The Indian Constitution

In short

The Constitution of India is the supreme law that creates the Union, distributes power between organs and levels of government, and guarantees enforceable rights to the individual. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, replacing the Government of India Act, 1935. It matters because every statute, ordinance, executive order and local by-law in India is valid only so far as it conforms to it, and courts can strike down what does not. It is the opening unit of BA Political Science "Indian Government and Politics" (UGC CBCS) and carries the largest weight in UPSC, state PSC, SSC, bank, railway and law-entrance polity sections, and in interviews for the civil services, judicial services, legal and compliance roles, and public-sector and NGO policy jobs.

Explained

Making of the Constitution and its sources

• Constituent Assembly: formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946 by indirect election from provincial assemblies; first sat 9 December 1946 (Sachchidananda Sinha as temporary chairman), Dr Rajendra Prasad elected permanent President.
• Objectives Resolution moved by Nehru on 13 December 1946 set out the aims; it later became the basis of the Preamble.
• Drafting Committee (set up 29 August 1947), seven members, chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, who is called the chief architect; B. N. Rau was constitutional adviser, S. N. Mukherjee chief draftsman.
• Took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days; 11 sessions; after partition the membership stood at 299 at adoption. Some articles (citizenship, elections, provisional Parliament) came into force on 26 November 1949; the rest on 26 January 1950, the date chosen because Purna Swaraj Day was observed on 26 January 1930.
• Borrowed features (a standard exam list): British — parliamentary government, rule of law, single citizenship, writs, bicameralism, legislative procedure; US — Fundamental Rights, judicial review, independence of the judiciary, impeachment, preamble form; Irish — Directive Principles, nomination to the Rajya Sabha, mode of presidential election; Canadian — federation with a strong centre, residuary powers with the Union, appointment of Governors; Australian — Concurrent List, freedom of trade and commerce, joint sitting; Weimar Germany — suspension of rights during emergency; USSR — Fundamental Duties and the ideal of justice; South Africa — amendment procedure and election of Rajya Sabha members; France — republic and the ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity; Japan — "procedure established by law".
• The Government of India Act, 1935 is the single largest source: federal scheme, office of Governor, judiciary, public service commissions, emergency provisions and administrative detail.

Preamble and salient features

• Text declares India a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic securing Justice (social, economic, political), Liberty (of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship), Equality (of status and opportunity) and promoting Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.
• "Socialist", "Secular" and "integrity" were inserted by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 — the Preamble has been amended once.
• Berubari Union (1960): Preamble is not part of the Constitution. Kesavananda Bharati (1973) reversed this — it is part of the Constitution, is amendable, but not its basic structure; it is not enforceable in itself.
• Features: lengthiest written constitution in the world; blend of rigidity and flexibility; federal in form, unitary in spirit (quasi-federal); parliamentary government at the Union and in states; integrated and independent judiciary with judicial review; a single citizenship; universal adult suffrage (18 years, 61st Amendment, 1988, in force 1989); three-tier government after the 73rd and 74th Amendments, 1992; emergency provisions; independent bodies such as the Election Commission, CAG, UPSC and Finance Commission.
• Size: originally 395 articles, 22 parts, 8 schedules; now roughly 470 articles (numbering still ends at 395 because insertions use letters, e.g. 21A, 243ZT), 25 parts and 12 schedules, after 106 amendments up to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 — article counts differ between textbooks depending on how sub-articles are counted, and later amendments should be checked.

Union and territory, citizenship, and the Schedules

• Article 1: "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States" — "Union" (not federation) because the states had no right to secede and the federation is not the result of an agreement.
• Articles 2 and 3: Parliament may admit or establish new states and may form a new state, alter areas, boundaries or names of existing states by simple majority; the state legislature's views are sought but are not binding.
• Citizenship (Part II, Articles 5–11): provisions at commencement, for migrants from and to Pakistan, and for persons of Indian origin abroad; Article 11 lets Parliament legislate — hence the Citizenship Act, 1955, which provides acquisition by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory, and loss by renunciation, termination and deprivation. Amended several times, most recently by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. India allows single citizenship and the OCI card, not dual citizenship.
• Schedules: 1 — states and union territories; 2 — emoluments of high offices; 3 — forms of oath; 4 — allocation of Rajya Sabha seats; 5 — administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes; 6 — tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram; 7 — Union, State and Concurrent Lists; 8 — the 22 languages; 9 — laws (mainly land reform) placed beyond challenge, added by the 1st Amendment, 1951; 10 — anti-defection, added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985; 11 — subjects of panchayats (73rd); 12 — subjects of municipalities (74th).
• Article 370 (special status of Jammu and Kashmir) was rendered inoperative in August 2019 along with Article 35A; the state was reorganised into two union territories. Articles 371 to 371J retain special provisions for several other states.

Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12–35)

• Article 12 defines "State"; Article 13 makes any law inconsistent with Part III void and is the textual basis of judicial review (doctrines of eclipse, severability, waiver).
• Right to equality: 14 equality before law and equal protection of laws; 15 no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth (with enabling clauses for women, children, SC/ST, OBC and, by the 103rd Amendment, 2019, economically weaker sections); 16 equality of opportunity in public employment; 17 abolition of untouchability; 18 abolition of titles.
• Right to freedom: 19(1) six freedoms — speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, profession — each subject to "reasonable restrictions"; the right to property was deleted from 19(1)(f) by the 44th Amendment, 1978. 20 protection in respect of conviction (no ex post facto law, no double jeopardy, no self-incrimination); 21 protection of life and personal liberty; 21A right to free and compulsory education for ages 6–14 (86th Amendment, 2002, given effect by the RTE Act, 2009); 22 protection against arrest and detention, including preventive-detention safeguards.
• Right against exploitation: 23 prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labour; 24 bans employment of children below 14 in factories, mines and hazardous work.
• Right to freedom of religion: 25 freedom of conscience and practice; 26 freedom to manage religious affairs; 27 no compulsory religious taxes; 28 no religious instruction in wholly state-funded institutions.
• Cultural and educational rights: 29 protection of minority interests; 30 right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.
• Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32): Ambedkar called it "the heart and soul of the Constitution"; the Supreme Court may issue the five writs — habeas corpus (produce the detained person), mandamus (command a public duty), prohibition (stop a lower court exceeding jurisdiction), certiorari (quash its order), quo warranto (question the holding of a public office). High Courts have wider writ power under Article 226 (also for legal rights), but Article 32 is itself a Fundamental Right.
• Articles 33–35: Parliament may restrict rights for the armed forces, indemnify acts during martial law, and alone legislates to give effect to certain rights.
• Expansion of Article 21: *Maneka Gandhi* (1978) read fairness into "procedure established by law"; later readings include livelihood, shelter, clean environment, speedy trial, legal aid, education, health and — in K. S. Puttaswamy (2017) — privacy.

Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties

• DPSP (Part IV, Articles 36–51): instructions to the State for a welfare order, non-justiciable by Article 37 but "fundamental in the governance of the country".
• Grouped as socialistic (38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 47), Gandhian (40 panchayats, 43 cottage industries, 46 SC/ST and weaker sections, 47 prohibition, 48 cow slaughter) and liberal-intellectual (44 uniform civil code, 45 early childhood care and education, 48 modern agriculture, 49 monuments, 50 separation of the judiciary from the executive, 51 international peace).
• Added later: 39A free legal aid and 43A workers' participation in management and 48A protection of environment and forests (42nd Amendment, 1976); 43B promotion of cooperative societies (97th Amendment, 2011).
• Implementation examples: the rural employment guarantee (MGNREGA, 2005, replaced from 1 July 2026 by the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 with 125 days); Right to Education Act, 2009; National Food Security Act, 2013; legal services authorities under the LSA Act, 1987; the four Labour Codes in force from 21 November 2025, which replaced the Factories Act, Minimum Wages Act, Industrial Disputes Act and BOCW Act, carry forward Articles 39, 41, 42 and 43.
• Conflict with Fundamental Rights: *Champakam Dorairajan* (1951) gave primacy to Part III (leading to the 1st Amendment); Article 31C (25th Amendment) protected laws giving effect to Articles 39(b) and (c); the 42nd Amendment extended that to all DPSPs, and Minerva Mills (1980) struck down the extension, holding the balance between Parts III and IV to be part of the basic structure.
• Fundamental Duties (Part IVA, Article 51A): ten duties inserted by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee; an eleventh — a parent's duty to provide education to a child aged 6–14 — added by the 86th Amendment, 2002. They are non-justiciable, but a duty can be enforced through ordinary legislation (for example the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971).

Amendment of the Constitution and the basic structure doctrine

• Article 368 prescribes three routes:
  1. Simple majority of each House (technically outside Article 368) — admission of new states, alteration of boundaries and names, creation or abolition of state legislative councils, citizenship, salaries, quorum, Fifth and Sixth Schedule administration.
  2. Special majority — a majority of the total membership of each House and two-thirds of the members present and voting; used for most amendments, including Fundamental Rights and DPSPs.
  3. Special majority plus ratification by the legislatures of not less than half the states — for federal provisions: election of the President, extent of executive power of the Union and states, Supreme Court and High Courts, distribution of legislative powers, the Seventh Schedule, representation of states in Parliament, and Article 368 itself.
• The Bill may start in either House, needs no prior sanction of the President, cannot be sent to a joint sitting, and the President must assent (24th Amendment, 1971).
• Doctrinal line: *Shankari Prasad* (1951) and *Sajjan Singh* (1965) upheld amendment of Fundamental Rights; *Golaknath* (1967) held they could not be abridged; the 24th Amendment reversed it; Kesavananda Bharati (1973) held Parliament may amend any provision but cannot destroy the basic structure. *Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain* (1975) applied it to free and fair elections; *Minerva Mills* (1980) struck down clauses 4 and 5 of Article 368; *Waman Rao* (1981) fixed 24 April 1973 as the cut-off for Ninth Schedule protection; I. R. Coelho (2007) held post-1973 Ninth Schedule entries open to review; *S. R. Bommai* (1994) treated secularism and federalism as basic features; the 99th Amendment (NJAC) was struck down in 2015.
• Elements generally recognised as basic structure: supremacy of the Constitution, republican and democratic form, secularism, separation of powers, federalism, judicial review, rule of law, free and fair elections, the dignity of the individual and the balance between Parts III and IV. The list is judicially evolved, not exhaustive, and keeps growing.
• Landmark amendments: 1st (1951, Ninth Schedule, reasonable restrictions), 7th (1956, reorganisation of states), 42nd (1976, the "mini-Constitution"), 44th (1978, undid much of the 42nd), 52nd (1985, anti-defection), 61st (1988, in force 1989, voting age 18), 73rd and 74th (1992, panchayats and municipalities), 86th (2002, education), 101st (2016, GST), 103rd (2019, EWS), 104th (2020, ended Anglo-Indian nomination, extended SC/ST reservation of seats), 106th (2023, one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, to operate after a census and delimitation).

Emergency provisions (Part XVIII, Articles 352–360)

• National emergency (Article 352): on war, external aggression or armed rebellion ("internal disturbance" was replaced by the 44th Amendment). Requires a written recommendation of the Union Cabinet; parliamentary approval by special majority within one month; then it runs for six months at a time. The Lok Sabha may disapprove it by simple majority, and one-tenth of its members can requisition a sitting for that purpose. Proclaimed in 1962, 1971 and 1975. Article 358 suspends Article 19 (only for war or external aggression) and Article 359 allows suspension of the enforcement of other rights — but Articles 20 and 21 can never be suspended (44th Amendment, after *ADM Jabalpur*, 1976).
• President's rule (Article 356): failure of constitutional machinery in a state, on the Governor's report or otherwise; approval by simple majority within two months, six months at a time, maximum three years. *S. R. Bommai* (1994) made the proclamation judicially reviewable and required a floor test.
• Financial emergency (Article 360): approval by simple majority within two months; never used.

Key points

• 26 November 1949 / 26 January 1950 - dates of adoption and commencement.
• Constituent Assembly - 299 members at adoption, chaired by Dr Rajendra Prasad; Drafting Committee under Dr B. R. Ambedkar.
• Preamble - identity card of the Constitution; amended once, by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.
• Article 1 - India is a "Union of States": indestructible union of destructible states.
• Article 13 - the textual source of judicial review; inconsistent law is void.
• Six Fundamental Rights - equality, freedom, against exploitation, religion, cultural and educational, constitutional remedies; property ceased to be one in 1978.
• Article 32 - "heart and soul"; five writs; High Courts have wider but non-fundamental power under Article 226.
• Article 21 - the engine of rights expansion: life, dignity, privacy, environment, speedy trial.
• Article 37 - DPSPs are not enforceable in court yet fundamental in governance.
• Article 51A - 11 Fundamental Duties, non-justiciable, from the 42nd and 86th Amendments.
• Article 368 - three amendment routes: simple, special, special plus half the states.
• Basic structure - Kesavananda Bharati, 1973: amendment power is wide but not destructive.
• Minerva Mills, 1980 - limited amending power and the Part III-Part IV balance are basic features.
• 12 Schedules - Seventh (three lists), Eighth (22 languages), Ninth (protected laws), Tenth (anti-defection) are the most asked.
• Quasi-federal - federal structure with a unitary bias: single citizenship, single judiciary, all-India services, Article 356.
• Emergency - Article 352 needs a special majority; Articles 20 and 21 are never suspended; Article 360 is unused.
• 106 amendments to 2023, the last being women's reservation in legislatures.

Examples

• Case 1 - computing a special majority in the Lok Sabha. Sanctioned strength 543. "Majority of total membership" = more than 271.5, i.e. 272 votes minimum, always. If 400 members are present and voting, two-thirds = 266.67, i.e. 267 - but the higher of the two conditions governs, so 272 votes are needed. If 540 are present and voting, two-thirds = 360, so 360 votes are needed. The two conditions must be satisfied simultaneously; abstentions and vacancies do not lower the 272 floor.
• Case 2 - the same test in the Rajya Sabha. Total membership 245 → majority of total = 123. With 200 present and voting, two-thirds = 133.3 → 134, so the requirement is 134. The Bill must clear both Houses separately; there is no joint sitting for a constitutional amendment, so a deadlock kills the Bill.
• Case 3 - which route does an amendment take? Shifting an entry from the State List to the Union List touches the Seventh Schedule and the distribution of legislative powers → special majority plus ratification by at least half the state legislatures, i.e. 14 of 28 states at present. This is why the 101st Amendment (GST) went to the states, while the 61st Amendment (voting age 18, Article 326) needed only a special majority. Creating a new state by splitting an existing one needs only a simple majority under Article 3.
• Case 4 - timeline of a national emergency. A proclamation issued on 1 March must be approved by both Houses by 31 March (one month) by special majority; once approved, the six months run from the date the second House passes its approving resolution (Article 352(5)), not from the proclamation - so approval on 31 March carries it to 30 September - and fresh approval is needed every six months. If the Lok Sabha is dissolved during the one month without approving it, the proclamation survives until 30 days after the new Lok Sabha first sits, provided the Rajya Sabha has approved it.
• Case 5 - a law restricting a right. A state law bans a trade outright. Test applied: Is "State" involved (Article 12)? Which right - 19(1)(g)? Is the restriction "reasonable" and within 19(6), proportionate to a legitimate aim? If not, the law is void under Article 13 to the extent of inconsistency (doctrine of severability), and the aggrieved person may move the High Court under Article 226 or the Supreme Court under Article 32.

Where it is used

• Civil services and state PSCs: polity is the largest single block in UPSC Prelims GS-I and Mains GS-II; interviews probe federalism, basic structure and rights jurisprudence.
• Judicial services, law firms and litigation support: drafting writ petitions under Articles 32 and 226, constitutional challenges to statutes and rules, public interest litigation.
• Policy and legislative roles: PRS Legislative Research, legislative assembly secretariats, MP and MLA research assistants, think tanks checking Bills against legislative competence under the Seventh Schedule.
• Corporate compliance, ESG and HR: equality and non-discrimination standards drawn from Articles 14-16 and the POSH Act, reservation and EWS rules in recruitment, labour obligations rooted in Part IV and the 2025 Labour Codes.
• Media, publishing and content moderation: Article 19(1)(a) and the limits in 19(2) govern editorial policy, defamation risk and takedown disputes.
• Development sector and local administration: rights-based programmes - RTE, NFSA, the rural employment guarantee (VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, successor to MGNREGA), forest rights in Fifth and Sixth Schedule areas - all argued in constitutional terms.

Interview questions

• Q: Why is India called a "Union of States" and not a federation? A: Because the Union is not the result of an agreement among states and no state has a right to secede; the Drafting Committee chose "Union" deliberately to stress indestructible unity.
• Q: Is the Preamble part of the Constitution? A: Yes - *Berubari Union* (1960) said no, but *Kesavananda Bharati* (1973) held it is part of the Constitution, amendable under Article 368 yet not enforceable by itself.
• Q: What exactly is the basic structure doctrine? A: A judicially evolved limit from *Kesavananda Bharati* (1973): Parliament may amend any provision but cannot alter the Constitution's essential features such as democracy, secularism, federalism and judicial review.
• Q: Which Fundamental Right was removed, and how is property protected now? A: The right to property, by the 44th Amendment, 1978; it survives as an ordinary legal right under Article 300A, so deprivation requires authority of law but is not a Part III violation.
• Q: Difference between Articles 32 and 226? A: Article 32 lies only for Fundamental Rights but is itself a Fundamental Right and the Supreme Court cannot refuse it; Article 226 is wider - High Courts can issue writs for legal rights too - but it is discretionary.
• Q: If DPSPs cannot be enforced, what use are they? A: They set the goals of governance, guide legislation and policy, serve as a standard by which the electorate judges a government, and courts use them to interpret rights and uphold welfare laws.
• Q: Why is the 42nd Amendment called the mini-Constitution? A: It changed the Preamble, added Fundamental Duties and Part IVA, added subjects to the Concurrent List, extended Article 31C, curtailed judicial review and extended the Lok Sabha's term - the widest single set of changes, much of it undone by the 44th Amendment.
• Q: Can Fundamental Rights be suspended during an emergency? A: Article 358 suspends Article 19 during a war or external-aggression emergency, and Article 359 permits suspension of the enforcement of other rights by presidential order - but Articles 20 and 21 can never be suspended after the 44th Amendment.
• Q: A Bill amends the Seventh Schedule. What majority does it need? A: A special majority in each House plus ratification by the legislatures of not less than half the states, because the distribution of legislative powers is a federal provision under the proviso to Article 368(2).
• Q: Are Fundamental Duties enforceable? A: Not directly under Article 51A, but Parliament can and does enact laws giving effect to them, and courts read them as an aid in interpreting rights and judging the reasonableness of restrictions.
• Q: How does Article 13 relate to judicial review? A: It declares pre- and post-Constitution laws void to the extent they are inconsistent with Part III, which gives courts the express power to test legislation against rights.
• Q: What is the Ninth Schedule and is it still a shield? A: Introduced by the 1st Amendment, 1951 to immunise mainly land-reform laws from challenge; *I. R. Coelho* (2007) held that entries added after 24 April 1973 remain open to review for violating the basic structure.

Common mistakes

• Treating 26 November 1949 and 26 January 1950 as the same date, or saying the Constituent Assembly was directly elected by the people.
• Writing "two-thirds majority" for a special majority and forgetting the separate requirement of a majority of the total membership.
• Assuming every amendment needs state ratification - only the listed federal provisions do, and ratification by half the states is enough, with no time limit specified.
• Saying Fundamental Rights cannot be amended - they can, as *Kesavananda* confirmed; only the basic structure is beyond reach.
• Confusing a national emergency (Article 352) with President's rule (Article 356): different grounds, different majorities, different durations.
• Calling the right to property a Fundamental Right, or placing Article 300A in Part III.
• Quoting the original "395 articles, 8 schedules" as the present position, or quoting an amendment count without checking whether later amendments have been passed.

Related topics

Union executive and Parliament · The judiciary and judicial review · Federalism and centre-state relations · Local self-government under the 73rd and 74th Amendments · Elections and the Election Commission · Political parties, pressure groups and the Tenth Schedule