Notes-Class-7-Civic-Chapter-2-Preamble To The Constitution-Maharashtra Board

A preamble means, it is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy.

Preamble : The Preamble to the constitution tells us what we all have to achieve as a people. The values, thoughts and ideas in it are noble.

• Our Constitution is the fundamental and the highest law of the land.
• Preamble is the Preface to the constitution of India. It sets out the objectives of the Indian state.
• The Preamble begins with the words ‘We, the people of India’. It mentions the resolve to make India a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic.

The Preamble guarantees Justice, Liberty, Equality Fraternity and Dignity of the Individual.

Sovereign State:  On 15th August 1947  the British rule ended, our country became independent & India became sovereign.

• Sovereign state indicates that India is not under the rule/control of any foreign power.
• Sovereignty also denotes the ultimate authority to govern the state yourself.
• The principle of popular sovereignty, reflected in the constitution, denotes that the sovereign power is assigned in the people and exercised by the government elected by the people.

Socialist State :

Socialist state denotes a state wherein the gap between the rich and the poor is minimum and that the wealth is not concentrated in the hands of a few people. All have a right over the wealth of the country.

Secular State :

• Secular state is the one which does not have official religion of the state.
• The citizens have freedom to follow any religion and the State cannot discriminate among citizens on the basis religion.

Democratic State :

• Democratic state is one where the sovereign power is vested with the people.
• The elections are conducted at a fixed period and voters elect their representatives.
• These representatives take decisions as per the procedure laid down in the Constitution.

Republic :

• Republic is a state where there is no hereditary succession to the public positions.
• All public positions are filled from elected representatives of the people.
• Any Indian citizen, fulfilling the required criteria, can be elected to any of the public positions.

Justice :

Justice implies everybody has the opportunity to progress. This ultimately will promote public good.

There are three types of justice:

• Social Justice: ]t means there should not be any discrimination among individuals on the basis of caste, creed, race, language, region, place of birth or sex.
• Economic Justice: To eradicate poverty, everyone should have a right a source of livelihood. Our constitution gives this right to every citizen without any discrimination.
• Political Justice: It means all citizens completing 18 years of age have the right to vote, i.e. Universal Adult Franchise.

Liberty:

• It implies that there should be no coercive, unfair restriction on anybody.
• Everybody is free to express his/her views and opinions.
• Every Indian is free to follow the religion of their choice.
• Liberty of thought, expression, faith, belief and worship is guaranteed.

Freedom :

• Freedom does not mean unrestrained behaviour or license to do whatever we like.
• We expect others to respect our freedom. We should respect the freedom of others as well.
• We should accept reasonable restrictions on our freedom in the interest of national security, law and order, decency and morality.

Equality : Equality means that all have equal human status and there will be no discrimination based on caste, creed, race, sex, place of birth, etc. Equality of Status and opportunities is assured.

Equality of opportunity :

• Equality of opportunity means there will be no discrimination between individuals on the basis of caste, creed, race, sex, place of birth in the matter of public employment.
• Every individual will have equal opportunity to develop without any discrimination.

Fraternity:

• Fraternity is ‘we-feeling’ among the people, having understanding of the needs of each other. This will promote social harmony.
• No amount of laws would help us achieve the goals if fraternity is lacking.
• Dignity of individual is closely related with fraternity. It implies respect for every individual.

The Preamble ends with the words that the people of India have given to themselves this constitution.