- The Preamble explicitly states India is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. - These terms describe the core political and social characteristics of the Indian state. - The terms 'Unitary', 'Federal', or 'Quasi-federal' relate to the structure of the government and the distribution of powers between the centre and states, which are features of the Constitution but not the direct declaration of the state's nature in the Preamble.