INTRODUCTION
The preamble of a constitution is the opening or introductory section of a document that establishes and discusses the essential aims, guiding principles, rules, purposes, objectives, and regulations. This name is taken from the Latin word ‘preambulus’, which means ‘to go prior,’ and that is exactly what a Preamble does: it walks before the Constitution and explains what it contains. The primary goal is to explain the purposes and objectives of the Indian Constitution and serve as a guidepost for politicians, the courts, and residents of the country. It expresses the fundamental principles and goals of ‘we the people’. The preamble aims to create India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republican nation. The Preamble of India has several objectives, including indicating the source of the constitution, i.e. the people of India, and including the enacting sections that give the constitution life.
The Preamble secures the following aims for all 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][1]
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru established the notion of preamble when he presented the ‘Objective Resolution’ on December 13, 1946, which was ratified by the constituent parliament on November 22, 1947. The Indian Constitution’s Preamble, often known as the Soul of the Constitution, was enacted on November 26, 1949, and went into effect on January 26, 1950, along with the Indian Constitution.
WHETHER THE PREAMBLE A PART OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION?
Before answering this question, consider if the preamble may be altered. First, one must determine whether or not the preamble is part of the Indian Constitution. Every country has a constitution, and each constitution has certain distinctions; the preamble lays forth the concepts and aims that the creator of the Constitution wishes to achieve. Similar to the method used by other nations, the preamble of the Indian Constitution was legislated and accepted by Indians in the same way that the remainder of the Constitution is. It was introduced by our first Prime Minister (Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru), debated in the Constituent Assembly, and then enacted in the same manner as the rest of the Constitution.
The significant distinction was not considered until the famous case of the Berubari Union and Exchange of Enclaves[2]. It was in the instance of the Berubari Union in 1960 that the subject of whether the preamble is part of the Indian Constitution was first raised. At the time, the Supreme Court ruled that the Preamble was not included in the Indian Constitution. However, in Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru & Ors. v. State of Kerala & Anr.[3], the Attorney General of India contended that the Preamble can be altered under Article 368 of the Indian Constitution. When the history of the Preamble was first brought to light, the Supreme Court, after examining the history when formulating the Constitution, ruled that the Preamble is a component of the Constitution. The findings in the Beruberi Union case are incorrect since the Preamble is an integral element of the Indian Constitution’s basic framework. Following this instance, the preamble was amended.
AMENDMENT TO THE PREAMBLE:
The topic of amending the preamble was raised for the initial time in the Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru & Ors. v. State of Kerala & Anr case. It was noted in this instance that the preamble to the Indian constitution, like the other sections, was enacted on November 26, 1949. Given this circumstance, the preamble can be revised under Article 368 of the Indian Constitution[4], which provides that Parliament has the authority to amend the Constitution, but the essential elements cannot be changed. The Preamble comprises the essential aspects of the Constitution, and if those fundamental characteristics are changed, the primary goal set by the Constitution’s creators will be destroyed. Although the Indian constitution grants the authority to alter the Preamble, this does not imply that everything written in the Preamble may be amended; rather, the ‘fundamental elements’ cannot be amended. If these traits are lost, the building will struggle to survive and lose its true identity. The Preamble’s creators have masterfully worded it in such a manner that the terms and expressions stated in it cannot be considered unclear or confusing. By modifying Article 368 of the Indian Constitution, it does not rule out amending the Preamble in such a way that it loses its aims, namely to be a ‘Sovereign, Democratic, Republic’. The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution of 1976 expanded the scope of the preamble by including three words in it.
42ND AMENDMENT AND THE PREAMBLE:
From 1950 until the present, there has been just one alteration to the preamble. The 42nd Amendment Act made various adjustments, such as adding three words to the Preamble: socialist, secular, and unity and integrity of the nation. Although it was decided in the Kesavananda Bharti case that the Preamble of the Indian Constitution is an integral part of the constitution, in the Beruberi case, the Supreme Court observed that “The Preamble is the key to open the mind of the makers, of the Constitution.”
CONCLUSION:
However, three additional words were added to the Preamble in 1976, but we have known since “we the people of India” established our constitution that India is a secular and socialist society. Although it was not addressed in the Preamble, the creators are perceptive enough to recognize that they must draft the Constitution with these three words in mind. This demonstrates the greatness of the constitution’s authors in that they included the phrases implicitly rather than explicitly, which may be understood after reviewing the essential rights specified in the Indian constitution.
Author(s) Name: Gursimar Kour Sudan (Lovely Professional University)
Reference(s):
[1] 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act 1976.
[2]Berubari Union and Exchange of Enclaves, AIR (1960) SC 845.
[3]Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru & Ors. v. State of Kerala & Anr., (1973) 4 SCC 225.
[4] Indian Constitution 1950, art 368
