The "Objectives Resolution" or the Preamble of the Indian Constitution did not have which of the following terms?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Secular
The Objectives Resolution proclaimed India an “Independent Sovereign Republic” and guaranteed its citizens justice, equality and freedom; secularism is not among the ideals it proclaimed, and there was no ringing pronouncement of secularism in the Preamble.
Note: The word ‘Secular’ was added to the Preamble later, by the Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution in 1976. The question refers to the Preamble as the Constituent Assembly framed it.
NCERT (2026-27): “2. The Vision of the Constitution … On 13 December 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the ‘Objectives Resolution’ in the Constituent Assembly. It was a momentous resolution that outlined the defining ideals of the Constitution of Independent India, and provided the framework within which the work of constitution-making was to proceed. It proclaimed India to be an ‘Independent Sovereign Republic’, guaranteed its citizens justice, equality and freedom, and assured that ‘adequate safeguards shall be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and Depressed and Other Backward Classes… 5.2 The fear of domination … A second important feature of the Constitution was its emphasis on secularism. There was no ringing pronouncement of secularism in the Preamble, but operationally, its key features as understood in Indian contexts were spelled out in an exemplary manner.…” |