Q1.
Below is the list of features given in the Preamble. Read them closely from the image above and write down examples of the application of these values in daily life around you. Two have been completed to help you with the exercise.
Answer
Read the Preamble panel (Fig. 10.16) first, then look for the value happening around you. The two filled rows show the level expected — one everyday situation, described in one sentence.
This is the Preamble exactly as it is printed on the handwritten page reproduced in Fig. 10.16:
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
Note the book gives: “The terms ‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’ and ‘Integrity’ were added in the Preamble through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976.” The photograph in Fig. 10.16 is of the original 1949 page, so those three words are not in the handwriting. In the Preamble as it stands today the opening reads “SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC”, and the last clause reads “the unity and integrity of the Nation”. That is why the exercise below lists Secular as one of the features to be filled in.
| Features of the Preamble | How we see them in our daily lives |
|---|---|
| Sovereign | Only our own elected government decides matters inside India — no outside power can dictate our laws, our school syllabus or our taxes. When India signs an agreement with another country, it does so as an equal, by its own decision. |
| Secular | Given in the book: A person does not have to take permission from the State to practice the rituals of their religion if the practice does not interfere with anyone else's day-to-day life. |
| Republic | Our head of state, the President, is elected and holds office for a fixed term — the post is not inherited by anyone's son or daughter. In the same way, our sarpanch, MLA and MP hold their posts because people voted for them. |
| Justice | Given in the book: The State provides equal opportunity to all in jobs, regardless of gender, caste, religion, etc. |
| Liberty | We may say what we think, follow the faith we choose, read what we like and form clubs and associations — as long as we do not harm others. A citizen may even take the government to court, as happened in the national flag case of 2004. |
| Equality | Every child in our class sits in the same room, uses the same library and eats the same mid-day meal, whatever their family's caste, religion or income. The same rule applies in a queue at the ration shop or the railway ticket counter — no one is served first for being rich or powerful. |
| Fraternity | Neighbours of different communities join in each other's festivals, and the whole locality helps out when a family faces a flood, an illness or a death. Nobody is treated as a lesser citizen because of who they are. |
Tip: your own examples will be better than these if they come from your street, your school or your panchayat. For each row, ask “where have I seen this happen?” rather than “what does the word mean?”