Preamble to Indian Constitution

Its text, key words, source in the Objectives Resolution, 1976 changes and legal status

In one minute

The Preamble is the opening statement of the Constitution. It says who made it, what kind of State India is, and what the Constitution secures for citizens: justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.

Exams ask for its text, the meaning of each key word, the 1976 changes and its legal status. The status question needs two cases: Berubari and Kesavananda Bharati.

Exam focus

Frequency: Rarely asked
Usually asked as: Long answer (10 to 15 marks)

Legal provision

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."
42nd Amendment, 1976 (in force from 3 January 1977): replaced "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC" with "SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC", and "Unity of the Nation" with "unity and integrity of the Nation".
Article 394: only a few Articles came into force on 26 November 1949. The rest, including the Preamble, came into force on 26 January 1950.
Article 368: the amending power. The question is whether it reaches the Preamble.
Articles 14 to 18, 19, 25 to 28, 38 and 39: the provisions through which the Preamble's ideals work in practice.

Meaning and definition

A preamble is an introductory statement of the purpose and source of a document. The Preamble to the Indian Constitution has four parts.

Source of authority: "We, the people of India".
Nature of the State: sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.
Objectives: justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.
Enacting clause: the date of adoption and the words "adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution".

The Preamble does not give rights or powers by itself. Courts use it to understand the Articles. The flow below shows how.

How a court uses the PreambleHow to read this: start at the top. Each box must be answered "yes" to move down. Red text shows where the Preamble stops being useful.

1. Are the words of the Article open to more than one meaning?No: the plain words are applied. The Preamble is not used (Khanna, J., para 1526).
2. Is the Preamble used only to explain what the Article means?No: it cannot confer a power, enlarge a power or be a source of implied power (Mathew, J., para 1682).
3. ResultThe Preamble guides the reading of the Article as a key to the makers' minds. It is part of the Constitution and can be amended under Article 368, but not so as to damage the basic structure.

Detailed explanation

Step 1: where the Preamble came from

The Preamble took its principles from the Objectives Resolution, which Jawaharlal Nehru moved in the Constituent Assembly on 13 December 1946. The Assembly adopted it on 22 January 1947 (Shelat and Grover, JJ., para 516). The Preamble was adopted last, after the Articles (Shelat and Grover, JJ., para 547). On 17 October 1949 the Assembly voted that it stands part of the Constitution (Mathew, J., para 1680).

The opening words, "We, the people of India", state the source of authority. The Constitution is adopted, enacted and given by the people to themselves through the Assembly.

Step 2: the nature of the State

Sovereign. India is not subject to the control of any other State. It makes its own laws and policy.
Socialist. The Directive Principles show what the word aims at. The State must strive to minimise inequalities in income and eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities (Article 38(2)). It must prevent the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment (Article 39(c)).
Secular. The Constitution protects each person's freedom of religion. Articles 25 to 28 give secularism its working form. Article 25(1) gives freedom of conscience and religion. Article 27 bars compulsory taxes for any religion. Article 28(1) bars religious instruction in institutions wholly maintained out of State funds. In Kesavananda Bharati, Sikri, C.J. includes the secular character in the basic structure (paras 316-318).
Democratic. Power comes from the people through elections on adult suffrage (Article 326).
Republic. The head of State is elected (Article 54), not hereditary.

Example. A school wholly maintained out of State funds in Mysuru cannot hold a religious class for its students. Article 28(1) bars religious instruction in such an institution. This is "secular" at work.

Step 3: the four objectives

Justice, social, economic and political. Article 38(1) asks the State to secure a social order in which justice informs all national institutions.
Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. The freedoms in Article 19 and Articles 25 to 28 give it legal shape.
Equality of status and of opportunity. Articles 14 to 18 give it legal shape.
Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation. The words "and integrity" were added in 1976.

Step 4: is the Preamble part of the Constitution?

In the Berubari Union reference (1960), the Supreme Court said the Preamble is a key to the minds of the makers but not a part of the Constitution. This is how Sikri, C.J. records it in Kesavananda Bharati (paras 102-104).

Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala changed this. Sikri, C.J. held that the Court was wrong in Berubari, because the Preamble was expressly voted to be a part of the Constitution (para 105). Khanna, J. (para 1524), Mathew, J. (para 1680), Dwivedi, J. (para 1945) and Chandrachud, J. (para 2184) also hold that it is part of the Constitution. Berubari's remark, Dwivedi, J. says, means only that the Preamble is not the enacting part (para 1945).

Step 5: can the Preamble be amended?

Yes, with a limit. Because it is part of the Constitution, Article 368 reaches it. Khanna, J. says its provisions, other than those relating to the basic structure, are as subject to Article 368 as other parts (para 1526). Dwivedi, J. says it can be amended, though parts that speak of the past, such as the date "twenty-sixth day of November, 1949", may not be modifiable (para 1948). Chandrachud, J. holds that the Preamble is not outside Article 368 (para 2246). The 42nd Amendment itself changed the Preamble in 1976.

Step 6: how the Preamble is used

The Preamble is an aid to reading the Articles. Sikri, C.J. says the Preamble is of extreme importance and that the Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of its grand and noble vision (para 124). It can be referred to when the words of an Article are ambiguous, but not when the language is plain (Khanna, J., para 1526). It cannot confer a power or enlarge a power (Mathew, J., para 1682).

Example. A petitioner cannot get a new right by pointing only to the word "Justice". The petitioner must rest the claim on an Article such as Article 14 or Article 21, and may use the Preamble to support a wide reading of it.

Don't confuse: the Preamble and the Articles

Point	Preamble	Articles
Part of the Constitution	Yes (Kesavananda Bharati)	Yes
Source of a right or power	No. It cannot confer or enlarge a power	Yes, for example Articles 14, 19, 32
Use in court	Guide where an Article is ambiguous	Applied directly
Amendment	Possible under Article 368, subject to the basic structure	Possible under Article 368, subject to the basic structure

Inside the concept (aid). A court reads the word "religion" in Article 25 widely, because the Preamble promises liberty of belief, faith and worship. The Article itself decides the case.

Just outside it (source of power). A State argues that the promise of "Justice" lets it take over private land without a law. The Preamble cannot enlarge the State's power, so the argument fails.

Common mistakes

Writing that the Preamble is not part of the Constitution without adding that Kesavananda Bharati did not follow Berubari.
Treating the Preamble as a source of enforceable rights. It guides; the Articles give the rights.
Saying that "socialist", "secular" and "integrity" were in the 1949 text. The 42nd Amendment added them.
Saying the Preamble cannot be amended. It can, but not so as to damage the basic structure.

Apply it

Problem

A State law bans a religious minority from building any new place of worship in the State. The State says no Article forbids this. A petitioner relies only on the word "secular" in the Preamble. Will that succeed?

Issue. Can a petitioner strike down the law on the strength of the Preamble alone?

Rule. The Preamble is part of the Constitution but cannot confer or enlarge a power. It guides the reading of an Article that is open to more than one meaning (Khanna, J., para 1526; Mathew, J., para 1682). Article 25(1) guarantees freedom of conscience and religion, and Article 26 protects the right to establish and maintain religious institutions.

Application. The petitioner should rest the claim on Articles 25 and 26. The word "secular" and the promise of liberty of belief, faith and worship support a wide reading of those Articles.

Conclusion. The Preamble alone will not succeed. With Articles 25 and 26 it can. The law is likely to be struck down if it goes beyond the limits in those Articles (public order, morality and health).

Leading case laws

In re Berubari Union (1960)
Facts. The President referred to the Supreme Court under Article 143 the question whether an India and Pakistan agreement to transfer part of the Berubari Union territory needed a constitutional amendment.

Principle. As recorded in Kesavananda Bharati (paras 102-104), the Court said the Preamble is a key to the minds of the makers but not a part of the Constitution.

Why it matters. Kesavananda Bharati did not follow this view of the Preamble's status.
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973)
Facts. A religious head challenged Kerala land reform laws. The case grew into a challenge to the 24th, 25th and 29th Amendments.

Principle. Sikri, C.J. held Berubari wrong on the Preamble (para 105). Khanna, Mathew, Dwivedi and Chandrachud, JJ. hold it is part of the Constitution. Khanna, J. adds that it can be used for ambiguous words but not for plain language (para 1526). Cite each Judge's view.

Why it matters. It settles that the Preamble is part of the Constitution and can be amended, subject to the basic structure.

How to write this answer in the exam

5-mark answer

Quote or summarise the Preamble: source, State, objectives.
Explain the five key words in one line each.
State the 1976 changes.
Say it is part of the Constitution (Kesavananda Bharati) and is an aid to interpretation.

10-mark answer

Meaning, and the Objectives Resolution as its source.
"We, the people" and the enacting clause.
Sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, with Articles.
Justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, with Articles.
The 42nd Amendment changes.
Berubari, then Kesavananda Bharati, on status and amendment.
Use as an aid, not a source of power; conclusion.

Key points to remember

Source: the Objectives Resolution (moved 13 December 1946, adopted 22 January 1947).
Adopted 26 November 1949; in force 26 January 1950 (Article 394).
1976 (42nd Amendment) added "socialist", "secular" and "integrity".
Objectives: justice, liberty, equality, fraternity.
Berubari (1960): key to the makers' minds, not a part. Kesavananda Bharati (1973): part of the Constitution.
It can be amended under Article 368 within the basic structure.
It guides the reading of ambiguous words and cannot confer or enlarge a power.

Quick self-test

1. Which words were added to the Preamble in 1976?

"Socialist" and "secular", and "integrity" in "unity and integrity of the Nation", by the 42nd Amendment.

2. Is the Preamble part of the Constitution?

Yes. Berubari said no, but in Kesavananda Bharati Sikri, C.J. held that Berubari was wrong, and Khanna, Mathew, Dwivedi and Chandrachud, JJ. also hold it is part.

3. Can a court strike down a law using the Preamble alone?

No. The Preamble cannot confer or enlarge a power. It guides the reading of Articles that are open to more than one meaning.