Indian Political CompassConstitutional Amendments
How the Constitution has changed
Key constitutional amendments that have shaped India's democracy — from the First Amendment's land reforms to the GST and EWS reservation.
15 key amendments covered
1st Amendment (1951)Added restrictions on free speech for public order and amended Articles 15 and 19 to allow special provisions for backward classes and land reform laws.
7th Amendment (1956)Reorganised India's states along linguistic lines following the States Reorganisation Commission report, abolishing the four-tier A/B/C/D classification.
24th Amendment (1971)Affirmed Parliament's power to amend any part of the Constitution including Fundamental Rights, a direct response to the Supreme Court's ruling in Golak Nath v. State of Punjab (1967).
25th Amendment (1971)Curtailed the right to property, substituting 'amount' for 'compensation' in Article 31 to allow Parliament to set acquisition terms without judicial review.
42th Amendment (1976)The most sweeping amendment in Indian history, passed during the Emergency. Added 'socialist', 'secular', and 'integrity' to the Preamble; curtailed judicial review; expanded Directive Principles over Fundamental Rights.
44th Amendment (1978)Reversed several Emergency-era changes: restored judicial review of Emergency proclamations, removed the right to property as a Fundamental Right, and reset Parliament's term to five years.
52th Amendment (1985)Added the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, disqualifying legislators who defect from the party on whose ticket they were elected.
61th Amendment (1988)Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, enfranchising India's youth.
73th Amendment (1992)Gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions, mandating three-tier local governance in rural India with reserved seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and women.
74th Amendment (1992)Gave constitutional status to urban local bodies (municipalities and city corporations), establishing mandatory elections with reserved seats and a Twelfth Schedule of functions.
86th Amendment (2002)Made free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14 a Fundamental Right, adding Article 21A, and inserted a corresponding Fundamental Duty for parents.
97th Amendment (2011)Added cooperative societies to the list of entities protected under the right to form associations and added Part IXB on cooperative societies.
99th Amendment (2014)Replaced the collegium system for judicial appointments with a National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) comprising judges and non-judges. Struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015.
101th Amendment (2016)Introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST), creating a unified indirect tax system across India by amending the taxing powers of Parliament and state legislatures.
103th Amendment (2019)Added 10% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of the general category, outside the existing 50% cap.