This is the gist of the Indian constitution. It represents the principles which the Indian society is proud to stand for. Preamble directs the Indian citizens to aim for an ideal country and deserves to have a separate post in this series.

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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.
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It is constructed in such a way that the people of India are seen giving this constitution to themselves. This represents the true principle of democracy of ‘by the people, for the people and off the people.’ There is no higher authority but the people of the country. This is a unique property of the Indian constitution and the mode of governance because in many other countries, there is a higher authority like King, Queen or even God which is considered the head/creator of the state and officially assigning government to rule the state. For example, in UK it is the Queen who is by default the head of the state while in US, the president takes the oath in the name of ‘God’.

Coming to the terms mentioned in the preamble, SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC are the three words which describe the mode of governance in India. India is a SOVEREIGN country which is not governed or influenced by any outside factors or state or non-state actors. It is a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC meaning the country is ruled by its people and there is no other higher authority. This further leads to the rights of the citizens especially the equality of law, but before that we will look at the two remaining words in the first sentence.

SOCIALIST and SECULAR are the two words added later to the preamble by the 42nd amendment of the constitution in 1976. The word SOCIALIST indicates the role of the government in the Indian economy. It means that the Indian economy is not the capitalist free market but a people-centric (poor-centric) socialist market monitored and regulated by the government. The word SECULAR was specifically added to show that there is no state religion in India and all the religions are same in front of the constitution. The people are free to choose their religion according to their faith and beliefs and that, it will not affect their status in the Indian society. There are many challenges to achieving true secularism in India, yet, the extent of religious freedom is still more than many of the countries around the world.

The constitution further strives to give its citizens JUSTICE with regards to social, economic and political matters. This makes the role of an independent judiciary very important in India. Because only an Independent judiciary without any government, corporate or social influence can act impartially and provide justice to all the citizens.

The point of LIBERTY gives individual intellectual freedom to the citizens. It puts the faith of the nation in its citizens that they will know and do what is right for them and that the state need not influence them.

EQUALITY in the status and opportunity irrespective of the economic clout, religious beliefs, gender, societal structure and political affiliations is another hallmark of the Indian society.

Finally, social harmony is always necessary for any country to flourish and the ancient Indian philosophy of ‘ वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ‘ (vasudhaiva kutumbakam - The whole world is a family) has always been at the core of the accommodating and peaceful Indian society. Hence the constitution aims to promote FRATERNITY among the citizens to build a truly united India.

This is a long post but was necessary to do the justice to the preamble and the constitution. The upcoming posts will focus on the sections and articles in the constitution of India.

Please comment and share and let me know what does the preamble mean to you. You have the LIBERTY to present your viewpoints and I will always respect and do JUSTICE your opinion because I believe in an EQUAL intellectual discussion which will allow all of us to learn and promote FRATERNITY and unity.