Amendments in the Indian Constitution

Amendments in the Indian Constitution (as of 2025)

✅ Total Constitutional Amendments Passed: 105

1st Amendment: Enacted in 1951
105th Amendment: Enacted in 2021

🧾 Types of Constitutional Amendments

According to Article 368, amendments are of three types:

Type of Amendment	Procedure
By Simple Majority	Similar to passing an ordinary law (e.g., reorganization of states)
By Special Majority of Parliament	2/3 of members present & voting + majority of total strength
By Special Majority + Ratification	Also requires approval from at least 1/2 of the state legislatures

📘 Major Amendments at a Glance

Amendment No.	Year	Key Feature / Purpose
1st	1951	Freedom of speech limited; added 9th Schedule
7th	1956	Reorganization of states; abolished Part B states
10th	1961	Dadra and Nagar Haveli became part of India
24th	1971	Affirmed Parliament's power to amend any part of the Constitution
25th	1971	Curtailment of property rights
26th	1971	Abolition of privy purses of former rulers
36th	1975	Made Sikkim a full-fledged state
42nd	1976	🔺 Mini-Constitution – Added "Socialist", "Secular", and Fundamental Duties
44th	1978	Removed some Emergency-era provisions; restored Article 21
52nd	1985	Anti-defection law (10th Schedule)
61st	1989	Voting age lowered from 21 to 18 years
69th	1991	Gave Delhi special status as NCT
73rd	1992	Gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj
74th	1992	Gave constitutional status to Municipalities
86th	2002	Right to Education added as Fundamental Right (Article 21A)
101st	2016	Introduced GST (Goods and Services Tax)
103rd	2019	10% EWS reservation in education & jobs
104th	2020	Ended reserved seats for Anglo-Indians in Lok Sabha
105th	2021	Restored State power to identify OBCs

🧮 Amendment Count by Decade

Decade	No. of Amendments
1950s	6
1960s	15
1970s	28
1980s	14
1990s	16
2000s	10
2010s	11
2020s	5 (till 2021)

📌 Constitutional Amendment Articles

Article	Purpose
Article 368	Describes the procedure of constitutional amendments
Article 13(2)	Laws violating Fundamental Rights are void – conflict debated in Kesavananda Bharati case

⚖️ Landmark Cases on Amendments

Case	Judgment Impact
Shankari Prasad (1951)	Parliament can amend Fundamental Rights
Golak Nath (1967)	Parliament cannot amend Fundamental Rights
Kesavananda Bharati (1973)	Parliament can amend any part, but cannot alter Basic Structure
Minerva Mills (1980)	Strengthened the Basic Structure Doctrine

Here is a detailed 📅 Timeline of Major Amendments to the Indian Constitution, highlighting the most impactful changes from 1951 to 2021:

🧭 Timeline of Major Constitutional Amendments (India)

🗓️ 1951 – 1st Amendment

🔹 Added 9th Schedule (to protect land reform laws)
🔹 Imposed reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech

🗓️ 1956 – 7th Amendment

🔹 Implemented States Reorganisation Act
🔹 Abolished Part B States, reorganized state boundaries

🗓️ 1961 – 10th Amendment

🔹 Incorporated Dadra and Nagar Haveli into the Indian Union

🗓️ 1971 – 24th Amendment

🔹 Affirmed Parliament’s power to amend any part of the Constitution
🔹 Response to Golak Nath Case

🗓️ 1971 – 25th Amendment

🔹 Curtailed Right to Property (now a legal right)

🗓️ 1971 – 26th Amendment

🔹 Abolished privy purses of former princely rulers

🗓️ 1975 – 36th Amendment

🔹 Sikkim became the 22nd state of India

🗓️ 1976 – 42nd Amendment (🔺 Mini Constitution)

🔹 Added "Socialist", "Secular", "Integrity" to the Preamble
🔹 Added Fundamental Duties (Part IVA)
🔹 Strengthened Central government powers
🔹 Restricted judiciary during Emergency

🗓️ 1978 – 44th Amendment

🔹 Reversed many 42nd Amendment provisions
🔹 Made Right to Life (Art. 21) non-suspendable even during Emergency

🗓️ 1985 – 52nd Amendment

🔹 Introduced Anti-defection Law (10th Schedule)

🗓️ 1989 – 61st Amendment

🔹 Reduced voting age from 21 to 18 years

🗓️ 1991 – 69th Amendment

🔹 Created National Capital Territory of Delhi
🔹 Established Delhi Legislative Assembly

🗓️ 1992 – 73rd Amendment

🔹 Gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions

🗓️ 1992 – 74th Amendment

🔹 Gave constitutional status to Municipalities

🗓️ 2002 – 86th Amendment

🔹 Made Right to Education (Art. 21A) a Fundamental Right
🔹 Modified Article 45 and added 51A(k)

🗓️ 2016 – 101st Amendment

🔹 Introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST)
🔹 Unified indirect tax system across India

🗓️ 2019 – 103rd Amendment

🔹 Introduced 10% EWS reservation (Economically Weaker Sections)

🗓️ 2020 – 104th Amendment

🔹 Removed Anglo-Indian reserved seats in Lok Sabha & State Assemblies
🔹 Extended SC/ST seat reservation for another 10 years

🗓️ 2021 – 105th Amendment

🔹 Restored State Governments’ power to identify OBCs for reservation

📌 Summary:

Decade	Key Themes
1950s–60s	State formation, land reforms
1970s	Emergency powers, secularism, judiciary
1980s–90s	Anti-defection, decentralization
2000s	Education, child rights
2010s–20s	GST, EWS quota, reservation reforms

There have been 106 amendments to the Indian Constitution (up to 2023), with the first in 1951 and the most recent—the 106th (Women’s Reservation Bill)—in 2023. Summarizing all 106 in detail would be overwhelming here, but below is a concise overview of each amendment with a one‑line summary:

📜 Summary of All Amendments (1st to 106th)

1st (1951) – Added 9th Schedule; restricted speech; protected land-reform laws.
2nd – Adjusted representation of Delhi.
3rd – Permitted Parliament to create new states.
4–5. 4th–5th – Minor state-boundary and representation adjustments.
…
6th – Adjusted taxation and territory for Nagaland.
7th (1956) – States Reorganisation Act; abolished A/B/C categories.
…
9th (1960) – Border adjustment between Assam & West Bengal.
10–14 (1961–62) – Added new territories (Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Goa, Pondicherry) and formed Nagaland.
…
17–18 (1964–66) – Language & land reforms; Punjab & Haryana created.
21 (1967) – Added Sindhi to the Constitution.
24–26 (1971) – Affirmed amending power; reduced property rights; abolished privy purses.
33 (1974) – Resignation procedures refined.
36 (1975) – Made Sikkim a state.
38 (1975) – Emergency powers expanded.
42 (1976) – “Mini‑Constitution”: added words to Preamble, Duties, emergency/judiciary tweaks.
44 (1978) – Reversed much of the 42nd; strengthened rights/emergency safeguards.
50 (1984) – Improved armed forces service conditions.
52 (1985) – Anti-defection law (10th Schedule).
58 (1987) – Authorized Hindi authoritative translations.
61 (1989) – Voting age lowered to 18.
65 (1990) – National Commissions for SC/STs.
69 (1991) – Established National Capital Territory of Delhi.
71 (1992) – Added languages to Eighth Schedule.
73–74 (1992) – Constitutional recognition of Panchayats and Municipalities.
77 (1995) – SC/ST promotion reservation.
80–82 (2000) – Finance and backlog issues.
84 (2001) – Extended freeze on seats up to 2026.
86 (2002) – Right to Education; added child education duty.
87 (2003) – Updated delimitation law.
89 (2003) – Split SC/ST commissions.
91 (2004) – Cabinet size limit; anti-defection tweaks.
92 (2003) – More languages added.
93 (2006) – OBC reservation in educational institutions recognized.
96 (2011) – “Odia” in Eighth Schedule.
97 (2012) – Cooperative Societies given constitutional status.
99 (2014) – Established but then struck down NJAC.
100 (2015) – India-Bangladesh land boundary swap.
101 (2016) – Goods & Services Tax (GST).
102 (2018) – NCBC given constitutional status.
103 (2019) – 10% EWS reservation in jobs and education.
104 (2020) – Extended SC/ST reservation; removed Anglo-Indian seats.
105 (2021) – Returning power to states to identify OBCs.
106 (2023) – Reserved 33% of seats for women in Parliament & state assemblies.

📌 Highlights & Patterns

Early years (1951–1970s): Land reforms, state reorganisation, rights amendments.
Emergency era (1970s): 42nd and 44th shaped federal and judicial balance.
1980s–90s: Anti-defection, decentralization, language additions.
21st century: Child rights, cooperative governance, GST, OBC/EWS reservation, women’s reservation.

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Amendments in the Indian Constitution