Passage or principleMP Jain Ch.1 / Kesavananda Bharati / Constituent Assembly Debates
The Preamble to the Constitution of India declares India to be a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and sets out four objectives for the citizens of India: Justice - social, economic and political; Liberty - of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality - of status and opportunity; and Fraternity - assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation. The Preamble derives its authority from the phrase 'We, the People of India' which establishes that the ultimate source of constitutional authority is the people themselves. Initially, in Re Berubari Union (1960), the Supreme Court held that the Preamble was not part of the Constitution and could not be used to interpret or expand constitutional provisions. However, in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), this view was overruled, and the Supreme Court held that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution. The Preamble can be used as a key to interpret the Constitution and can itself be amended under Article 368, subject to the basic structure doctrine. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment 1976 inserted the words 'Socialist' and 'Secular' into the Preamble, reflecting the constitutional commitment to a welfare State model and the principle that the State shall not patronise or discriminate between religions. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, in the Constituent Assembly debates, described the Preamble as embodying the philosophy and objectives of the Constitution - a statement of the aspirations and ideals that should guide all constitutional interpretation.