Indian Polity: Major Constitutional Amendments

Constitutional Amendments are one of the most frequently tested topics in Kerala PSC Graduate Level exams. Article 368 of the Indian Constitution provides the procedure for amendment. This note covers all major amendments with year, key change, and exam-relevant details.

Amendment Procedure (Article 368)

Type	Requirement	Examples
Simple Majority	Ordinary majority of members present and voting	Admission of new states, creation of Legislative Councils
Special Majority	2/3rd of members present and voting + majority of total membership (in each House)	Fundamental Rights, DPSPs
Special Majority + State Ratification	Special majority + ratification by at least half the state legislatures	Election of President, distribution of powers, Article 368 itself

Major Constitutional Amendments — Master Table

Amendment	Year	Key Provision
1st	1951	Added Ninth Schedule (laws placed here are beyond judicial review); added reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech (Article 19); added Articles 31A, 31B for land reform protection
2nd	1952	Readjusted representation in Lok Sabha (one MP per 7.5 lakh people limit removed)
7th	1956	Reorganisation of states on linguistic basis; abolished Part A, B, C, D classification; introduced Union Territories; States reorganised into 14 states and 6 UTs
9th	1960	Transferred Berubari Union (West Bengal) to Pakistan (following ICJ award)
10th	1961	Incorporated Dadra and Nagar Haveli as Union Territory
12th	1962	Incorporated Goa, Daman and Diu as Union Territory
13th	1962	Created Nagaland as 16th state; special provisions under Article 371A
14th	1962	Incorporated Puducherry as Union Territory; created Part C in First Schedule
21st	1967	Included Sindhi as 15th language in Eighth Schedule
24th	1971	Affirmed Parliament’s power to amend any part of the Constitution including Fundamental Rights (response to Golaknath case)
25th	1971	Replaced “compensation” with “amount” for property acquisition; added Article 31C (laws for DPSPs in Art 39(b)(c) cannot be challenged)
26th	1971	Abolished privy purses and titles of former rulers
31st	1973	Increased Lok Sabha seats from 525 to 545
36th	1975	Made Sikkim the 22nd state of India
38th	1975	Made President’s satisfaction in declaring Emergency non-justiciable (reversed by 44th)
39th	1975	Placed election disputes of President, VP, PM, Speaker beyond judicial scrutiny (reversed by 44th)
42nd	1976	”Mini Constitution” — the most comprehensive amendment (see detailed table below)
43rd	1977	Restored judicial review powers of Supreme Court and High Courts (partially undid 42nd)
44th	1978	Major corrective to 42nd Amendment (see detailed table below)
52nd	1985	Anti-Defection Law (added Tenth Schedule); disqualification for defection from party
56th	1987	Created Goa as 25th state (separated from Daman and Diu)
61st	1989	Reduced voting age from 21 to 18 years (Article 326)
65th	1990	Established National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Article 338); statutory to constitutional body
69th	1991	Gave special status to Delhi as “National Capital Territory”; created Legislative Assembly and Council of Ministers for Delhi
71st	1992	Added Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali to Eighth Schedule (total became 18)
73rd	1993	Panchayati Raj given constitutional status (added Part IX, Eleventh Schedule); 3-tier system mandatory; 1/3 seats reserved for women; 5-year term; State Election Commission; State Finance Commission
74th	1993	Municipalities given constitutional status (added Part IXA, Twelfth Schedule); 3 types — Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation; 1/3 women reservation
76th	1994	Added Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation to Ninth Schedule (to protect it from judicial review)
86th	2002	Right to Education (Article 21A) — free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14 made a Fundamental Right; changed Article 45 to DPSP for early childhood care (0-6 years); added Fundamental Duty 51A(k) — parent/guardian to provide education
87th	2003	Readjustment of constituencies based on 2001 Census for SC/ST reservation
89th	2003	Separated National Commission for SCs and National Commission for STs into two bodies (Article 338 and 338A)
91st	2003	Limited Council of Ministers to 15% of total strength of the House (both Centre and States); strengthened anti-defection provisions (entire merger requires 2/3rds)
92nd	2003	Added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali to Eighth Schedule (total became 22)
95th	2009	Extended reservation for SCs/STs in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for another 10 years (up to 2020)
97th	2011	Gave constitutional status to cooperative societies (added Part IXB, Article 43B as DPSP); right to form cooperatives as Fundamental Right (Art 19(1)(c))
99th	2014	National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) — struck down by Supreme Court in 2015 as unconstitutional
100th	2015	Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh; exchange of enclaves
101st	2016	Goods and Services Tax (GST); created GST Council (Article 279A); subsumed multiple indirect taxes
102nd	2018	Gave constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes (Article 338B); National Backward Classes Commission
103rd	2019	10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in education and government jobs (added Articles 15(6) and 16(6)); applies to general category only
104th	2020	Extended SC/ST reservation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for 10 more years (up to 2030); removed reserved seats for Anglo-Indians in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies
105th	2021	Restored state governments’ power to identify OBCs (after Supreme Court’s Maratha reservation verdict)

42nd Amendment (1976) — “Mini Constitution”

Passed during Emergency under Indira Gandhi’s government. Most sweeping changes ever made.

Change	Detail
Added “Socialist”, “Secular”, “Integrity” to Preamble	Original: “Sovereign Democratic Republic” became “Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic”
Added Fundamental Duties	Part IVA, Article 51A (originally 10 duties)
Made DPSPs superior to FRs	Article 31C expanded — any DPSP law protected from Art 14, 19 (later struck down by Minerva Mills)
Curtailed judicial review	Courts could not question constitutional amendments
Extended Lok Sabha/Assembly term	From 5 to 6 years
Transferred subjects to Concurrent List	Education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals
Added Part XIV-A	Tribunals (Administrative Tribunals)
Froze delimitation until 2001	Based on 1971 Census
Three new DPSPs added	Free legal aid (39A), participation of workers in management (43A), protection of environment (48A)

44th Amendment (1978) — Corrective Amendment

Passed by Janata Party government to undo Emergency-era excesses.

Change	Detail
Restored Lok Sabha/Assembly term	Back to 5 years
Right to Property	Removed from Fundamental Rights (was Art 19(1)(f) and Art 31); made legal right under Article 300A
National Emergency (Art 352)	Grounds changed from “internal disturbance” to “armed rebellion”; written advice of Cabinet required
Restored judicial review	Courts can review proclamation of Emergency
Personal liberty protection	Article 20 and 21 cannot be suspended even during Emergency
President’s rule (Art 356)	Judicial review of President’s rule restored

Anti-Defection Law (52nd Amendment, 1985 — Tenth Schedule)

Feature	Detail
Disqualification grounds	Voluntarily giving up party membership; voting against party whip
Decision authority	Speaker/Chairman of the House (not courts directly)
Merger exception	Not defection if 2/3rds of party merges with another (changed by 91st Amendment — earlier was 1/3rd)
Exemption	Presiding officer who resigns from party to ensure impartiality
Judicial review	Supreme Court ruled Speaker’s decision is subject to judicial review (Kihoto Hollohan case, 1992)

73rd and 74th Amendments — Local Self-Government

Feature	73rd (Panchayats)	74th (Municipalities)
Year enacted	1993 (effective 24 April 1993)	1993 (effective 1 June 1993)
Part added	Part IX	Part IXA
Schedule added	Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects)	Twelfth Schedule (18 subjects)
Structure	3-tier: Gram, Block, District Panchayat	3 types: Nagar Panchayat, Council, Corporation
Women reservation	1/3rd of total seats	1/3rd of total seats
Term	5 years (election within 6 months if dissolved)	5 years
State Finance Commission	Mandatory	Mandatory
State Election Commission	Mandatory	Mandatory
Exempted states	Areas under Fifth and Sixth Schedule; states with population under 20 lakh (initially)	None specifically

Eighth Schedule — Languages

Amendment	Year	Languages Added	Total After
Original Constitution	1950	14 languages	14
21st	1967	Sindhi	15
71st	1992	Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali	18
92nd	2003	Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali	22

Current 22 Languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu

Quick Revision — Most Asked in PSC

Question	Answer
Which amendment is called “Mini Constitution”?	42nd Amendment (1976)
Voting age reduced from 21 to 18 by?	61st Amendment (1989)
GST amendment?	101st Amendment (2016)
Right to Education amendment?	86th Amendment (2002)
Anti-Defection Law?	52nd Amendment (1985)
EWS 10% reservation?	103rd Amendment (2019)
Panchayati Raj constitutional status?	73rd Amendment (1993)
Right to Property removed from FR by?	44th Amendment (1978)
Words added to Preamble by?	42nd Amendment (Socialist, Secular, Integrity)
Privy purses abolished by?	26th Amendment (1971)
Anglo-Indian reservation removed?	104th Amendment (2020)
Council of Ministers capped at 15%?	91st Amendment (2003)