Philosophy of the Indian Constitution
The Indian Constitution is the real source of Indian executive, legislative and judicial power. It empowers legislation to make laws, guides the judiciary to check all the rules created by legislation, and stands behind the people if something is done wrong to them. ,
Decades before the enactment of the constitution, the political leadership of the country had evolved the philosophy of the future Indian state. These were summed up by the constituent Assembly in ‘The objective resolution”, moved by Jawaharlal Nehru. This resolution was adopted by the Assembly on 22nd January 1945.
Philosophy of the Indian Constitution:
The Constitution provides a framework of governance. It lays down the basic governing set of principles or essential rules of governance to establish the basic organs and structure, functions, composition, and powers of government.
The philosophical thought behind it was that for being a strong and independent country there must be a constitution that helps to frame the interrelationship between various organs and regulate their relations with people.
In the form of certain rights, the relationship between the government and the people was generally given on the basis of fundamental political, economic, and religious views of the nation.
Philosophy of Indian Constitution through Preamble:
The preamble is a brief introduction to the Constitution and it gives summarized knowledge of the legislative intent and policy. A preamble is a brief form of ideas and beliefs which the constitution wants to achieve. It states the marginal contents of the constitution that are in our constitution.
The preamble of the constitution is the core of the constitution which contains words that the constitution-makers want to achieve like ‘we the people of India‘ means ‘by the people, for the people, and to the people.
1. Sovereign:
Sovereignty is one of the essential requirements of statehood. It is indicative of the fact that India is not subject to any foreign power from an internal or external perspective and the state is free to legislate on any subject in conformity with the constitution.
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The Preamble uses the words ‘we the people of India’; the idea behind this is that a constitution is a creation of all the people and not a group of individuals or some older law. The Preamble emanated from the constituent assembly which represented the Indian people though it was not an elected mass. So we can say that sovereignty lies with the people of India and not the Parliament. Nor even is the constitution sovereign; it is the main expression of the people’s Sovereignty.
2. Socialist:
Socialist word was not there when the constitution was made but later by the 42nd amendment, it was added to our constitution and the basic meaning of socialist is socialism which the constitution provides to safe and secure the Indian citizens from social endangerment.
The supreme court in the Delhi science forum vs Union of India held that the Constitution does not lay down any economic policies and Indian socialism is different from Marxist socialism. Socialism will continue to have a different meaning until a necessity arises to delete it. Most significantly, the validity of socialism in the Preamble has not been challenged yet.
3. Secularism:
Being secular means the state is neutral in any matters related to religion and it means the constitution does not promote or deprive any religion. It was also added in the 42nd amendment.
Unlike the West, Indian secularism is not the result of a conflict between church and state; very often in our common language, the term secularism is used simply as the opposite of communitarianism.
Secular is a vague term to be defined. The dictionary defines it as ‘not concerned with religion‘ and it implies religious freedom and tolerance and respect for ideas of nationalism, materialism, Humanism, etc.
4. Democratic:
The source of the power of the government is in its people. It is the Government of the people, for the people and by the people. In Indira Gandhi VS Raj Narain, it was held that democracy is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution and free and fair elections are also impliedly a basic feature. Democracy is the People’s power and State’s power vested in the people, which means democracy makes the people supreme.
5. Republic:
It means that the head of the nation is an elected representative. A republic is a government that derives its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people and is administered by people who hold office for pleasure, for a limited time, or for good conduct.
6. Justice:
Justice means the harmonization of interests between individuals and society. Justice has been given precedence over other concepts of Liberty, equality, and fraternity in the Preamble. Justice has three facets- (a) Social justice; (b) Economic justice; (c ) Political justice.
- Social justice has been given precedence over economic and political justice whereas economical justice precedes political justice in the Preamble. Social justice implies equal treatment of citizens regardless of their social status. Articles 14, 15, and 38 express this aim in particular.
- Economic justice is the binding gap between the rich and poor. Article 39 of DPSP is the charter of economic justice; in fact, all the provisions of DPSP (article 36-51) carry forward the goals of economic and Social Justice.
- Political justice implies the equal participation of all in the political process. Articles 325 and 326 provide for equal rights to all citizens(adults) to participate in elections and to vote in elections.
7. Liberty:
Coming from the western world, liberty, is a negative concept. Absence of interference in individual action by the government. But in the Indian Constitution Liberty is a positive concept. Liberty would mean freedom to do what one likes but it also means Liberty has to be regulated in the larger interest of society; so the constitution by giving fundamental rights, also contains regulatory provisions for them. Otherwise, GUN culture will take a new shape here, just like that of the USA.
Liberty of thought, expression, belief, and worship in the preamble is given under Articles 14 to 35 as fundamental rights.
8. Equality:
The preamble talks of equality of status and opportunity. It has got legal, social, political, and economic dimensions. The concept is drafted in articles 14 to 18.
9. Fraternity:
Brotherhood. The concept of fraternity goes beyond the concept of secularism, which gives unity and solidarity to social life. An ancient Indian word “Vasudev Kutumbakam” means the whole world is one family and Article 51 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) elaborates on this principle.
As to ‘dignity of individual‘ the prime objective of the concept of fraternity is to preserve and promote the dignity of the individual.
Know the Preamble of the Indian Constitution:
What is Preamble Explain?
A preamble is an introductory set of statements in a document that explains the philosophy and objectives. It presents the intentions and dreams of its framers, the history behind its creation, and the core values and principles of the nation.
The Preamble to the Constitution of India outlines the ideals that must guide Indian democracy. Together with the Directive Principles of State Policy, it provides the context in which the country can achieve the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Is the Preamble basic structure of the Constitution?
The preamble is part of the Constitution. The preamble indicates the basic structure of the Constitution. The preamble is neither enforceable nor justifiable in a court of law. This implies that courts cannot pass orders against the government in India to implement the ideas in the Preamble.
The preamble can be amended, and it has been amended only once through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act 1976.
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