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made in the country, the ultimate aim of which all vision makes India a secular country, that is, there
is the betterment of the country and well-being of is no state religion. All religions are equal in the
the people. This is the basis of the dreams and eye of the law. A person is given opportunity on
aspirations that the people of India seek to achieve. the basis of his merit and qualification, and not on
the basis of the religion he adheres. It also means
The Constitution of India sets forth certain basic
that all people have the right to follow the religion
vision, which we can see in its Preamble.
of their choice without any fear or favour.
The Preamble is the introduction to the
Constitution of India. It incorporates the main
Info Bits
aims, objectives and principles which the people Info Bits
of India aspire to achieve, and which the central, The word ‘Secular’ was added to the Preamble in
state and local governments must keep in mind
1976 through 42nd amendment of the Indian
while framing any laws. We can study the vision Constitution.
of our Constitution under the following heads :
Democratic
Sovereign
The people are the supreme power in a
The word ‘sovereign’ means ‘having the supreme democracy. All powers vest in the people. All
power in a country’. India is sovereign as it can people enjoy equal political rights. A democratic
make laws without any interference from any
government is elected by the people and works
other power or country. This supreme power lies for the welfare of the people. In Abraham
in the people as we can see from the opening Lincoln’s words, “Democracy is a form of
words in the Preamble ‘We, the people of India’.
government of the people, by the people and for
The people elect their representatives because all the people.” In India, all citizens above the age of
people cannot sit in the legislatures. These 18 years have the right to vote in elections and
representatives make laws and frame rules for the
elect their representatives. No discrimination is
country or state as a whole. India is a sovereign practised on any ground, such as sex, race,
state in the sense that we can regulate all our
religion, caste, education etc. A poor man’s right
affairs according to our wishes.
is in no way inferior to that of a rich man. In the
Socialist same way, all people can become ministers,
prime minister or president of the country. We
The word ‘socialist’ means a country which gives can see that many poor people and those
an equal right to all citizens in the national
belonging to depressed classes have occupied
wealth. The distribution of wealth is not equitable high seats of power in the country, including
in India. By this vision, the government those of the prime minister and the president.
endeavours to bring about social and economic
equality for all people, so that they can enjoy all
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amenities of life. This means that an effort is made Info Bits
to provide equal opportunities to all people for
The right to vote is called ‘suffrage’ or ‘universal
progress.
franchise’.
Secular
Republic
This is one of the most important values of the
By a ‘republic’ is meant a government which is
Constitution of India. By the word ‘secularism’ is
not meant ‘irreligion’ but it means ‘equal distance the representative of the people and in which the
head of the state is elected by the people for a
from all religions’. India is home to a large
specific period without any hereditary rights. In
number of religions. Equality demands that equal
opportunities should be given to all people India, the President of India is the head of the
state, and the Prime Minister is the head of the
without any regard to their religion or faith. This
government. Both of them are elected by the
The Constitution of India
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