Major Amendments
Constitution Special · प्रमुख संशोधन · 18 facts
The 1st Constitutional Amendment (1951) added the 9th Schedule to protect land reform laws from judicial review and allowed restrictions on freedom of speech.
The 7th Amendment (1956) reorganized states on linguistic basis following the States Reorganisation Act, abolishing Part A, B, C, D classification.
The 24th Amendment (1971) affirmed Parliament's power to amend any part of the Constitution including Fundamental Rights.
The 25th Amendment (1971) restricted the Right to Property and placed property acquisition laws in the 9th Schedule for protection.
The 42nd Amendment (1976) is called the 'Mini Constitution' — it added the words 'Socialist', 'Secular', and 'Integrity' to the Preamble.
The 42nd Amendment also added Fundamental Duties (Part IV-A, Article 51-A) and shifted several subjects from State List to Concurrent List.
The 44th Amendment (1978) removed the Right to Property from Fundamental Rights and made it a constitutional right under Article 300A.
The 52nd Amendment (1985) added the 10th Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) to prevent elected members from switching parties after election.
The 61st Amendment (1988) lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years for elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies respectively.
The 86th Amendment (2002) inserted Article 21A, making free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14 a Fundamental Right.
The 92nd Amendment (2003) added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali to the 8th Schedule, taking the total official languages to 22.
The 101st Amendment (2016) introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST), replacing multiple indirect taxes with a unified tax system.
The 103rd Amendment (2019) provided 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in education and public employment.
The amendment process under Article 368 requires a special majority (2/3 of members present + more than 50% total membership) of both Houses of Parliament.
Some constitutional amendments also require ratification by at least half of the State Legislatures — these include amendments to federal provisions.
The 99th Amendment (2014) established the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) to replace the collegium system, but the Supreme Court struck it down in 2015.
The 26th Amendment (1971) abolished privy purses and privileges of former rulers of princely states.