Independence Day: Major Constitution Amendments And The Changes They Brought In Last 76 Years

Independence Day 2023: Since its inception, the Constitution of India has been amended several times. Here, we take a look at some if the significant amendments.

India is celebrating 76 years of its independence — a feat that came after years of battle with the British and uncountable sacrifices. After 15th August 1947, a constituent assembly was formed to write the Constitution for independent India. Over the course of the next two years, 11 months and 18 days, members of the assembly discussed, debated and finalised the guiding book of the largest democracy in the world. However, it was understood that with time, changes would be required in the Constitution and the power rested with Parliament. In the last 76 years, Parliament has made 105 amendments to the Constitution. While some of these brought big changes, some also saw huge controversies. Here we look at some of the important amendments to the Constitution:

1st Constitutional Amendment, 1951: The first constitutional amendment was made in 1951. It provided for the saving of laws providing for the acquisition of estates. The amendment added three more grounds to restrict freedom of speech and expression — public order, friendly relations with foreign states, and incitement. Also, it made the restrictions ‘reasonable’ and thus, justiciable. The change also added the Ninth Schedule to protect the land reforms and other laws included in it from judicial review. It means it is ultimately up to the state to decide on the land matters that need to be public and is out of judicial review.

24th Constitutional Amendment, 1971: The 24th constitutional amendment was made in 1971 and it made changes to Article 13, which gives courts power to hold any law void through judicial review and Article 368. The amendment gave Parliament the power to amend any part of the Constitution, including fundamental rights, reversing the Supreme Court’s judgment in the I.C. Golak Nath v. State of Punjab. The amendment also made it compulsory for the president to give his assent to a Constitutional Amendment Bill.

42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976: The most controversial amendment to date is the 42nd amendment act which was introduced in 1976 during the Emergency. Then PM Indira Gandhi made changes beyond judicial scrutiny that led to the naming of this amendment as the Mini Constitution. It saw addition of three words — "secular", "socialist", and "integrity" — to the Preamble.
The term of Lok Sabha was increased from five years to six. Directive Principles were given priority over fundamental rights. It said that laws enacted to implement Directive Principles cannot be deemed invalid by the courts. It also allowed the extension of the one-time duration of the President’s rule in a state from 6 months to one year among several other changes.

44th Constitutional Amendment, 1978: After the end of the Emergency, Indira Gandhi’s regime came to a halt and the new government introduced the 44th constitutional amendment to reverse the changes brought in by the 42nd amendment. It replaced the term “internal disturbance” with “armed rebellion” in respect of national emergency. It added that President can declare a national emergency only on the written recommendation of the cabinet. Also, the amendment provided that the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended during a national emergency.

61st Constitutional Amendment, 1989: Parliament reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, through 61st constitutional amendments.

69th Constitutional Amendment, 1991: It made Delhi as ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi’ along with the provision of a 70-member assembly and a 7-member Council of Ministers for Delhi in 1991.

73rd and 74th Amendment, 1992: This provided provisions for a three-tier model of Panchayati Raj, reservation of seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their population, and one-third reservation of seats for women. 74th Amendment Act granted Constitutional status and protection to the urban local bodies.  

86th Constitutional Amendment, 2002: One of the very important amendments, the 86th amendment act made elementary education a fundamental right. The newly-added Article 21-A declares that “the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may determine.”

99th Constitutional Amendment, 2014: The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was introduced to replace the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. However, in 2015, the Supreme Court declared this amendment Act unconstitutional and void.

103rd Constitutional Amendment, 2019: It empowered the state to make any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens and introduced 10% reservation for EWS in admission to educational institutions, including private educational institutions, with the exception of minority educational institutions.