The Preamble: the Constitution in one sentence
The Preamble is the opening of the Constitution of India. In one long sentence it says who gives the Constitution, what kind of country India is, and what it promises every citizen. In this lesson you will read it part by part and learn the words an exam can change by one letter.
Guess first
Before you read the text, guess.
Guess first: according to the Preamble, who gives the Constitution of India to India?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The Preamble opens with "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA" and ends with the same people saying they "do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION". The people give the Constitution to themselves.
Option B: The people act "IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY", but the words that adopt, enact and give the Constitution belong to "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA".
Option C: The Government of India Act, 1935 was an earlier law. Article 395 of the Constitution repealed it.
Option D: Parliament is set up by the Constitution itself (Article 79: "There shall be a Parliament for the Union"). The Preamble does not name it.
Hint: Read the opening words of the Preamble.
If you chose A, you have found the idea the Preamble starts with: the Constitution comes from the people.
An everyday picture
Think of a formal letter that ends with a promise.
The Preamble reads like a letter of promise:
Who signs it WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA
the people give the Constitution to themselves
Who we are SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
how the Preamble describes India
What we promise JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
for every citizen
Date of the letter 26 November 1949
the day the Preamble says the Constitution was adopted
Like a letter, the Preamble has one signer, one self-introduction, a list of promises and a date.
See it: the Preamble, part by part
| Part | Words of the Preamble |
|---|---|
| Who gives it | WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA |
| What India is | SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC |
| What it promises | JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation |
| When it was adopted | 26 November 1949, in the Constituent Assembly |
Read the Preamble in bites:
- Who: WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA.
- What India is: SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLIC, always in this order.
- What it promises: JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY, each with its own words after it.
- When: adopted on 26 November 1949.
Try it on paper. Write the second bite as the first letters of its words: S, S, S, D, R. The S-words first, then D, then R. Say them three times, then cover the page and write the full words.
Find the rule
Three quick checks. Each one fixes one exact phrase.
In the Preamble, which ideal comes with the words "of status and of opportunity"?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The Preamble says "EQUALITY of status and of opportunity".
Option B: LIBERTY comes with "of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship".
Option C: JUSTICE comes with "social, economic and political".
Option D: FRATERNITY comes with "assuring the dignity of the individual" and the unity and integrity of the Nation.
Hint: Status and opportunity are about being treated as equals.
The Preamble promises LIBERTY of several things. Which of these is NOT in that list?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
The complete list is "LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship". Profession is not in it. The freedom to practise any profession is in Article 19, among the Fundamental Rights.
Option A: Thought is the first item in the list of liberties.
Option B: Belief is in the list: thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.
Option D: Worship is the last item in the list of liberties.
Hint: The Preamble's liberties are all about the mind and faith.
In which order does the Preamble describe India?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The Preamble reads "SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC". Memory aid: S, S, S, D, R.
Option B: The right words, but DEMOCRATIC comes after SOCIALIST and SECULAR, not before them.
Option C: The right words, but SOVEREIGN comes first, before SOCIALIST and SECULAR.
Option D: The right words, but SOCIALIST comes before SECULAR.
Hint: The S-words first, then D, then R.
Name it: who, what, what for, when
The rule: the Preamble says who gives the Constitution (the people), what India is (sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic), what it promises (justice, liberty, equality, fraternity) and when it was adopted (26 November 1949).
NCERT points out that the Preamble makes "a very humble claim": the Constitution is not given by great men; it is prepared and adopted by "We, the people of India". The people are the makers.
Worked, half-done, solo
The Preamble you read today is not word for word the Preamble of 1949. Its footnotes show what changed.
Question
Which words did the 42nd Amendment add to the Preamble?
Solution
- Read footnote 1 of the Preamble
"Subs. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976" for "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC": that was the 1949 wording.
- Compare it with today's words
Today it reads SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, so SOCIALIST and SECULAR were added by the 42nd Amendment.
- Read footnote 2 the same way
"unity and integrity of the Nation" replaced "Unity of the Nation": integrity was added by the same Amendment.
Answer: SOCIALIST, SECULAR and integrity, by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.
Watch out: SOVEREIGN, DEMOCRATIC and REPUBLIC were there from 1949; only the 42nd Amendment's words are later.
Now finish one that is half done.
Half done: footnote 1 says the 42nd Amendment replaced "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC", the words of 1949. Which of these words was NOT in the Preamble of 1949?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
The 1949 words were "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC". SECULAR (with SOCIALIST) was added by the 42nd Amendment.
Option A: SOVEREIGN is in "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC", the words of 1949.
Option B: DEMOCRATIC is in the 1949 words "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC".
Option D: REPUBLIC is in the 1949 words "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC".
Hint: Cross out each word you can find in "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC".
And one on your own.
In which year was the 42nd Amendment Act made, the Act that added SOCIALIST and SECULAR to the Preamble?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Footnote 1 of the Preamble names "the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976". Its changes came into force on 3 January 1977.
Option B: 1978 is the year of the 44th Amendment Act, a different amendment.
Option C: 1950 is the year the Constitution came into force; it had no 42nd Amendment then.
Option D: 2002 is the year of the 86th Amendment Act.
Hint: The 42nd Amendment's year is written in the Preamble's own footnote.
The traps
- Assembly for people: the Preamble's giver is "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA"; the Constituent Assembly is only where they adopted it.
- Order: SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. DEMOCRATIC never comes before SOCIALIST.
- 1949 for 1976: SOCIALIST, SECULAR and integrity came with the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, not in 1949.
- Liberty of profession: the Preamble's liberty is of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; profession is an Article 19 freedom.
- Swapped ideals: EQUALITY is of status and of opportunity; LIBERTY is of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.
Meena wrote: "The Preamble promises EQUALITY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship." Which ideal should she have written?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The Preamble says "LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship". Equality in the Preamble is of status and of opportunity.
Option B: That is what she wrote. In the Preamble, EQUALITY goes with "of status and of opportunity".
Option C: JUSTICE goes with "social, economic and political".
Option D: FRATERNITY goes with "assuring the dignity of the individual".
Hint: Thought, belief and worship are freedoms of the mind.
Mixed check
The Preamble's ideals of LIBERTY, EQUALITY and FRATERNITY match ideas the makers adapted from which country's constitution?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
NCERT's table puts "Principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" under the French Constitution (lesson 1).
Option B: From the Irish Constitution came the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Option C: From the United States Constitution came the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Option D: From the Canadian Constitution came the idea of Residual Powers.
Hint: Go back to lesson 1's table of borrowed ideas.
Quick reference
The Preamble
- Who gives it
- WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA "GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION"
- What India is
- SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC memory aid: S, S, S, D, R
- Justice
- social, economic and political JUSTICE comes first
- Liberty
- thought, expression, belief, faith and worship not profession
- Equality
- of status and of opportunity two things only
- Fraternity
- dignity of the individual; unity and integrity of the Nation integrity added in 1976
- Adopted
- 26 November 1949 written at the end of the Preamble
- Added later
- SOCIALIST, SECULAR, integrity the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976
Why it works: one sentence in bites. Who, what India is, what it promises, when.
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