Modul

e1

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Theconstit
utionwaspassedbyt heConst i
tuentAssemblyon
26Nov1949andi sf ul
lyappli
cablesince26Jan1950.Thankst o
thehelpofProf.K.B.Agrawal,theICL-Edit
ionoftheConstit
uti
on
nowincorporat
esal lamendment sunti
landincl
udingthe78th
amendment( 1995)[ 30Aug1995] ;therearenoneweramendment s
unti
lDec1996.Amendment safterDec1996hav enoty etbeen
i
ncluded.

I
ndi aisaf ederal
democr ati
cr epubl icof25st atesandsev en
UnionTer ri
tori
es.Eachst ateisadmi nisteredbyaGov ernor
appoint edbyt hePr esi
dentwhi leeachUni onTer rit
oryi s
admi nisteredbyt hePresidentt hroughaMi nister.Thebi cameral
parli
amenti scomposedoft heCounci lofSt ates,Raj yaSabha, and
theHouseoft hePeopl e,LokSabha.TheCounci lofSt ateswill
consistof250member soutofwhi cht hePr esidentofI ndiawill
nomi nat e12per sonshav ingspeci alknowl edgeorpr act i
cal
experiencei nrespectofl i
terature,art,scienceandsoci alservi
ce.
Ther emai ning238seat saretobef il
ledi nbyt heper sonst obe
elect
edbyt helegisl
ati
veassembl iesoft hei rr espect i
v estatesin
stagger edr e-
electi
onsofone- thirdev erysecondy ear .TheHouse
ofPeopl eiscomposedof550member s,i.e.,530member sfr
om
theSt atesand20member sfr
om t heUni onTer ri
tories.

Thest at
esofBi har
,JammuandKashmi r,Karnataka,
Mahar asht
ra,andUt t
arPradeshhavebicamerallegisl
atureswhi
l
e
theother20st ateshaveunicameral
legi
slat
ures.Upperhouses
(Legi
slati
veCounci l
s)arere-el
ect
edtoone-t
hirdoft hei
rmember s
everytwoy ears.Legi
slat
iveAssembli
esarechosenbydi rect
elect
ion.

Ther
ear
esomeex
traor
dinar
yfeat
uresoft
heI
ndi
ansy
stem
ofgovernment .Forexample,t
heConstit
uti
onencouragest
he
stat
estoi nt
roducet hepr
ohibi
ti
on.ThestatesofAndhraPr
adesh,
Manipur,andHar yanahavealr
eadybannedt hepr
oducti
on,
possession,andconsumpt i
onofalcohol
.

Commencement :
Theprov i
sionsrel
ati
ngt oCi t
izenshi
p,electi
ons,provisi
onal
Parl
i
ament ,
tempor ar
yandt ransi
tionalposit
ionswer egiven
t
h
i
mmedi at
eef f
ectonThe26 Nov .1949.Whi l
et herestofthe
th
Consti
tut
ioncamei ntofor
ceont he26 Jan.1950.Andt hisdate
i
srefer
redtointheConst i
tutionasTheDat eofi t
s
Commencement .

Def
ini
ti
onofConst
it
uti
on

The Consti
tuti
onofI ndia 
i
st hesupremel awi n 
Indi
a .
A Consti
tut
ion i
sasetofr ulesandr egul
ationsguidingthe
administ
rati
onofacount r
y.Theconst i
tuti
onofI ndi
aist he
fr
amewor kforpoli
ticalpri
ncipl
es,proceduresandpower softhe
government.Iti
salsot helongestconstit
utioninthewor ldwi
th395
art
icl
esand12schedul es.

Hi
stor
icalbackgr
ound

TheConst i
tuentAssembl ywhi chhadbeenel ectedfor
t
h
undiv
idedIndiaandhel dit
sfir
stsitt
ingon9 Dec. 1946, re-
t
h
assembledont he14 August1947, asTheSov er
eignConst i
tuent
Assembl yf
ort hedomi ni
onofIndia.Inregar
dt oit
scomposi t
ionthe
member swer eelectedbyi ndi
rectelecti
onbyt hemember sofThe
Provi
sionalLegislati
veAssembl i
es( l
owerhouseonl y )
.Accordingto
theschemesr ecommendedbyt heCabi nettheessentialsofthe
Schemeswer easf oll
ows: -

1.EachPr
ovi
nceandeachI
ndi
anSt
ateorgr
oupofSt
ateswer
e
al
lot
tedthet
otalno.ofeatspropor
ti
onalt
ot hei
rrespect
ive
popul
ati
onroughlyi
nt herat
ioof1:
1000000.Asar esul
tThe
Provi
ncesweretoelect292member swhil
etheIndianStat
es
 wer
eal
l
ott
edami
nimum of93seat
s.

2.Theseat
sineachPr
ovi
ncewer
edi
str
ibut
edamongt
het
hree
mai
ncommuni ti
es,Musl
ims,Si
khandgener
al,
inpr
opor
ti
ont
o
t
hei
rrespect
ivepopul
ati
ons.

3.Member
sofeachcommuni
tyi
nthePr
ovi
sional
Legi
sl
ati
ve
Assemblyel
ectedthei
rownrepr
esentati
vesbyt hemet
hodof
pr
oport
ionalr
epresent
ati
onswit
hsingletransf
erabl
evot
e.

4.Themet
hodofsel
ect
ioni
nthecaseofr
epr
esent
ati
vesof
I
ndi
anSt
ateswast
obedet
ermi
nedbyconsul
tat
ion.

Unfort
unatel yasar esultofaparti
ti
onundert heplanof
June3,1947.Thet err
itor
ies,whichfell
underPakistanandt hose
member swhower epartofTheConst it
uentAssembl y,ceasedto
bemember soft heConst i
tuentAssembl y
,whichre-assembledon
st
the31 Oct.1947.Themember softhehousewasr educedto299
t
h
ofthese284wasact ual
lypresentonthe26 Nov .1949and
appendedtheirsignat ur
etot heConstit
uti
onasf i
nallypassed.

Mil
estonesintheDev el
opmentofConsti
tuti
on:
1. MilestonesintheDevelopmentofConsti
tut
ion
TheRegulati
ngAct1773.TheChar t
erAct1793.TheChar
terAct
1813.ThecharterAct1833.Thechart
erAct1853.

2. Bri
ti
shParamountEndofcompanyr ul
e:
Bri
tishParamountEndofcompanyruleTheFirstwarof
i
ndependence1857.TheGov t
.of
I
ndiaAct1858.TheI ndi
anCounci
lsAct1861.Formati
onofIndi
an
NationalCongr
essin1885.
TheI ndi
anCounci
lsAct1892.Thespl
itofCongressanddemand
forswaraj(sel
f-Rule)

3. Congressi
nExtr emistphase:
Congr
essinExtr
emi stphaseTheGov t
.ofIndi
aAct1909.TheGov
t.
ofI
ndiaAct1919.Jalli
anwallahBaghtr
agedy1919.
4. Adv entofGandhij
i:
AdventofGandhijiNonCo-oper
ationMovement1920.Simon
Commi ssion1927.NehruReport1928.Ci
vi
ldi
sobedience1930.

5. Gov t
.ofIndiaAct1935BackboneofourPr esentConsti
tut
ion:
Govt.ofIndi
aAct1935BackboneofourPr esentConsti
tut
ion
Federat
ionandpr ovi
ncial
autonomy .Dy
archyatthecent
re.A
bi
camer alCentr
allegi
slat
urecreat
ed.Dist
ri
buti
onofpower s
betweencentreandpr ovi
nces.

6. Demandf oraconstituentassembly:
Demandforaconst i
tuentassemblyTheActof1935fai
l
edto
sat
isf
ytheIndianaspir
ati
ons.In1938,Pandi
tNehr
uformul
atedt
he
demandforconsti
tuentassembl y.

7. Cri
ppsMi ssi
onAccept anceofdemand:
CrippsMi ssionAccept anceofdemandCrippsmi ssi
oncamei n
1942andr ecognisedthedemandt hat.Aconsti
tuti
ontobeframed
byanel ectedconst i
tuentassembly.I
ndi
atobegi venadominion
status.Crippsproposal wererej
ect
edGandhi j
istart
edQui
tIndia
Mov ementi n1942.

8. Cabi netMi ssion1946f ormationofConst ituentassembly:

CabinetMi ssion1946f or
mat i
onofConst it
uentassembl ythe
cabinetmi ssionprovidedforanindirect
lyelectedConst i
tuent
assembl y.Theassembl yconsist
edoft otal389member s.292t o
beelectedf rom provinces.93tobenomi natedfrom pri
ncelystates.
4tobenomi natedfrom chiefcomm.Ar eas.

9. JointConstitut
ionassemblyforI
ndia&Pakistan.
:
Joi
ntConstit
utionassemblyforIndi
a&Paki st
an.Thefi
rstmeeti
ng
oftheconsembl ywasheldonDec.9, 1946.Buti
twasboy cot
tedby
Muslimleague.Musl i
mleaguedemandedasepar ateassemblyfor
Pakist
an.
10. Mount
bat
tenpl
anI
ndi
ani
ndependenceAct1947:
Mountbat
tenplanIndianindependenceAct1947.On26thJul
y
1947GovernorGeneralLordMount bat
tenannouncedt
hesett
ingup
ofasepar
ateconstit
uentAssembl yforPaki
stan.

11. Const
it
uentassembl
yofI
ndi
a:
Consti
tuentassemblyofIndi
aon14t hAugust1947t heSov
ereign
con-
sembl yforIndi
areassembl
ed.DrRaj
inderPrasadwaselected
i
tsPresident
.Sev enmemberdraft
ingcommitteeformed.Dr
.B.R.
Amdedkaract edaschairmanofdraf
ti
ngcommi tt
ee.

12. Dr
aft
ingofConst
it
uti
on.:
I
ttook2y ears,11mont hs,and18day sinfr
ami
ngt he
Constit
ution.TheConst i
tuti
onwasenact edandadoptedon26t h
November1949.Someoft heprovi
sionsr el
ati
ngtoci
tizenship,
el
ections,provisionalparl
iamentetccamei ntofor
ceont hesame
day.Remai ningpr ovi
sionscamei ntoforceon26t hJanuar y1950.

TheConst i
tut
ionofI ndiahassomedi sti
nctanduni quefeatur
esas
compar edtootherconst i
tut
ionstothewor l
d.AsDr .B.R.Ambedkar,
theChairmanoft heDr aft
ingCommi tt
eeputsi t
,theframershad
tri
edtoaccumul ateandaccommodat ethebestf eaturesofother
const
ituti
ons,keepinginv i
ewt hepecul
iarprobl
emsandneedsof
ourcountry.

Sal
ientf
eat
uresoft
heConst
it
uti
onofI
ndi
a.

Thef
oll
owi
ngar
ethesal
i
entf
eat
uresoft
heConst
it
uti
onofI
ndi
a.

1.Longestwritt
enconst it
uti
on
I
ndi
anConst it
utioncanbecalledthelargestwritt
en
consti
tut
ioninthewor l
dbecauseofi tscontent
s.Ini t
sorigi
nalf
orm,
i
tconsist
edof395Ar ti
clesand8Schedul estowhi chadditi
ons
havebeenmadet hroughsubsequentamendment s.Atpresenti
t
contai
ns395Ar ti
clesand12Schedul es,andmor et han80
amendment s.Therearev ari
ousfact
orsresponsibleforthelong
 sizeoft heconst i
tution.Onemaj orf actor swast hatthef r
amer sof
theconst i
tutionbor rowedpr ov i
si onsf orm sev eralsour cesand
severalotherconst ituti
onsoft hewor ld.
Theyhav ef ollowedandr eproducedt heGov ernmentofI ndia
Act1935i npr ovidingmat t
ersofadmi nistrati
vedetail.Secondl y,it
wasnecessar yt omakepr ov i
sionsf orpecul iarproblemsofI ndia
l
ikeschedul edcast es, ScheduledTr ibesandbackwar dr egions.
Thirdl
y,prov i
sionswer emadef orel abor at ecentre-
stat erelati
onsi n
allaspectsoft heiradmi nistrat
iv eandot heractivi
ti
es.Four t
hly,the
sizeoft heconst i
tutionbecamebul ky,aspr ovi
sionsr egar di
ngt he
stateadmi nistrationwer eal soi ncluded.Fur ther,adet aill
istof
i
ndi vi
dual r
ight s,directi
vepr i
ncipl esofst atepolicyandt hedet ail
s
ofadmi nistrationpr ocedur ewer elaiddownt omaket he
Const i
tuti
oncl earandunambi guousf ort heordinaryci t
izen.Thus,
theConst it
ut i
onofI ndiabecameanex haust i
veandl engt hyone.

(2)Par t
lyRigidandPar tlyFl exible
TheConst it
utionofI ndiaisnei therpurelyrigi
dnorpur ely
fl
exible.Therei sahar moni ousbl endofr i
gidityandflexibil
it
y .Some
partsoft heConst itutioncanbeamendedbyt heordinarylaw
maki ngpr ocessbyPar li
ament .Cer tainprovisionscanbeamended,
onlywhenaBi l
l f
ort hatpur posei spassedi neachhouseof
Parli
amentbyamaj orit
yoft het otal member shi pofthathouseand.
byamaj orit
yofnotl esst hant wo- thirdofthemember soft hat
housepr esentandv ot i
ng.Thent herear ecertainotherpr ovisions
whichcanbeamendedbyt hesecondmet hoddescr ibedabov eand
areratifi
edbyt hel egi sl
aturesofnotl essthanone- halfofthest ates
beforebei ngpr esent edtot hePr esidentf orhisassent .I
tmustal so
benot edt hatthepowert oi niti
atebi llsforamendmentl iesi n
Parli
amental one,andnoti nt hest atel egi
slatures.

3)ADemocr
ati
cRepubl
ic
I
ndiaisademocrati
crepublic.I
tmeanst hatsov ereignt
yr ests
withthepeopleofIndi
a.Theygov ernthemsel
v esthrought heir
represent
ativ
eselect
edont hebasisofuniver
sal adultfranchise.
ThePr esi
dentofIndi
a,t
hehi ghestoff
ici
aloft
hest at
eisel ect
edf or
afixedterm.Alt
hough,I
ndiaisasov erei
gnrepublic,yetitcontinues
 tobeamemberoft heCommonwealthofNationswi ththeBrit
ish
Monarchasit
shead.Hermembershi
poft heCommonweal t
hdoes
notcompromiseherposi
ti
onasasover
eignrepublic.The
commonwealthisanassoci
ati
onoff
reeandindependentnat ions.
TheBrit
ishMonarchi
sonlyasymbol
icheadoft hatassociati
on.

4)Par
li
ament
arySy
stem ofGov
ernment
Indiahasadopt edthePar li
ament arysy stem asf oundi n
Bri
tain.I nthissystem, t
heexecut iveisr esponsi bl
et ot he
l
egislatur e,andremai nsinpoweronl yasl ongandi tenj oyst he
confidenceoft hel egisl
atur
e.Thepr esi dentofI ndia,whor emai ns
i
nof ficef orfiv
ey ear sisthenomi nal
,t i
tularorconst i
tut i
onal head.
TheUni onCounci lofMi ni
sterswi ththePr i
meMi nist
erasi tshead
i
sdr awnf rom thel egisl
ature.Itiscollectivelyresponsi bletot he
HouseofPeopl e( LokSabha) ,
andhast or esignassoonasi tloses
theconf i
denceoft hathouse.ThePr esi dent ,t
henomi nal execut i
ve
shallex ercisehispower saccor dingtot headv iceoft heUni on
Counci lofMi nisters,therealexecut i
ve.I nt hest atesal so, the
governmenti sPar liamentaryinnat ure.

5)AFeder
ati
on
Art
icle1oft heConst i
tutionofI ndiasay s:-"India,whichi s
Bharatshal lbeaUni onofSt ates."Thought hewor d'Federation'i
s
notused, t hegov ernmenti sf ederal.Ast ateisf ederal when( a)
therearet woset sofgov ernment sandt hereisdi stri
buti
onof
power sbet weent hetwo, (b)thereisawr i
ttenconst i
tuti
on,whi chi
s
thesupr emel awoft helandand( c)t hereisani ndependent
j
udiciarytoi nt
erprettheconst i
tuti
onandset t
ledi sputesbet ween
thecent reandt hestates.Al lthesef eaturesarepr esentinIndia.
Therear et woset sofgov ernment ,oneatt hecent r
e, t
heot herat
statelevel andt hedistri
but i
onofpower sbet weent hem isqui t
e
detail
edi nourConst itut
ion.TheConst it
utionofI ndiai swritt
enand
thesupr emel awoft heland.Att heapexofsi ngl eintegrated
j
udicialsy stem, standstheSupr emeCour twhichi sindependent
from thecont roloftheexecut i
veandt helegislature.

6)Fundament
alRi
ght
s
 "
Ast ateisknownbyt her i
ght si
tmai ntains",remar kedPr of.
H. J.Laski.Theconst i
tutionofIndi aaf
firmst hebasi cprinci
plet hat
ev eryindi
v i
dualisent i
tledt oenjoycertainbasi cright sandpar tIII
oft heConst it
utiondeal swi ththoser i
ghtswhi char eknownas
fundament alri
ghts.Or iginall
ytherewer esev encat egor iesofrights,
butnowt heyar esixi nnumber .Theyare( i)Rightt oequal it
y,(i
i)
Rightt ofreedom, (
ii
i)Rightagai nstexploit
at i
on, (
iv)Ri ghtto
freedom ofRel igion,v)Cul turalandEducat ional r
ight sandv i)Right
toconst it
utional r
emedi es.Righttoproper ty(Arti
cle-31)or i
ginallya
fundament alri
ghthasbeenomi ttedbythe44t hAmendmentAct .
1978.I tisnowal egal ri
ght .

7)Di
rect
ivePr
inci
plesofSt
atePol
icy
ANov el f
eat ureoft heConst it
utionist hatitcont ai
nsachapt erin
theDirectivePr i
nciplesofSt atePol i
cy .Thesepr i
nci
plesareinthe
natureofdi recti
vest ot hegov ernmentt oimpl ementt hem for
establi
shingsoci alandeconomi cdemocr acyi nthecount r
y.
I
tembodi esi mpor t
antpr incipleslikeadequat emeanst oli
vel
ihood,
equalpayf orbot hmenandwomen, distri
butionofweal thsoast o
subservet hecommongood, f
reeandcompul soryprimary
education,righttowor k,publ i
cassi stancei ncaseofol dage,
unempl oyment ,sicknessanddi sablement ,
theor ganisati
onof
vil
l
agePanchay ats,special caret otheeconomi call
ybackwar d
secti
onsoft hepeopl eet c.Mostoft hesepr incipl
escoul dhelpin
makingI ndiawel farest ate.Thoughnotj usti
ciable.Thesepr i
ncipl
es
havebeenst ateda; "fundament alint hegov ernanceoft hecount r
y".

8)Fundament
alDut
ies
A Newpar tIV(A)af t
ertheDirectivePrinciplesofSt atePolicy
wasincorporat
edi ntheconsti
tutionbyt he42ndAmendment ,1976
forf
undament sduties.Thesedutiesar e:
)T
i oabidebyt heConst i
tut
ionandr especti t
si dealsand
i
nsti
tuti
ons,theNat i
onalFlagandt heNat ional Anthem;
i
i) Tocher i
shandf oll
owt henobl eideal
s, whi chinspired
ournati
onalstruggleforfr
eedom; i
ii
)Touphol dandpr otect
 thesov ereignty,unityandi ntegr ityofI ndia;i
v )Todef end
thecount ryandr endernat ional ser v
icewhencal ledupont o
doso;
)t
v opr omot ehar monyandt hespi r
itofcommonbr otherhood
amongstal lthepeopl eofI ndi at ranscendi ngr eli
gious,li
ngui sti
c,
regional orsect i
onal diversities, torenouncepr acti
cesder ogat ory
tothedi gnityofwoman;
v
i)toval ueandpr eservet her ichher it
ageofourcomposi t
ecul ture;
v
ii
)topr otectandi mpr ov ethenat uralenv ir
onment sincludingf orests,
l
akes, r
iver sandwi l
dl i
feandt ohav ecompassi onf orli
ving
creatures;
v
ii
i) todev elopsci entif
ict emper ,humani sm andt hespi r
itofi nquir
y
andr efor m; ix)tosaf eguar dpubl icpr oper t
yandt oabjurev iolence;
x)tost rivet owar dsexcel lencei nal lspher esofi ndivi
dual and
coll
ect i
v eact ivi
tysot hatt henat i
onconst antlyr i
sest ohigherl evels
ofEndeav ourandachi ev ement .
Thepur poseofi ncorpor atingt hesedut i
esi nt heConst it
utioni sjust
toremi ndt hepeopl et hatwhi leenj oy i
ngt heirr i
ghtasci ti
zens,
shoul dal soper formt hei rdut iesf orrightsanddut i
esar ecor rel
ative.

9)Secul
arSt
ate
Asecul arstatei sneitherreli
giousnori r
reli
gious, orant i
-
rel
igious.Rat heritisqui t
eneut ralinmat t
er sofr eli
gion.Indiabeing
alandofmanyr eligions, t
hef oundingfather soft heConst ituti
on
thoughtitpropert omakei tasecul arstate.Indiaisasecul arstate,
becausei tmakesnodi scri
minat i
onbet weeni ndiv i
dualsont he
basisofr el
igion.Nei theritencour agesnordi scour agesanyr eli
gion.
Ont hecont rary,ri
ghtt of r
eedom ofr el
i
gioni sensur edi nthe
Const i
tuti
onandpeopl ebel ongingt oanyr eli
giousgr ouphav ethe
ri
ghtt oprofess, practiceorpr opagat eanyr eli
giont heylike.

AnI
10) ndependentJudi
ciar
y
Thejudi
ciar
yoccupiesani mport
antpl aceinourConst i
tuti
on
anditi
salsomadei ndependentofthelegislat
ureandt heexecutiv
e.
TheSupremeCour tofIndiast
andsatt heapexofsingleintegrated
j
udici
alsyst
em.Itactsaspr ot
ectoroffundament al
rightsofIndian
ci
ti
zensandguar di
anoft heConsti
tut
ion.Ifanylawpassedbyt he
 l
egislatureoracti
ontakenbyt heexecuti
vecontr
av enesthe
provi
si onsoftheConstit
uti
on,theycanbedeclaredasnul l
andv oi
d
bytheSupr emeCour t.Thus,i
thasthepowerofjudi ci
alr
eview.But
j
udicial r
evi
ewi nI
ndiaconsti
tutesami ddl
epathbet weenthe
Amer icanjudi
cial
supremacyinonehandandBr i
tishParli
amentary
supremacyi ntheother.

Si
11) ngl
eCi
ti
zenshi
p
TheConsti
tuti
onofI ndi
arecogni
sesonl ysinglecit
izenship.I
n
theUnitedStat
es,thereisprovi
si
onofdual citi
zenship.I
nI ndia,we
areciti
zensofIndi
aonl y
,notoftherespect
ivest atestowhi chwe
belong.Thispr
ov i
sionwouldhelpinpromotinguni tyandintegri
ty
ofthenation.

Pr
eambl
eoft
heconst
it
uti
on

WE,THEPEOPLEOFI NDIA,havingsolemnlyr
esol
vedt
oconst
it
ute
I
ndiaint
o a SOVEREI GN SOCI ALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLI
Candtosecuretoall
itscit
izens:

JUSTI
CE,
soci
al,
economi
candpol
i
tical
;

LI
BERTYoft
hought
,expr
essi
on,
bel
i
ef,
fai
thandwor
shi
p;

EQUALITYofstatusandof
oppor
tunity
;andtopromot
e
amongt hem al
l
FRATERNI
TYassuri
ngthedi
gni
tyoft
hei
ndi
vi
dualandt
heuni
tyand
i
ntegr
it
yoftheNat
ion;

I
N OUR CONSTI TUENT ASSEMBLY thi
st went
y-si
xth day of
November,1949,do HEREBY ADOPT,ENACT AND GI VE TO
OURSELVESTHISCONSTITUTI
ON.
 Uni
onandi
tst
err
it
ory

Part1oft heConsti
tuti
oncompr i
singofArt
icl
es1to4,prov
idesa
sel
f-contai
nedmechanism foreff
ecti
ngchangesint
heconst
it
uti
on
ofstatesoruni
onterri
tor
iesoftheUnionofI
ndia.

Article1oft heConst it
utiondecl arest hatthesov erei
gndemocr atic
Republ icofI ndia‘shallbet heUni onofSt ates’
.Thechoi cef ora
strongf eder ati
onwi thast r
ongCent r
ewasmadebot hf orpoliti
cal
andadmi nistrativereasonsal thought hemov et
odescr ibe
the Const itut i
on as f ederalf ail
ed.The Const it
uentAssembl y
accept edt hev iew oftheDr af ti
ngCommi t
teethatdescr ibingthe
UnionasFeder ati
onwasnotnecessar y .
[1]
 TheDr aft
ingcommi tt
ee
hadapur posei nchoosi ngt hewor d‘ Union’,i
npr eferencet othe
“Feder at
ion”.Theywer eoft hev i
ew t hatthewor d“Uni on”bet ter
expr essest hef actthattheUni onofI ndiai snottheout comeofan
agreementamongt heol dprov inceswi tht heresultt hati tisnot
opent oanySt ateoragr oupofSt atest osecedef rom t heUni onor
tov arytheboundar yoft heirStatesont heirownf reewi l
l.

Arti
cle.1:I
ndia–auni onofstates,i
tst
err
itory
UnionandI t
sTerritor
y( Ar
ti
cle1–4)
Arti
cles1t o4underPar tIoft heConsti
tuti
onexpl
ainstheUnion
andi t
sTerri
tor
y.
Arti
cle1:
Arti
cle1(1)statest hatIndia,thati
sBhar at
,shal
lbeaUni onof
States.
Arti
cle 1(
2)st ates thatt he Stat
es and the t
err
it
ori
es wil
lbe
specifi
edintheFirstSchedule.

Ar t
icl
e 1(3)st ates thatt
he terr
it
oryofI ndi
a willcompri
se t
he
foll
owing−
i. Theterr
itor
iesoft heStat
es;
i
i. TheUnionter ri
tori
esmentionedintheFir
stSchedule;
and
i
i
i. Suchothert erri
tori
esasmaybeacqui red.
Arti
cle-1descr ibesI ndiaasa‘ UnionofSt ates’.Dr .B.R.Ambedkar
saidt hatt he Indian federati
on was a “ Union”because i twas
i
ndissolubl e,andnoSt atehadar i
ghtt osepar at efrom t heIndian
Union.The count ryi sone i ntegraluni tbesi de t he factt hati t
consistsofdi ff
er entstatesfortheconv enienceofadmi nistr
ation.
Thephr ases’Uni on ofI ndia’and ‘ Terri
toryofI ndia’hast o be
dif
ferentiated.TheUni onofI ndiai ncludesonl yt heSt atesenjoy i
ng
theSt at
usofbei ngmember soft hef eder alsyst em andshar i
ngt he
power swi ththeUni on.
Theter r
itoryofI ndiaincludesnotonl yt heSt atesbutal sotheUni on
Terri
tori
esandsuchot herterri
toriesasmaybeacqui redbyI ndiain
fut
ure.Fi rstSchedul eoftheConst ituti
onhasspeci fi
edst atesand
theTer r
itoriesbot h.

Art
icl
e–2:
I
tdealswi
thadmissi
onorest
abl
i
shmentofnewStat
es.Par
li
ament
maybylawadmitint
otheUni
on,orest
abl
i
sh,newSt
atesbasedon
t
ermsandcondi
ti
ons.

Arti
cle-3:
Itstatest hatt hePar l
iamentmaybyl aw form anew St ateby
separat i
onofat err
it
oryf rom anySt ateorbyuni ti
ngt woormor e
Statescompl et elyorinpar t
sorbyuni t i
nganyt erri
torytoapar tof
anySt ate.I tdeal swi t
ht hef ollowing:
 For mat i
onofnewSt ates
 Al terationofar easofSt ates
 Boundar iesornamesofexi stingStates
ThusPar l
iamentcani ncr easeordi mi nishthear eaofanySt ateor
canal tert heboundar i
esornamesofanySt ate.Par l
iamentfollows
thefollowi ngpr oceduresi nt hisregar d.
Step-1: Ei ther House of t he Par li
ament , onl y on t he
recommendat ionoft hePr esident,cani ntr
oduceaBi llgi
vi
ngef fect
toanyoral lthechangesst atedabov e.
Step-2:I fsuchabi l
laff
ect st heboundar yornameofaSt at
e,then
thePr esi dentwi llref
ert heBi llt
ot heconcer nedSt ateLegislature
beforei ntroduci ngi ti
nt hePar li
amentf ortheiropi ni
on.
Step- 3:I
ftheStateLegisl
aturefai
l
st oexpr
essanopinionwithi
nthe
gi
v ent imelimitthenitisdeemedt hatithasexpresseditsvi
ews.
Parliamenti snotboundt oacceptoractupont hev i
ewsoft he
StateLegi sl
atureevenifStatehassubmi t
tedt
heirviewswithi
nthe
ti
meper iod.
I
nt hecaseofUni onTerri
tori
es,itisnotnecessarytoseekt he
vi
ewsofLegi slatur
esofUnionTer r
it
ori
esbefor
esuchBi l
l.

Arti
cle-
4:
Itsayst hatanyl aw r eferredtoinArticl
e-2orAr ti
cle-
3wi l
lcontai
n
suchpr ovisionsf ort heamendmentoft heIst 
ScheduleandtheI Vt
h
Schedulenecessar yt opr ovi
deef f
ectstot heprovisi
onsoflawand
mayal socont ainsuchsuppl emental
,incidental
,andconsequent i
al
provi
sions, ast hePar l
iamentmaydeem necessar y
.
ThisArticl
eal lowsf orconsequent i
alchangesi ntheIstSchedulei.
e.
namesoft heSt atesi ntheUni onofI ndi
aandI Vth 
Schedulei.
e.a
numberofseat s al l
otted int he Rajya Sabha f oreach state.
Constit
ut i
onwi llnott r
eatanysuchl aw alter
ingex i
sti
ngStatesor
creat
inganewSt ate,astheamendment .

Ci
ti
zenshi
p

ThePar t -
IIoft heConst ituti
onf r
om Ar ticl
e5t o11dealswi t
h
cit
izenship.Inast at
eoft hecountry
,t hepopul at
ionisdivi
ded
i
ntoCi tizens,Al iensandSt atel
essPer sons.Let’
sunder st
and
theseter msonebyone.
Citi
zens
Citi
zens ar et he f ullmember s oft he State.Theyowe an
all
egiancet oit.Ev erycit
izenenjoysfullcivi
landpol i
ti
cal
right
s.
Ali
ens
Ali
ensar et heci t
izensofsomeot herst ates.Theyar enot
enti
tledt oal lconst i
tut
ionalandot herr i
ghts.Alienscanbe
furt
hercl assif
iedi ntotwocat egori
es.
 F ri
endlyAl iens
 E nemyAl i
ens
 Friendl
yAl iens
Friendl
yAl i
enshav et her i
ghtt olifeandper sonall i
berty.They ,
howev er,donotenj oyt hef reedomsenumer atedi nAr t19.
EnemyAl iens
EnemyAl iensar et hepeopl ewhosecount ryisatwarwi t
hI ndia.
Italsoincl udest heI ndi anCi tizenswhov olunt aril
yr esidei nor
tradewithsuchaSt at e.Thesepeopl esuf f
erspeci aldisabi l
it
ies.
Theyar enotev enent itl
edt ot hebenef i
tsofAr t22.
RightsandAdv ant agesofCi t
izens
Let ’
stakeal ookatsomeoft her ightandadv ant agest hatare
enjoyedbyt hecitizensbutdeni edt ot heal i
ens.
 Art
icles15, 16, 19, 29and30ar edeni edt oal i
ens.
 Somehi gherof ficeslikePr esident ,Vice-Pr esident,Judges
ofSC and HCs,At torney Gener al,Gov er norofSt ate,
Advocat eGener aletc.ar enotent itl
edt ot heal iens.
 The r ightofsuf frage f orel ecti
on t o Lok Sabha and
Legislati
veAssembl yandr i
ghtt obecomeaMemberof
Parli
amentandoft heLegi slatureofaSt at ear econf ined
onlytoCi t
izens.

Typesofci ti
zenship
StatelessPersons
Statel
ess Per sons are nott he citizens ofany count r
y .Their
cit
izenshipisnotr ecognisedbyanyst ate.Theygetonl yt hose
ri
ghtswhi chaliensget.Itisasmal lcategoryandmi ghtnotexistin
somecount ri
es.Forexampl e,inSr iLankaanumberofTami li
ans
aretreatedasst at
elessper sons.
NatureofCi ti
zenship
SingleCiti
zenshipandnosepar ateci ti
zenshipforstates,t
hereby ,
at
thecommencementoft heConst i
tutionev erypersondomi cil
edi n
theterrit
oryofIndi
a, bor
ni nthet er
ritoryofIndia,orwhohasbeena
resi
dentofI ndiafornotl essthan5y earsimmedi atelypreceding
thecommencementoft heConst it
ution( 26thJan1950)i saci ti
zen
ofIndia.
IndianCi ti
zenshi p
Thosebehi ndt hef r
amewor koft he 
IndianConst i
tuti
on didnotl ay
downacompr ehensi velawwi thr egardstot hecit
izenshipinI ndia.
Thef ramer shav esi mplydescr ibedt hecl assesofper sonswho
woul dbedeemedt obet heci t
izensofI ndiaatt hecommencement
oft heConst itut i
onon26t hJanuar y1950( Art
icl
e5)andl ef
tt he
enti
r eissuest obedeal tbyl aw(s)madebyt hePar l
iament .
Acqui siti
onOfI ndianCi t
izenship
TheCi ti
zenshi pActof1955pr ov i
desf ort heacqui si
ti
onofI ndian
Citi
z enshipaf tert hecommencementoft heConst i
tuti
oni nf i
ve
way s. Therefor e,ifaper sonf all
sunderanyoft hebel ow-l
isted
categor i
es, heorshewi llbet heIndiancitizen.
 Birth
 Descent
 Regi stration
 Nat ural i
sation
 Incor porat i
onoft errit
ory

Terminat i
onofci ti
zenshi p
(1)Any ci tizen ofI ndia who by nat ural
izati
on,r egistr
at i
on or
otherwisev ol
untarilyacqui res,orhasatanyt i
mebet weent he26th
Januar y
,1950 and t he commencementoft his Actv oluntar
il
y
acquired,the ci t
izenshi p ofanot hercount ry shall,upon such
acquisit
ionor ,asthecasemaybe,suchcommencement ,ceaset o
beaci ti
zenofI ndia:
PROVI DEDt hatnot hingi nthissub-sectionshallappl
yt oaci ti
zenof
India who,dur i
ng any wari n which India may be engaged,
voluntari
lyacqui r
est heci tizenshi
pofanot hercount ry,unt i
lthe
CentralGov er
nmentot herwisedirects.
(2)Ifanyquest i
onar i
sesast owhet her,whenorhow anyper son
has acqui red the ci tizenship ofanot hercount ry,i tshal lbe
determinedbysuchaut hori
ty,insuchmanner ,andhav ingr egardto
suchr ul
esofev i
dence, asmaybepr escr i
bedinthisbehal f.