The concept of "People" in Indian polity primarily refers to the phrase "We, the People of India," which is the opening declaration of the Preamble to the Constitution of India, making it a foundational concept and provision. This phrase establishes the principle of popular sovereignty, meaning the ultimate authority of the state rests with the people. The concept originated with the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, and it came into force on January 26, 1950. Its purpose was to solve the problem of authority by declaring that the Constitution was an act of the people themselves, adopted and enacted by them, thereby shifting the source of power from the British Crown to the citizens of the new Republic.
The phrase works by acting as the source of the Constitution's authority and setting the four main objectives of the Indian state: Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. The framers, inspired by the Objectives Resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru in December 1946, deliberately used "We, the People" to indicate that the Constitution was created by the people of India in their aggregate capacity, not by the states.
The concept connects directly to the Lok Sabha, which is constitutionally known as the House of the People. It also connects to the adoption of universal adult franchise in 1950, which operationalized the idea of the people as the sovereign power. The Preamble, which contains the phrase, was amended only once in 1976 by the 42nd Amendment Act, which inserted the words 'Socialist' and 'Secular' after 'Sovereign,' but the phrase "We, the People of India" itself remained unchanged. In a separate legal context, Indian law recognizes two types of "legal person": human beings (natural persons) and non-human entities like corporations, deities, and, in some judgments, natural entities like rivers, which can sue, be sued, and hold property.