Laxmikanth Test: Preamble - 1 - UPSC

The Preamble has only been amended once through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976.

The Preamble clearly mentions the date of adoption and enactment of the Constitution of India as 26 November 1949.

The word federal is not used in the text of the Preamble.

The Preamble assures the citizens Justice-social, economic and political.

The term liberty does not mean that citizens have unrestricted freedom. Their liberties are subject to reasonable restrictions.

The Objective Resolution was introduced before the Constituent Assembly by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946.

The Preamble was only amended once and it was using the 42nd Constitution Amendment Act of 1976.

Secularism means a state free of any religion or there is no state religion. India practices the feature of secularism as mentioned in our preamble. 

Constitutional provision to freely practice and profess our religion is given under article 25, right to freedom of religion. 

The 42^nd C.A Act introduced 3 new words into the Preamble- Socialist, Secular and integrity. The text has no such word as ‘liberal’ in it.

Fraternity, as per the Preamble, seeks to promote dignity of individual and national integration. Communalism seeks to divide the nation on religious lines and hence is discouraged for unity and integrity of the nation. Fraternity clearly captures this idea.

Beohar Rammanohar Sinha of Jabalpur was tasked with designing the artwork on the Preamble.

The word federalism is not mentioned anywhere in the Preamble. It is also not conveyed in any other way in the text of the Preamble.

The Supreme Court, however, held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution. The Court stated that the opinion tendered by it in the Berubari Union (1960) in this regard was wrong, and held that the Preamble can be amended, subject to the condition that no amendment is done to the ‘basic features’. In other words, the Court held that the basic elements or the fundamental features of the Constitution as contained in the Preamble cannot be altered by an amendment under Article 368.
Correct option is A.

The word socialist was introduced in the Preamble in 1976 but the term has not been properly defined and is vague.

Fraternity: All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.

One of the controversies about the Preamble is as to whether it is a part of the Constitution or not. In the Berubari Union case (1960), the Supreme Court said that the Preamble shows the general purposes behind the several provisions in the Constitution, and is thus a key to the minds of the makers of the Constitution. Further, where the terms used in any article are ambiguous or capable of more than one meaning, some assistance at interpretation may be taken from the objectives enshrined in the Preamble. Despite this recognition of the significance of the Preamble, the Supreme Court specifically opined that Preamble is not a part of the Constitution.

Untouchability has been prohibited in India and the term equality in the Preamble covers this aspect as well.

The Constitution was handwritten by Prem Bihari Narain Raizada.

Key Points

• The American Constitution was the first to incorporate a Preamble.
  • So, the term and idea of the Preamble were borrowed from the Constitution of the United States of America.
  • The ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are borrowed from the French Constitution.
  • But, the language of the Preamble is borrowed from the Constitution of Australia.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s Objective Resolution was accepted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 January 1947. It heavily influenced the philosophy of the Preamble.

There are 9 values or characteristics mentioned in the constitution- Sovereign, Secular, Socialist, Democratic, Republic, Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

The Supreme Court has held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and can be amended by the Parliament, but such amendments should not alter the basic structure of the Constitution. Therefore, option A is correct as it reflects the Supreme Court's position on the amendability of the Preamble.

The Kesavananda Bharati Case established the principle that the secular nature of the Preamble and the Constitution is part of its basic structure and cannot be altered by constitutional amendments.

In the Keshavananda Bharati Case, the Supreme Court emphasized that the Preamble is the "identity card of the Constitution" and is an integral part of the Constitution.

The Minerva Mills Case clarified that the Preamble is not a source of power to the government but a key to understanding the Constitution's objectives.

The Supreme Court has emphasized the principle of equality as an essential feature of the Constitution, based on the Preamble's objectives.