Know The Constitution [Part I]: The Preamble

We Are Introducing A New Series In LiveLaw -'Know The Constitution' If the Constitution has to be of the people, by the people and for the people, it must first capture the imagination of the masses. The 'Know the Constitution' series is a humble attempt by the team of LiveLaw to unravel the Indian Constitution in all its majesty. The aim is to demystify the Indian Constitution one Article, one amendment, one doctrine, one schedule, one theme at a time. With this series we hope to make one small effort towards demystifying this foundational document and put it back where it belongs- WE THE PEOPLE. Only a constitutionally conscious citizenry can save the Constitution in the face of dwindling human rights, shrinking freedoms, and rising authoritarianism.PART-1 THE PREAMBLEWE THE PEOPLE, So the Constitution of India-running into 448 articles, 12 Schedules, 105 Amendments- begins. Yet, seventy-two years since its adoption, the Constitution remains at the margins of the knowledge of the very people it was supposed to protect, enable and empower. Members of the Constituent Assembly had hoped that it would be a socially transformative piece of document, the "cornerstone of a nation", a bulwark against executive legislative excesses and discriminatory and majoritarian tendencies. The Constitution contained not only a nation's ideals and people's rights but also the institutions necessary to achieve them. We did win our Independence on August 15, 1947 but it was- and is- the Constitution that ensured that every person, at least in theory, is free and equal and is provided with the necessary conditions of life to not just exist but also flourish. It is what ensures that we do not become a banana republic. It is what keeps all the organs of the government in check and brings closer to-if not into- the mainstream individuals and groups that would have otherwise remained at the bottom or margins of society. Yet, as the trajectories of numerous failed democracies show, no matter how well-conceived, a Constitution can only establish institutions on paper. Adopting and enacting a Constitution is only the first step, some may even say, the easier task. The real struggle begins later. As Granville Austin has put it-constitutions do not "work"- they are only inert documents dependent upon being "worked" by institutions, leaders and common citizens. How "successful" the Constitution has been is a topic of debate for political scientists and members of legal academia. It is no one's argument that the Constitution has delivered all that it promised. A wide gulf remains between aspiration and reality but that's beside the point. There will be little disagreement that knowledge of the Constitution has not trickled down to all sections of society-something that is crucial if the true potential of the Constitution is to be realised. Juan J. Linz & Alfred Stepan in their seminal work 'Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation' had argued that it is not enough for a democracy to periodically hold elections, for in order to be 'consolidated' democracy a nation must be behaviourally, attitudinally and constitutionally democratic as well. To extend that argument to a slightly different context- it is not enough to have a Constitution and have it enforced in courts of law. If the Constitution has to be of the people, by the people and for the people, it must first capture the imagination of the masses. The 'Know the Constitution' series is a humble attempt by the team of LiveLaw to unravel the Indian Constitution in all its majesty. The aim is to demystify the Indian Constitution one Article, one amendment, one doctrine, one schedule, one theme at a time. Of course, one may question the need to do this when we have our commentaries by H.M.Seervai, DD Basu, V.N.Shukla and Granville Austin. The hope is to capture the complexity and nuance of the text of the Constitution, its interpretation and its criticism all the while eschewing legalese as far as possible. We believe there couldn't have been a better occasion to begin this series than the 26th day of November- a day that is observed as 'Constitution Day' every year to mark the adoption of the Constitution of India. It was this exact day on which, 72 years ago, the Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India. With this series we hope to make one small effort towards demystifying this foundational document and put it back where it belongs- WE THE PEOPLE. Know the Preamble The Preamble to the Constitution, which was adopted along with the Constitution on 26th November 1949, represents the values that are incorporated in the Constitution. The fact that it was adopted by the Constituent Assembly after the Draft Constitution was approved supports this proposition that it expresses goals and philosophy of the Constitution. Apart from stating the objects which the...

Know The Constitution [Part I]: The Preamble

Sneha Rao & Sohini Chowdhury