Parts, Schedules & Famous Articles

The 25 Parts of the Constitution

22 originally; four added, one repealed

The Constitution as adopted had 22 Parts. Four were later inserted: Part IVA (Fundamental Duties, 1976), Part IXA (Municipalities, 1992), Part IXB (Co-operative Societies, 2011) and Part XIVA (Tribunals, 1976). Part VII (states in Part B of the First Schedule) was repealed in 1956. That leaves 25 Parts today.

• Inserted: IVA (42nd Amdt, 1976), XIVA (42nd Amdt, 1976), IXA (74th Amdt, 1992), IXB (97th Amdt, 2011).
• Repealed: Part VII (7th Amdt, 1956).

Articles 1–4

Part I — The Union and its Territory

Declares that India, that is Bharat, is a Union of States (Article 1), and gives Parliament power to admit or establish new states (Article 2) and to form new states and alter the areas, boundaries or names of existing states (Article 3). A law under Articles 2 or 3 is not an amendment of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368 (Article 4).

Articles 5–11

Part II — Citizenship

Deals with who were citizens at the commencement of the Constitution, including migrants to and from Pakistan. Article 11 leaves the rest to Parliament, which enacted the Citizenship Act 1955. The Constitution provides for single citizenship.

Articles 12–35

Part III — Fundamental Rights

The justiciable rights of the Constitution: equality (Articles 14–18), freedom (19–22), against exploitation (23–24), religion (25–28), cultural and educational rights (29–30) and constitutional remedies (32). The right to property (Article 31) was removed as a fundamental right by the 44th Amendment in 1978. Part III is called the Magna Carta of India.

Articles 36–51

Part IV — Directive Principles of State Policy

Principles that are "fundamental in the governance of the country" and that the State must apply in making laws, but which are not enforceable by any court (Article 37). They include the principles of social and economic justice (Article 38–39), village panchayats (40), a uniform civil code (44), early childhood care (45), protection of the environment (48A), separation of the judiciary from the executive (50) and the promotion of international peace (51).