Preamble to the constitution of India
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a 1[SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR 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 2[unity and integrity of the Nation];
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVETO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
1. Subs. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, Sec.2, for “Sovereign Democratic Republic” (w.e.f. 3.1.1977)
2. Subs. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, Sec.2, for ‘Unity of the Nation” (w.e.f. 3.1.1977)
Fundamental Duties
PART IVA
Article 51 (A)
It shall be the duty of every citizen of India-
- to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
- to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
- to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
- to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
- to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
- to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
- to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
- to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
- to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
- to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
- who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.]
1 Ins. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, s. 11 (w.e.f. 3-1-1977).
*Ins. by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, s. 4 (added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002).
