Indian Polity & Constitution
🔒 Log in to trackPreamble, Parts and the 12 Schedules
🔒 Log in to trackPreamble
Text-keywords: Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic; Justice (social, economic, political), Liberty (thought, expression, belief, faith, worship), Equality (status and opportunity), Fraternity (dignity, unity, integrity). The words Socialist, Secular and Integrity were added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976. Justice ideals trace to the Russian Revolution; liberty-equality-fraternity to the French Revolution.
| Case | Holding |
|---|---|
| Berubari Union (1960) | Preamble is not a part of the Constitution |
| Kesavananda Bharati (1973) | Preamble is a part; can be amended without altering the basic structure |
| LIC of India (1995) | Reaffirmed Preamble as an integral part |
Parts of the Constitution (selected)
| Part | Subject | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| I | Union and its territory | 1–4 |
| II | Citizenship | 5–11 |
| III | Fundamental Rights | 12–35 |
| IV | DPSP | 36–51 |
| IV-A | Fundamental Duties | 51A (added by 42nd, 1976) |
| V | The Union (President, Parliament, Judiciary) | 52–151 |
| VI | The States | 152–237 |
| VIII | Union Territories | 239–242 |
| IX | Panchayats | 243–243O (73rd Amendment) |
| IX-A | Municipalities | 243P–243ZG (74th Amendment) |
| IX-B | Co-operative Societies | 97th Amendment, 2011 |
| XI | Centre–State relations | 245–263 |
| XV | Elections | 324–329 |
| XVII | Official Language | 343–351 |
| XVIII | Emergency | 352–360 |
| XX | Amendment of the Constitution | 368 |
Originally 395 Articles, 22 Parts, 8 Schedules; today about 470 Articles and 12 Schedules.
The 12 Schedules
| Sch. | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 | Names of States and Union Territories |
| 2 | Salaries and emoluments of constitutional office holders |
| 3 | Forms of oaths and affirmations |
| 4 | Allocation of Rajya Sabha seats to States/UTs |
| 5 | Administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes |
| 6 | Tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram |
| 7 | Three Lists — Union, State, Concurrent |
| 8 | 22 recognised languages |
| 9 | Land reform laws (added by 1st Amendment, 1951); judicial review barred till IR Coelho case (2007) |
| 10 | Anti-defection provisions (52nd Amendment, 1985) |
| 11 | 29 subjects of Panchayats (73rd Amendment) |
| 12 | 18 subjects of Municipalities (74th Amendment) |
Language additions to the 8th Schedule: Sindhi (21st Amendment, 1967); Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali (71st, 1992); Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali (92nd, 2003) — total 22.
The Preamble — the identity card of the Constitution
The Preamble opens: 'WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA …', which proclaims that the Constitution draws its authority from the people, not from any king or Parliament. It was framed from Nehru's Objectives Resolution (1946). It declares India a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and promises justice (social, economic, political), liberty (of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship), equality (of status and opportunity) and fraternity (assuring dignity, unity and integrity).
Key facts exams test:
- 'Sovereign' = no outside power controls India. 'Republic' = the head of state is elected, not hereditary.
- 'Socialist', 'secular' and 'integrity' were added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 — the only amendment to the Preamble so far.
- The Preamble is non-justiciable — its ideals cannot be enforced in court — and it is neither a source of legislative power nor a limit on it.
- Court journey: Berubari case (1960) held it is not a part of the Constitution; Kesavananda Bharati (1973) overruled this — it is a part, can be amended, but its basic elements cannot be destroyed (basic structure). LIC of India (1995) reaffirmed that it is a part.
- The Preamble records the adoption date, 26 November 1949.
Parts of the Constitution — the article map
| Part | Subject | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| I | The Union and its territory | 1–4 |
| II | Citizenship | 5–11 |
| III | Fundamental Rights | 12–35 |
| IV | Directive Principles | 36–51 |
| IV-A | Fundamental Duties | 51A |
| V | The Union (President, Parliament, courts) | 52–151 |
| VI | The States | 152–237 |
| VIII | Union Territories | 239–242 |
| IX | Panchayats | 243–243O |
| IX-A | Municipalities | 243P–243ZG |
| X | Scheduled and Tribal Areas | 244–244A |
| XI | Centre–State relations | 245–263 |
| XII | Finance, property, contracts | 264–300A |
| XIII | Trade and commerce | 301–307 |
| XIV | Services | 308–323 |
| XIV-A | Tribunals | 323A–323B |
| XV | Elections | 324–329A |
| XVII | Official language | 343–351 |
| XVIII | Emergency | 352–360 |
| XX | Amendment | 368 |
Part VII (old Part B states) was repealed by the 7th Amendment, 1956. Article 1 names the country: 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States'.
The 12 Schedules
| Schedule | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 | States and Union Territories |
| 2 | Salaries and emoluments of constitutional post-holders |
| 3 | Forms of oaths and affirmations |
| 4 | Allocation of Rajya Sabha seats |
| 5 | Administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes |
| 6 | Tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram |
| 7 | Union (100), State (61) and Concurrent (52) Lists |
| 8 | 22 recognised languages |
| 9 | Land-reform and other laws protected from challenge (added by 1st Amendment, 1951) |
| 10 | Anti-defection law (52nd Amendment, 1985) |
| 11 | Panchayat subjects — 29 items (73rd Amendment) |
| 12 | Municipal subjects — 18 items (74th Amendment) |
In the I.R. Coelho case (2007) the Supreme Court held that laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after 24 April 1973 (the Kesavananda date) can still be reviewed if they destroy the basic structure. The Eighth Schedule's 22 languages include four added by the 92nd Amendment (2003) — Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Preamble keywords and the 42nd Amendment
'Which words were added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment', the order of adjectives, the four ideals and what each promises.
Added trio = socialist, secular, integrity (42nd Amendment, 1976). Nothing else in the Preamble has ever changed.
Ideals with brackets: Justice = social, economic, political; Liberty = thought, expression, belief, faith, worship; Equality = status and opportunity; Fraternity = dignity, unity, integrity.
Word order: SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.
The ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity in the Indian Preamble are inspired by the —
Show solutionHide solution
French Revolution (France's constitution supplies these ideals, along with the word 'Republic'); the 'justice' ideal traces to the USSR.
Preamble in the courts
'Is the Preamble a part of the Constitution?', 'can it be amended?', which case decided what.
Chain of cases: Berubari (1960) = NOT a part → Kesavananda Bharati (1973) = IS a part, amendable but not destructible → LIC of India (1995) = reaffirmed part.
The Preamble has been amended once (42nd Amendment, 1976) and it survived — proof that it is amendable.
It is non-justiciable and neither a source of power nor a prohibition on power.
In which case did the Supreme Court hold that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution?
Show solutionHide solution
Kesavananda Bharati (1973) — overruling Berubari (1960), it made the Preamble a part of the Constitution, amendable without damaging the basic structure.
Part ↔ Articles range matching
'Fundamental Rights are contained in which Articles', 'which Part deals with Municipalities', match-the-column across Parts.
Learn the five everyday ranges: FRs 12–35, DPSP 36–51, Duties 51A, Panchayats 243–243O, Municipalities 243P–243ZG.
Emergency = 352–360; Amendment = 368; Elections = 324–329; Services = 308–323.
Odd facts: Part VII stands repealed (7th Amendment, 1956); tribunals = XIV-A (323A-B); citizenship = Part II (5–11).
Which Part of the Constitution deals with Municipalities?
Show solutionHide solution
Part IX-A (Articles 243P to 243ZG), inserted by the 74th Amendment, 1992; Panchayats sit next door in Part IX.
Schedule ↔ content matching
'The anti-defection law is in which Schedule', 'which Schedule lists panchayat subjects', correctly-matched schedule pairs.
Anchors: 8 = 22 languages; 9 = protected laws (1st Amendment 1951); 10 = defection (52nd Amendment 1985); 11 = 29 panchayat subjects; 12 = 18 municipal subjects.
Number-memory: 8 → languages, 10 → politicians (defection), 11 → villages, 12 → cities.
Ninth Schedule shield is limited: post-Kesavananda laws in it can be reviewed (I.R. Coelho, 2007).
The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution deals with —
Show solutionHide solution
Disqualification on the ground of defection — inserted by the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985; it decides when an MLA/MP loses the seat for defying the party.
Eighth Schedule languages
'How many languages are in the Eighth Schedule', 'which amendment added Bodo/Dogri/Maithili/Santhali', 'which language was added by the 21st/71st Amendment'.
Current count: 22 languages (not 18, not 24).
Addition chain: Sindhi — 21st Amendment (1967); Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali — 71st (1992); Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali — 92nd (2003).
Classical-language tags are a separate list — do not mix them with the Eighth Schedule count.
The 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 added which four languages to the Eighth Schedule?
Show solutionHide solution
Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali, taking the total count of scheduled languages to 22.
Shortcuts that save time
1-Names, 2-Salaries, 3-Oaths, 4-RS seats, 5-Areas(SC/ST), 6-Tribal NE, 7-Three Lists, 8-Languages, 9-Land laws, 10-Defection, 11-Panchayat(29), 12-Municipality(18).
Which Schedule contains anti-defection provisions?
Show solutionHide solution
The 10th Schedule (added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985).
Sovereign-Socialist-Secular-Democratic-Republic = 5 descriptors; J-L-E-F = Justice-Liberty-Equality-Fraternity, with only Justice split three ways (social-economic-political).
Which Preamble ideal is described in three parts?
Show solutionHide solution
Justice — social, economic and political (Russian Revolution inspiration).
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Saying the Preamble was amended by the 44th — it was the 42nd (1976).
Listing 18 languages — the count has been 22 since the 92nd Amendment (2003).
Mixing up the 9th Schedule (land reform laws) with the 10th (defection).
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Preamble words order: Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic — all capitalised terms define India's character.
42nd Amendment (1976) added socialist, secular, integrity — the only Preamble change.
Berubari (1960): not a part; Kesavananda (1973): a part, amendable within basic structure.
Part II citizenship (5–11); Part IV DPSP (36–51); IV-A duties (51A); IX panchayats; IX-A municipalities.
Schedules 1/12: states-UTs / municipal subjects; 4 = Rajya Sabha seats; 8 = 22 languages; 9 = protected laws (1st Amendment); 10 = defection; 11 = 29 panchayat subjects.
Article 1: 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States'.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.