Major Amendments of the Indian Constitution: Complete Guide from 1st Amendment (1951) to 106th Amendment (2023)

This guide is for general education and exam preparation, not legal advice. Check the India Code and Parliament’s websites for official texts.

When India’s Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950, its framers deliberately made it neither too rigid nor too flexible. Seventy-six years later, it has been amended 106 times, and each amendment tells a story: a land-reform battle, a wartime Emergency, a push to give villages their own governments, a new national tax, a promise to women. Some changes reshaped the country’s map. Others rewrote the balance between Parliament and the courts, and one was struck down for threatening judicial independence.

This guide walks through the major amendments in order, explains how the amendment process works, and covers the 2024–2026 bills that are still shaping debate. That includes the April 2026 defeat of the 131st Amendment Bill, a development older guides do not mention.

Indian Constitutional Amendments at a Glance

A note on numbering: An amendment gets its number only after it becomes law. A bill’s number can be much higher than its eventual Act number, because many bills never pass. For example, the 106th Amendment Act of 2023 was introduced as the 128th Amendment Bill. That is why bills numbered 129, 130 and 131 exist while the Act count remains 106.

How the Constitution Is Amended

Article 368 gives Parliament the power to amend the Constitution. There are three routes.

1. Simple Majority (Outside Article 368)

Certain provisions can be changed by an ordinary law passed by a simple majority of members present and voting. These are not treated as amendments under Article 368. Examples include the admission or creation of new states, changes to state boundaries and names, and the creation or abolition of legislative councils in states.

2. Special Majority

Most amendments, including those affecting fundamental rights and directive principles, need two things in each House of Parliament:

• a majority of the total membership of the House, and
• a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.

3. Special Majority Plus Ratification by States

Amendments that touch the federal structure also need approval from at least half of the state legislatures. These cover matters such as the election of the President, the distribution of powers between the Union and the states, representation of states in Parliament, the Supreme Court and High Courts, and Article 368 itself. The GST amendment (101st) is a well-known example.

The Basic Structure Doctrine

Parliament’s power to amend is wide, but not unlimited. In Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), the Supreme Court held that Parliament cannot alter the “basic structure” of the Constitution. Later cases such as Minerva Mills (1980) and I.R. Coelho (2007) applied and extended the principle. Courts have struck down parts of several amendments, and one entire amendment, on these grounds.

The Early Years: 1950s and 1960s

1st Amendment (1951): Land Reform and Limits on Speech

Enacted in June 1951, the first amendment was a response to court rulings that had struck down early land-reform and press-related measures. It:

• added Article 31A and Article 31B and created the Ninth Schedule, shielding listed laws from challenge on fundamental-rights grounds;
• inserted Article 15(4), allowing special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes and for Scheduled Castes and Tribes;
• added grounds for restricting free speech under Article 19(2): public order, friendly relations with foreign states and incitement to an offence, and made the restrictions “reasonable.”

It remains one of the most debated amendments, praised for enabling social reform and criticized for restricting expression.

4th Amendment (1955): Compensation for Property

Made the adequacy of compensation for acquired property non-justiciable, meaning courts could not question the amount.

7th Amendment (1956): Reorganizing the States

Following the States Reorganisation Act, this amendment abolished the old Part A, B, C and D classification of states and created 14 states and 6 union territories, largely on linguistic lines. It also allowed common High Courts for groups of states.

Territorial Amendments (1960–1963)

• 9th (1960): gave effect to an India–Pakistan agreement on the Berubari Union and other enclaves
• 10th (1961): incorporated Dadra and Nagar Haveli
• 12th (1962): incorporated Goa, Daman and Diu
• 13th (1962): created Nagaland as a state with special provisions (Article 371A)
• 14th (1962): incorporated Puducherry

21st Amendment (1967): Sindhi Added

Added Sindhi to the Eighth Schedule as the 15th recognized language.

The 1970s: Power, Property and the Emergency

24th Amendment (1971)

Passed after the Golak Nath ruling, it declared that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, including fundamental rights, and made the President’s assent to amendment bills mandatory.

25th Amendment (1971)

Replaced “compensation” with “amount” in the property-acquisition article and added Article 31C, giving priority to certain directive principles over some fundamental rights.

26th Amendment (1971)

Abolished the privy purses and privileges of former princely rulers.

31st and 36th Amendments (1973 and 1975)

The 31st raised the Lok Sabha’s maximum strength from 525 to 545 elected seats. The 36th made Sikkim the 22nd state of India.

39th Amendment (1975)

Placed disputes over the election of the Prime Minister and the Speaker beyond judicial review. The Supreme Court struck down part of it in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975).

42nd Amendment (1976): The “Mini-Constitution”

Passed during the Emergency on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee, the 42nd Amendment changed more of the Constitution than any other. It:

• added the words “Socialist,” “Secular” and “Integrity” to the Preamble;
• introduced Fundamental Duties (Part IVA, Article 51A);
• made the President bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers;
• extended the term of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from five to six years;
• tried to bar courts from reviewing constitutional amendments and gave directive principles primacy over fundamental rights;
• added new directive principles on free legal aid, worker participation in management and protection of the environment;
• moved subjects such as education and forests to the Concurrent List.

The Supreme Court later struck down the provisions barring judicial review and giving directive principles supremacy over fundamental rights in Minerva Mills v. Union of India (1980).

The Rollback: 44th Amendment (1978)

After the Emergency ended, the Janata government passed the 44th Amendment to undo many of the 42nd’s changes and to guard against a repeat of the Emergency. It:

• restored the five-year term of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies;
• replaced “internal disturbance” with “armed rebellion” as a ground for declaring a national Emergency, and required the Cabinet’s written recommendation;
• ensured that the rights to life and personal liberty (Article 21) and protection in respect of conviction (Article 20) cannot be suspended during an Emergency;
• removed the right to property from the list of fundamental rights, making it an ordinary legal right under Article 300A.

That last change is why property is no longer a fundamental right in India.

1980s and 1990s: Defection, Voting Age and Grassroots Democracy

52nd Amendment (1985): Anti-Defection Law

Added the Tenth Schedule, disqualifying legislators who defect from their parties. The Supreme Court upheld its validity in Kihoto Hollohan (1992).

61st Amendment (1988): Voting Age Lowered

Reduced the voting age for Lok Sabha and assembly elections from 21 to 18.

69th Amendment (1991): Delhi

Created the Legislative Assembly and Council of Ministers for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Article 239AA).

73rd Amendment (1992): Panchayati Raj

Gave constitutional status to rural local government. It added Part IX, the Eleventh Schedule listing 29 subjects, regular elections and reservation of seats for women and for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. It came into force in April 1993.

74th Amendment (1992): Municipalities

Did the same for urban local bodies, adding Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule with 18 subjects. It came into force in June 1993.

Together, the 73rd and 74th Amendments created a third tier of government in India.

2000s: Education, Cabinet Size and Reservation

86th Amendment (2002): Right to Education

Inserted Article 21A, making free and compulsory education a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14. It also added a fundamental duty for parents to provide educational opportunities. The Right to Education Act followed in 2009.

91st Amendment (2003): Limits on Ministers and Defectors

Capped the Council of Ministers at 15 percent of the strength of the House and tightened the anti-defection law by removing the exemption for splits.

92nd Amendment (2003)

Added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali to the Eighth Schedule.

93rd Amendment (2005)

Allowed the state to make special provisions for backward classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in admission to educational institutions, including private unaided ones (Article 15(5)).

2010s: Cooperatives, Judges, Borders and a National Tax

97th Amendment (2011): Cooperative Societies

Gave constitutional status to cooperatives. In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down the part dealing with state-level cooperatives because it had not been ratified by the required number of states, while upholding it for multi-state cooperative societies.

99th Amendment (2014): The NJAC

Created the National Judicial Appointments Commission to replace the collegium system for selecting judges. In October 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the amendment in the Fourth Judges Case, holding that it violated judicial independence, part of the basic structure. The collegium system continues.

100th Amendment (2015): Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh

Gave effect to the India–Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, exchanging enclaves between the two countries. India transferred 111 enclaves to Bangladesh and received 51 in return, ending decades of uncertainty for the people who lived in them.

101st Amendment (2016): Goods and Services Tax

Introduced the GST, creating Articles 246A, 269A and 279A and the GST Council. It required ratification by the states and came into effect on July 1, 2017.

102nd Amendment (2018)

Gave constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (Article 338B).

103rd Amendment (2019): EWS Reservation

Provided up to 10 percent reservation in education and public employment for economically weaker sections outside the existing reservation categories (Articles 15(6) and 16(6)). The Supreme Court upheld it in November 2022 by a 3–2 majority.

104th Amendment (2019)

Ended the nomination of Anglo-Indian members to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and extended reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in legislatures by ten years, to 2030.

The 2020s: Backward Classes and Women’s Reservation

105th Amendment (2021)

Restored the power of state governments to identify socially and educationally backward classes for their own purposes, after a Supreme Court ruling on Maratha reservation had interpreted the 102nd Amendment as removing it.

106th Amendment (2023): Women’s Reservation

Passed as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the 106th Amendment provides:

• reservation of one-third (33 percent) of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies and the Delhi Assembly, through new Articles 330A, 332A and 334A;
• sub-reservation within that quota for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women;
• a validity of 15 years, which Parliament can extend.

The Lok Sabha passed the bill on September 20, 2023 by 454 votes to 2, and the Rajya Sabha passed it unanimously the next day, with 214 votes in favor. The President gave assent on September 28, 2023.

The Act ties the reservation to the first census held after it came into effect and to a delimitation exercise based on that census. That condition is why the quota has not yet been applied to any election, and why 2026 became politically charged.

What Happened in 2024–2026: Bills Still in Play

The 129th Amendment Bill (One Nation, One Election)

Introduced in December 2024, this bill seeks to hold Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously. It was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, which has continued its work through 2026. The committee stated in July 2026 that it considers the framework consistent with the Constitution. The bill has not become law.

The 130th Amendment Bill (Removal of Ministers on Detention)

Introduced in August 2025, this bill proposes removing the Prime Minister, chief ministers or ministers who are held in custody for a prolonged period on serious charges. It is with a parliamentary committee.

The 131st Amendment Bill (2026): Defeated

On April 16, 2026, the government introduced the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, along with a Delimitation Bill and a Union Territories Laws Bill. The package aimed to implement women’s reservation sooner, without waiting for the next census, by linking it to delimitation on the basis of the 2011 census and by raising the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850.

On April 17, 2026, the bill failed in the Lok Sabha. It received 298 votes in favor and 230 against, short of the 352 votes needed to reach a two-thirds majority of the 528 members present and voting. The government then withdrew the two companion bills.

The debate reflected a split between two positions. The government argued that waiting for the census and a fresh delimitation would delay women’s representation unnecessarily. Opposition parties said they supported women’s reservation in principle but objected to tying it to seat expansion and delimitation, with several, including parties from southern states, raising concerns about how such changes would affect representation. Because the bill was defeated, the 106th Amendment remains the latest amendment enacted, and its original conditions still apply.

Quick Reference Table: Major Amendments

Why Amendments Matter

The pattern behind these 106 changes is revealing. Many amendments responded to court decisions, whether to enable land reform (1st), reverse a ruling on fundamental rights (24th) or restore a state power (105th). Others reflected moments of political stress, from the Emergency (42nd) to the Emergency’s repudiation (44th). Still others quietly expanded democracy at the grassroots (73rd and 74th) or reshaped the economy (101st). Through it all, the basic structure doctrine has acted as a boundary, a reminder that Parliament’s power to amend is not a power to rewrite the Constitution’s core identity.

Conclusion

The amendment history of the Indian Constitution is, in effect, the history of independent India: its land reforms and linguistic states, its constitutional crises and recoveries, its attempts to broaden participation for villages, backward classes and women. As of November 2026, the 106th Amendment remains the latest enacted change, while the 129th and 130th bills sit in committee and the defeat of the 131st shows how contested amending the Constitution still is. Whatever comes next will have to pass the same test as everything before it: a special majority in Parliament and, where the federal structure is touched, the consent of the states.