Our Constitution is 75 years old. We adopted it on the “26th day of November” in 1949, with India solemnly pledging its allegiance to the document. Our Parliament thought of debating the seminal text during the winter session to mark the occasion. The idea elicited a rare unified response from the treasury and opposition benches. However, the book eventually took a backseat as politicians bent over history books, scouring for fallibility to score points over their rivals. Hardly any value emerged from the debates; there was little introspection on the constitutional provisions and the road ahead. Instead, the two sides engaged in a circuitous war of words merely to steer their respective agendas.The brilliance of Indian Constitution perhaps lies in its awareness of its limitations. The makers of this mammoth body of work recognised their inability to conceive the interminable possibilities that the future held. Thus, they empowered the text by making it mutable, one that could adapt according to the needs of the time, as long as its founding principles remained firm and unchanged.In its 75-year journey, the Constitution has seen 106 amendments, all intended to broaden its scope and applicability. While these amendments have been crucial in addressing the changing dimensions of Indian polity, they also fostered the agendas of the ruling party of the day.And yet, when our elected representatives waged the ‘holier than thou’ war on the floor of Parliament, the ghost of Dr BR Ambedkar returned to haunt them. Neither the treasury nor the opposition benches could fully spit or swallow the tenets founded by Baba Saheb.Having served no purpose, the sound and fury of the fracas eventually fizzled out. The politicos still swore by the book and pledged greater faith to it than their rivals though they forewent discussing the Constitution. And Baba Saheb won.First Amendment Act, 1951 Empowered the state to create special provisions for the advancement of socially and economically backward classes Ensured the protection of laws related to the acquisition of estates and similar matters Introduced the Ninth Schedule to shield land reform laws and other included legislation from judicial reviewAdded Articles 31A and 31B after Article 31Imposed three additional grounds for restricting freedom of speech and expression: public order, friendly relations with foreign states, and incitement to an offence2nd Amendment Act, 1952The scale of representation in the Lok Sabha was readjusted stating that 1 member can represent even more than 7.5 lakh people7th Amendment Act, 1956 The provision of having a common High Court for two or more states was introduced Abolition of Class A, B, C and D states — 14 States & 6 Union Territories were formed Introduction of UTs9th Amendment Act, 1960Adjustments to Indian Territory as a result of an agreement with Pakistan (Indo-Pak Agreement 1958):Cession of Indian territory of Berubari Union (West Bengal) to Pakistan10th Amendment Act, 1961Dadra, Nagar, and Haveli incorporated in the Union of Indian as a Union Territory12th Amendment Act, 1962Goa, Daman and Diu incorporated in the Indian Union as a Union Territory13th Amendment Act, 1962Nagaland was formed with special status under Article 371A14th Amendment Act, 1962 Pondicherry incorporated into the Indian Union Union Territories of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu and Puducherry were provided the legislature and council of ministers19th Amendment Act, 1966System of Election Tribunals was abolished and High Courts were given the power to hear the election petitions21st Amendment Act, 1967Sindhi language was included into 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution24th Amendment Act, 1971The President’s assent to Constitutional Amendment Bill was made compulsory25th Amendment Act, 1971Fundamental Right to Property was curtailed31st Amendment Act, 1972Lok Sabha seats were increased from 525 to 54535th Amendment Act, 1974The status of Sikkim as protectorate state was terminated and Sikkim was given the status of ‘Associate State’ of India36th Amendment Act, 1975Sikkim was made a full-fledged state of India 40th Amendment Act, 1976Parliament was empowered to specify from time to time the limits of the territorial waters, the continental shelf, the exclusive economic zone and maritime zones of India42nd Amendment Act, 1976 It is one of the most important amendments to the Indian Constitution. It was enacted by the Indian National Congress headed by Indira Gandhi then. Due to the large number of amendments this act has brought to the Indian Constitution, it is also known as ‘Mini-Constitution.’The 42nd amendment attempted to alter the basic structure of the indian constitution.For preambleFor the words ‘Sovereign Democratic Republic’, the words ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’ was substitutedFor the words ‘unity of the Nation’, the words ‘unity and integrity of the Nation’ was substituted7th Schedule: Transferred 5 Topics From State To Concurrent ListEducation ForestsWeights & MeasuresProtection of WildAnimals and BirdsAdministration of JusticeArticle 51a : 10 Fundamental Duties Added For The CitizensParliament1. Made President bound to the advice of the cabinet2. Allowed Centre to deploy central forces in State to deal with the conflicting situations of law and order (Article 257A)3. Gave special discretionary powers to the speaker of the Lok Sabha and Prime Minister (Article 329A)4. Directive Principles were given precedence over Fundamental Rights and any law made to this effect by the Parliament was kept beyond the scope of judicial review by the Court52nd Amendment Act, 1985 Anti-defection law The 10th Schedule popularly referred to as the ‘Anti-Defection Law’ was inserted; ‘Defection’ has been defined as, “To abandon a position or association, often to join an opposing group” 61st Amendment Act, 1989Voting age was decreased from 21 to 18 for both Lok Sabha and Assemblies polls65th Amendment Act, 1990National Commission for SC/ST was formed and the office of a special officer for SCs/STs was removed 69th Amendment Act, 1991 Union Territory of Delhi was given the special status of ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi’; 70-member legislative assembly and a 7-member council of ministers were formed71st Amendment Act, 1992Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali languages included in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution. Total official languages: 1873rd Amendment Act, 1992Panchayati Raj institutions were given constitutional status 86th Amendment Act, 2002Elementary education was made a fundamental right; Free and compulsory education to kids between 6 and 14 years88th Amendment Act, 2003Provision of Service Tax was made under Article 268-A; Service tax levied by Union and collected and appropriated by the Union and the states92nd Amendment Act, 2003Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Maithili and Santhali added in 8th schedule95th Amendment Act, 2009Extended the reservation of seats for the SCs/STs and special representation for Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies for a further period of 10 years i.e., up to 2020 (Article 334)97th Amendment Act, 2011Co-operative Societies were granted constitutional status100th Amendment Act, 2015 To pursue land boundary agreement 1974 between India and Bangladesh, exchange of some enclave territories with Bangladesh mentioned Provisions relating to the territories of Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya in the first schedule amended 101st Amendment Act, 2016Goods and Service Tax (GST) introduced 102nd Amendment Act, 2018Constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes103rd Amendment Act, 2019A maximum of 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections of citizens of classes other than classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5) of Article 15, i.e. Classes other than socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or the SCs/STs104th Amendment Act, 2020Extended deadline for the cessation of seats for SCs/STs in the Lok Sabha and assemblies from 70 years to 80. Removed the reserved seats for the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha & assemblies105th Amendment Act, 2021Restored state governments’ power to prepare Socially & Educationally Backward Classes list106th Amendment Act, 2023This was the women’s reservation bill which reserves one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of DelhiThe changes Restored original tenure of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies to five years Any changes in the basic structure of the Constitution can be made only if they are approved by the people by a majority of votes at a referendum in which at least 51% of the electorate participated. Article 368 was amended to ensure this Reversed the provision made by the 42nd amendment act that allowed the government to amend the Constitution on its wish by Article 368. 44th Amendment Act nullified this power to the government Right to Property was removed from fundamental rights (Article 31) and was made a legal right under Article 300A Replaced the term ‘internal disturbance’ with ‘armed rebellion’ in provisions concerning a national emergency Proclamation of Emergency can be issued only when the security or any part of its territory is threatened by war or external aggression or by armed rebellion An emergency can be proclaimed only on the basis of written advice tendered to the President or by the Cabinet Right of the media to report freely and without censorship the proceedings in Parliament and the State Legislatures Removed provisions that denied courts the authority to adjudicate election disputes involving the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, and Speaker of the Lok SabhaColonial Vs Desi‘For things going wrong, don’t blame British’NEW DELHI: The Constitution borrows from the Government of India Act of 1935, but it differs from it substantially, too. If India inherited rule of law and due process doctrines from the British, remember that fundamental rights, accountable government, popular sovereignty and democracy are indigenous without colonial credentials.The biggest argument to counter the colonial continuity component is this: parties of all hues that fought for ridding India of the colonials briefly contested provincial polls and formed governments and passed laws while being part of the colonial state.Were the laws they passed colonial? These governments passed legislation when Indian citizens and their leaders were subject to the British colonial Constitution. They led a freedom movement against the colonials while working under the latter’s colonial framework.Yes, there is substantial colonial continuity. The civil service and police which were tools of colonial control did survive, and thrive, in post-colonial period. For, law and order, administration and governance, and their institutions are mandatory whether a colonial or a post-colonial is in power.Father of the Constitution BR Ambedkar had the word so many years ago: “By independence, we have lost the excuse of blaming the British for anything going wrong. If hereafter things go wrong, we will have nobody to blame except ourselves.”‘Time to remove colonial mindset in letter & spirit’NEW DELHI: The second of the ‘panch paraan’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked of on August 15, 2022 referred to discarding the colonial mindset in law and spirit.Conservatives have always argued the Constitution is a colonial document because it copied much from the Government of India Act, 1935. Some said a colonial mindset made the Constitution a prescriptive document, assuming, like the British, that Indians cannot govern themselves and need to be governed.In later years, when the BJP came to power, the Constitution underwent changes to meet its objectives by following the parliamentary process. The Constitution was amended to get rid of Article 370 in Kashmir. Havelock Island is now called Swaraj Dweep. Triple Talaq was declared unconstitutional.Simultaneously, the BJP undertook exercises to erase the colonial mindset. It Indianised names of institutions, roads, buildings, official procedures, even islands, to relieve them of colonial nomenclature. Raj Path became Kartavya Path. Subhas Chandra Bose replaced King George V at India Gate. The Navy got a new ensign. Three British-period criminal laws got Hindi names.Swarajya magazine has the last word: “One problem with the Indian Constitution is that it was entirely conceived and written in a foreign language, English, which means its interpretation will also be alien to our culture even if our courts are Indian.”
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