The Preamble of the Indian Constitution:
It is the introductory statement that provides briefly the objectives of the Indian constitution, The Preamble of the Indian Constitution provides guidance to the representatives of the people in their task. It gives expression to the aspirations of the Indian people,
We, the people of India:
The Preamble of Constitution of India commence with the word ‘We, the people of India’ – it refers that the constitution derives its authority from the people of India. The final source of all power are people of India.
India is sovereign:
Before independence, we were governed by the laws made by the British rulers. There is no such foreign control over us now. We can frame our laws without any external interference. Our head of the State is the President of India, who is elected and not appointed. The sovereignty rest in the people of India who are the ultimate master of their own destiny.
India is democratic:
The great thinker and President of USA, Abraham Lincoln (1861-65 CE) defined democracy as the ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people. In our country, it is through our elected representatives that the state policies are made and implemented for the welfare of our people.
India is a Republic:
In a Republic system, no external authority has any say in the affairs of the country. Before the independence, the queen and king of Britain happened to be the constitutional head of India. But with the introduction of our Indian constitution, we have become the republic and our elected representatives in the parliament and state legislature has equal freedom.
Also Read: Constitutional Development in India – From Regulating Act 1773 to Govt. of India Act 1935
India is Secular:
In India, the law of the state does not show discrimination for any particular religious group. The freedom to follow a faith of one’s choice is guaranteed in the constitution. In the term of employment, no restrictions can be imposed on the basis of a person’s religion.
Secularism denotes equal regard for religious sentiments of all people, all people have freedom to follow any religion in India. Secularism means that all are free to profess or preach the faith of their liking.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Indian constitution was of the view that, “Secular does no mean that the state shall not take into consideration religious sentiments of the people. The secular state means that the parliament shall not impose any particular religion upon the people.”
Secularism treats all religions on equal footing and accepts freedom of religion. Secularism believes in religious co-existence and people following different religions can live side by side.
Regarding secularism the following articles exist in the Indian Constitution:
- Article 15: The State does not discriminate against any citizen on the ground of any religion. All citizens have equal access to shops, tanks, wells, and public place.
- Article 25 (1): All citizen are equally free to follow any religion of their choice,
- Article 27: No person can be made to pay any tax for the promotion of any religion.
- Article 28 (1): No religious instruction can be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds.
- Article 29 (1): On religious ground no citizen can be denied admission to any educational institution maintained by the state or receiving aid out of state funds.
- Article 30: It gives the right to establish educational institutions to religious and linguistic minorities based on religion or language. It also prohibits any discrimination in grant of aid to any educational institution run by a religious minority.
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India is Socialist:
Our constitution aims at establishing the socialist society. Indian Constitution providing measures through which economic disparities may be diminished. It does not mean that government intends to make the rich people poor. The intention is to raise the standard of living of people who are economically backward. There is a special provision in the constitution that allow the government to make legislation for protecting the interest of the weaker section of the society.
Economic justice is ensured through provisions like minimum wage and equal opportunities for employment in commercial organizations.
Political justice means that there is a liberty to make any political vision. There is a liberty to have any political view but they must not go against the interest of the nation as a whole. Similarly, there is the freedom to vote for any recognized political party in the country.
Liberty and Equality:
The Indian Constitution provides that no citizen shall be deprived of this freedom. There can be no detention without proper authority of law. There is also the freedom of expression and speech. Equal opportunities are ensured to all citizen for their fullest development.
Fraternity:
The Indian constitution intends to promote the feeling of mutual feeling of brotherhood among all the citizen.
Liberty, fraternity, and equality are inter-relation. It is only when all citizen is free and bound by a feeling of brotherhood for each other. Equality before law and feeling of brotherhood for each other alone can ensure that there will be real freedom.
The Indian constitution provides that all men are born equal and free. So it guarantees to them these basic freedoms.
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