Indian State: It describes India as sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, and a republic.
❖ Objectives of the Constitution: It aims to provide justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity.
❖ Date of Adoption: The Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949.
We, the People of India:
❖ The Constitution is enacted by the people through representatives.
❖ It is not imposed by a king or external powers.
Sovereign:
❖ People have the supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters.
❖ No external power can dictate India's government.
Socialist:
❖ The term "socialist" was added through the 42nd Amendment Act of the
Constitution.
❖ Under the socialist concept, socially generated wealth should be shared
equally.
➢ The government regulates land and industry ownership to reduce socio-
economic inequalities.
❖ Freedom from Exploitation: Socialism implies freedom from social,
economic, and political exploitation.
Secular:
❖ The term "secular" was added through the 42nd Amendment Act of the
Constitution.
❖ Under the provision of secularism, citizens have complete freedom to practice any religion.
❖ But there is no official religion. The government treats all religious beliefs and practices with equal respect.
❖ The Indian Constitution mandates that the Indian State be secular.
Indian Secularism
The Indian Constitution mandates that the Indian State be secular. According to the Constitution, only a secular
State can realize its objectives to ensure the following:
1. One religious community does not dominate another.
2. Some members do not dominate other members of the same religious community.
3. The State does not enforce any particular religion nor take away the religious freedom of individuals.
The Indian State employs various strategies to prevent domination based on religion.
First, it maintains a distance from all religions. The Indian State is not ruled by any religious group, nor does it
support any one religion. In India, government spaces such as law courts, police stations, government schools, and
offices are not supposed to display or promote any one religion.
Democratic:
❖ Indian citizens have equal political rights.
❖ It is based on the principle of prevalent sovereignty, that is, supreme power should be in the hands of the
people.
❖ The government operates according to basic rules.
Republic:
❖ Under the concept of a republic, the head of the state is elected rather than hereditary.
❖ In a republic, the head of state is elected by the people through a democratic process, rather than inheriting the
position through hereditary succession.
❖ In a republic, the head of state, often a president, is chosen through a democratic process such as elections.
This means that citizens have the opportunity to vote for their preferred candidate, and the individual who
receives the majority of votes assumes the leadership role.
Justice:
❖ The State shall not discriminate against any citizen based on caste, religion or sex.
❖ Government works for the welfare of all, especially disadvantaged groups.
❖ The term 'justice' in the Preamble embraces three distinct forms—social, economic and political, secured
through various provisions of Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles.
➢ Social justice denotes the equal treatment of all citizens without any social distinction based on caste,
colour, race, religion, sex and so on. It means the absence of privileges being extended to any particular
section of the society, and improvement in the conditions of backward classes (SCs, STs and OBCs)
and women.
➢ Economic justice denotes the non-discrimination between people based on economic factors. It involves
the elimination of glaring inequalities in wealth, income and property.
➢ Political justice implies that all citizens should have equal political rights, equal access to all political
offices and an equal voice in the government.
Liberty:
❖ The term ‘liberty’ means the absence of restraints on the activities of individuals, and at the same time,
providing opportunities for the development of individual personalities.
❖ The Preamble secures to all citizens of India liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, through
their Fundamental Rights, enforceable in a court of law, in case of violation.
Positive and negative liberty:
❖ Positive liberty emphasizes the idea that true freedom is not merely the absence of external constraints (non-
interference), but also the presence of conditions that allow individuals to fulfil their potential and develop as
human beings.
❖ Negative liberty, on the other hand, is concerned with the absence of interference or constraints on an
individual's actions. ‘Negative liberty’ seeks to define and defend an area in which the individual would be
inviolable, in which he or she could ‘do, be or become’ whatever he or she wished to ‘do, be or become’.
Equality:
❖ Equality means all persons are equal before the law.
❖ The traditional social inequalities have to be ended.
❖ The government should ensure equal opportunity for all.
❖ The term 'Equality' in the Preamble embraces equality of status.
Fraternity:
❖ The Preamble states that fraternity should ensure two fundamental principles: the dignity of individuals and
the unity and integrity of the nation.
❖ The term "integrity" in the Preamble was introduced through the 42nd Amendment of the Indian Constitution
in 1976.
❖ Under the concept of 'fraternity' -
➢ All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family.
➢ No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.
Preamble as Part of the Constitution
There has been a debate about whether the Preamble is part of the Constitution.
Berubari Union Case (1960)
❖ The Supreme Court said the Preamble explains the general purposes of the Constitution and helps understand
the intentions of its makers.
❖ The Court mentioned that the Preamble can be used to interpret ambiguous terms in the Constitution.
❖ However, the Supreme Court stated that the Preamble is not an official part of the Constitution.
Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973)
❖ The Supreme Court rejected its earlier opinion and held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution.
❖ It observed that the Preamble is of extreme importance and the Constitution should be read and interpreted in
light of the grand and noble vision expressed in the Preamble.
LIC of India Case (1995)
❖ The Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution.
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