Constitution of India

Constitution of India, the supreme law that defines the organizing principles of the Republic of India, the structure and functions of the government, and the rights of citizens. It was framed after India achieved independence from British rule in 1947, and it went into effect on January 26, 1950—an event celebrated annually in India as Republic Day. It established India as a democratic republic and a union of states. The Constitution of India is one of the longest written constitutions in the world.

Background

The objectives and framework of the Constitution were shaped by the Indian Independence Movement, which ended almost two centuries of British rule in the Indian subcontinent. In 1928 a constitutional document was prepared for the first time by Indian leaders. A conference of political parties that included the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) and the Muslim League produced the Nehru Report, named for Motilal Nehru, who chaired the report’s drafting committee. The report, written in legal style, proposed dominion status for India. As the struggle for freedom progressed, however, Indian leaders abandoned the goal of dominion status in favor of sovereignty. On January 26, 1930, the Congress Party resolved to demand Purna Swaraj (“Complete Self-Rule”).

In 1942 the right of Indians to frame their own constitution was formally acknowledged by the Cripps Mission (negotiations by the British government to rally Indian support for the defense of India against Japanese forces in World War II). British-ruled India achieved independence on August 15, 1947, and the union of states was later joined by enclaves formerly held by the French and the Portuguese, such as Puducherry and Goa, respectively.

From 1947 to 1950, while the Constitution was being drafted, the new Indian union of states was governed by existing legislation enacted by the British Parliament. When it went into effect, the Constitution of India repealed nearly all existing legislation, including the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and various Government of India Acts.

Constituent Assembly

The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, an elected legislative body that originally consisted of 389 members but was reduced to 299 after the partition of India. The majority of the membership was drawn from the Congress Party; the Muslim League originally boycotted the assembly but eventually joined it. Minority groups, such as the Sikh and Anglo-Indian communities, were given special representation. Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the assembly (he later became India’s first president). Harendra Coomar Mookerjee was vice president of the assembly and chaired the Minorities Committee. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, perhaps the best known of the assembly members, chaired the drafting committee. Jurist Benegal Narsing Rau, who was not an assembly member, was appointed constitutional adviser and wrote the original draft of the document.

The Constituent Assembly had 15 women members, who advocated for universal suffrage and gender equality. Of those women, 14 served their full term in the assembly, whereas Leela Roy, an independence activist from Bengal, resigned her post in protest against the partition of India, which divided her home state in two, creating West Bengal and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

The assembly took more than two years to frame the Constitution, holding 11 sessions over 165 days. The first draft was submitted by the Ambedkar-led drafting committee to the Constituent Assembly in November 1948. Every provision was discussed, debated, and amended where deemed necessary. The final document was influenced by the constitutions of several other countries: the parliamentary framework was based on the British system, the fundamental rights and Preamble were inspired by the Constitution of the United States, and the directive principles of state policy were drawn from Ireland.

Are you a student?

Get a special academic rate on Britannica Premium.

Subscribe

The Constitution was originally written in English and Hindi and later translated into other Indian languages. It was adopted by the assembly on November 26, 1949, commemorated every year in India as Samvidhan Divas (“Constitution Day”). It went into effect three months later, on January 26, 1950, in honor of the date of the Purna Swaraj resolution.

Structure and features

In its original form, the Constitution of India consisted of 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules. In its amended form as of 2025, it consists of more than 400 articles in 25 parts, 12 schedules, and five appendices. The articles outline the framework of the union and state governments, define citizenship, and provide for elections and states of emergency. There are provisions for communities and regions requiring special consideration: these provisions include safeguards for northeastern states, such as Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, to protect local religious, social, and cultural identities. Article 370, a contentious provision that gave the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir special status, was abrogated in 2019.

The schedules are lists that tabulate India’s states and territories, salaries of public officials, provisions relating to scheduled areas and scheduled tribes, and official languages. They divide administrative responsibilities between the national and state governments. The Union List contains subjects on which only the national government can legislate; the State List contains subjects on which the state governments can legislate; and the Concurrent List allows legislation by both the national and state governments. The schedules also define the functions of the Panchayati Raj (rural administration) and municipalities (urban administration).

Preamble

The Constitution of India is prefaced by a summary of its core values, which emphasize the secular and democratic nature of the Indian state:

We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens…

The original Preamble included only “sovereign” and “democratic”; it was amended in 1976 to include “socialist” and “secular.” It lists the Constitution’s objectives of assuring citizens justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity—the last three having been inspired by ideals that originated during the French Revolution.

Amendments

The Constitution provides for its own amendment, and the process is outlined in Article 368. A bill proposing an amendment can be introduced in either house of Parliament (the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) and must then be passed by a majority in both houses before being sent for the president’s assent. If the amendment affects Article 368 itself, more than half the Indian states must ratify it.

Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution is limited by the basic structure doctrine, formulated by the Supreme Court, by which the legislature is prevented from erasing or amending certain characteristics or basic features. These features include the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, the separation of powers, the ideals in the Preamble, judicial review, and secularism. The Supreme Court reserves the right to strike down any amendments it judges to be in violation of the fundamental principles of the Constitution. The basic structure doctrine was outlined in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, a landmark legal case decided in 1973.

As of 2025 the Constitution of India has been amended more than a hundred times. Amendments span such subjects as the creation of new states, additions to the list of officially recognized languages, and changes related to minority communities and areas.