The Preamble to the Indian Constitution declares India as a:

Explanation

The exact constitutional phrase is Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic, so the order matters as much as the words themselves. This is the Preamble's wording after the 42nd Amendment. The Supreme Court of India's Constitution page supports the same formulation, stating that the Constitution establishes India as a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic. In this sequence, Sovereign comes first, followed by Socialist and Secular, and then Democratic Republic. Option D is therefore not merely close in meaning; it reproduces the required order of the Preamble.

Why the other options are wrong

• (A) It places Democratic before Socialist and Secular, while the required Preamble order is Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic.
• (B) It reverses Socialist and Secular, but the Preamble places Socialist before Secular.
• (C) It begins with Socialist, whereas the Preamble begins with Sovereign.

Concept

This tests the Preamble and the exact constitutional description of the Indian state. RAS repeatedly asks such wording-based polity questions because small changes in sequence can change the answer.

Source

• Supreme Court of India

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