Parts of Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution stands as the cornerstone of our Democracy, and its various parts hold invaluable insights for your UPSC preparation.

In this blog, we will delve into the essence of Parts of the Indian Constitution, providing concise explanations and practical insights to aid your understanding.

Part	Subject	Articles
Part I	The Union and its territory	Art. 1 to 4
Part II	Citizenship	Art. 5 to 11
Part III	Fundamental Rights	Art. 12 to 35
Part IV	Directive Principles	Art. 36 to 51
Part IVA	Fundamental Duties	Art. 51A
Part V	The Union	Art. 52 to 151
Part VI	The States	Art. 152 to 237
Part VII	Repealed by Const. (7th Amendment) Act, 1956
Part VIII	The Union Territories	Art. 239 to 242
Part IX	The Panchayats	Art. 243 to 243O
Part IXA	The Municipalities	Art. 243P to 243ZG
Part IXB	Co-operative Societies	Art. 243H to 243ZT
Part X	The Scheduled and Tribal Areas	Art. 244 to 244A
Part XI	Relations between the Union and the States	Art. 245 to 263
Part XII	Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits	Art. 264 to 300A
Part XIII	Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the Territory of India	Art. 301 to 307
Part XIV	Services under the Union and the States	Art. 308 to 323
Part XIVA	Tribunals	Art. 323A to 323B
Part XV	Elections	Art. 324 to 329A
Part XVI	Special provisions relation to certain classes	Art. 330 to 342
Part XVII	Official Language	Art. 343 to 351
Part XVIII	Emergency Provisions	Art. 352 to 360
Part XIX	Miscellaneous	Art. 361 to 367
Part XX	Amendment of the Constitution	Art. 368
Part XXI	Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions	Art. 369 to 392
Part XXII	Short title, commencement, authoritative text in Hindi and repeals	Art. 393 to 395

Part I : The Union and its territory

It is covered under Articles 1 to 4 of the Indian Constitution.
India is referred to in the Constitution as a Union of States, indicating that its unity cannot be broken.
The Indian Union cannot split in two.
The Constitution specifies not only the structure of the Union Government but also the structure of the state governments.
The country is divided into numerous regions known as states or union territories.

Part II : Citizenship

Articles 5 to 11 of the Indian Constitution address citizenship under Part II.
In contrast to Articles 9 to 11, which define how citizenship is obtained and lost, Articles 5 to 8 describe who was eligible for Indian citizenship at the time the Constitution was enacted.

Part III : Fundamental Rights

A number of Fundamental Rights are guaranteed under Part III of the Indian Constitution (Articles 12 to 35), as well as remedies in the event that they are violated.
The main justification for adding these rights in a democratic constitution is that people occasionally need to be protected from collective action by others who might not fully comprehend their desires and positions.
The US Bill of Rights’ clauses have been heavily referenced and impacted by the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.

Part IV : Directive Principles of State Policy

The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are incorporated into Articles 36 to 51 of the Indian Constitution, however Article 37 clearly declares that these DPSP are not subject to legal action in a court of law.
Due to the inherent inability of these principles to be upheld through legal channels and the potential inadequacy of the nation’s economic resources, they were declared non-justiciable in court.

Part IVA : Fundamental Duties

The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act of 1976 inserted Part IV-A based on the Swaran Singh Committee’s recommendation during the state of emergency.
The Amendment changed the Constitution to include a new Part IV-A that only contained Article 51-A.
The Indian Constitution stipulates 11 Fundamental Duties.

Part V : The Union

Union has been covered under Article 52 to 151. It can be divided into following:
Union Executive (Article 52 – 78)
Union Legislature (Articles 79-122)
Union Judiciary (Articles 124-147)

Part VI : The States

It has been covered under Article 153-237.
The states can be discussed under three broadheads, which are provided below.
The State Executive (Articles 153-167)
The State Legislature (Articles 168-212)
The State Judiciary (Articles 214-237)

Part VIII : The Union Territories

The ultimate decision-making authority in matters involving the administration of union territories belongs to Parliament.
The President will be responsible for overseeing the Union territory through a person he or she chooses as administrator, unless Parliament specifies otherwise.
There is a unitary relationship between the Union Territories and the Center.
They are directly managed and governed by the Centre.
They lack autonomy, and their organizational structure isn’t conventional.

Part IX : The Panchayats

According to Article 40 of the Constitution, the State shall make efforts to establish village panchayats and grant them the powers and authority that may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.
Panchayats, which are covered by the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, are designed to enhance local self-government at the village, town, and city levels while also enabling collaboration between rural and urban areas.

Part IXA : The Municipalities

Urban self-government entities are defined under the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act of 1992 in terms of their organization, membership, authority, and duties.

Part IXB : Co-operative Societies

One type of self-help group is a cooperative society.
It is a crucial weapon for attaining the Preamble of the Indian Constitution’s vision of social and economic justice as well as safeguarding people from capitalist exploitation.
The Constitution (Ninety-seventh Amendment) Act of 2011 added a new Part IX B to the Constitution after Part IX-A, which includes Articles 243 ZH through 243 ZT.
Cooperative societies are the main topic of the new section.

Part X : The Scheduled and Tribal Areas

Article 244 specifies that, with the exception of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, the Fifth Schedule applies to the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in all states, while the Sixth Schedule applies to the administration and control of Tribal Areas in those states.

Part XI : Relations between the Union and the States

Relations between the Union and the States is covered under Article 245 – 289. The relation between the Union and the states can be understood under three broad heads which are provided here under.
Legislative relations (Article 245-255)
Administrative relations (Article 256-263)
Financial relations (Articles 264-289)

Part XII : Finance, Property, Contracts, and Suits

The transfer of the properties, assets, rights, liabilities, and obligations of the Indian states is governed under Article 295. According to Article 298 the following duties should be within the purview of the executive power of the Union or States:
To engage in any type of commerce or business,
To purchase, hold, or sell the property,
To enter into contracts for any purpose.

Part XIII : Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the Territory of India

The Indian Constitution’s Part XIII, Articles 301 to 307, guarantees freedom of trade, commerce, and sexual activity.
While Articles 302 to 305 list the trade prohibitions, Article 301 specifies the general principles of trade and commerce.
The Australian Constitution served as a model for these provisions.

Part XIV : Services under the Union and the States

Articles 308 through 323 cover topics pertaining to the services provided by the Union and the states.
While Articles 315 to 323 deal with Public Service Commissions for the Union and states, Articles 308 to 313 deal with the hiring, firing, working conditions, and constitutional protection of public employees.

Part XIVA : Tribunals

A tribunal is a quasi-judicial organization created to deal with problems like resolving administrative or tax-related disputes.
Its duties range from adjudicating disputes to determining the rights of conflicting parties to making administrative judgments and evaluating administrative decisions, among other things.
The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 to the Indian Constitution established tribunals, which were not included in the original Constitution.
Article 323-A addresses Administrative Tribunals.
Article 323-B addresses other tribunals.

Part XV : Elections

The topics covered in Part XV (Articles 324 to 329) relate to elections. According to Article 324 (1) of the Constitution, the Election Commission has extensive authority, however these powers cannot be used in ways that go against the law or current regulations.

Part XVI : Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes

Special provisions pertaining to specific classes are covered in Part XVI. Articles 330 to 342 provide special safeguards to safeguard the rights of Anglo-Indians, Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.
The reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies are covered in Articles 330 and 332, respectively.
According to Article 330, seats in the Lok Sabha are reserved for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The entire population of such castes and tribes shall determine the number of seats allotted for them in any State or Union territory.

Part XVII : Official Language

The Republic of India’s official language is outlined in Part XVII of the Indian Constitution (Articles 343 to 351).
The primary guidelines for determining the official language of the Union are contained in Articles 343 and 344 of the Indian Constitution.
The Constitution’s 8th Schedule lists the official languages of India.

Part XVIII : Emergency Provisions

The Emergency Provision in India is covered in Part XVIII of the constitution. In India, the federal government is given the power to become a unitary government if the situation calls for it thanks to the Constitution’s emergency provisions. The Indian Constitution recognizes three different categories of emergencies:

National Emergency
President Rule
Financial Emergency

Part XIX : Miscellaneous

Part XIX of the Indian Constitution contains provisions concerning the following topics:

President and governors’ protection.
Courts are barred from interfering in disputes resulting from certain treaties, accords, and so on.
Recognition of Indian state rulers and privy purses is abolished.
Special rules apply to major ports and airports.
The consequence of failing to comply with or carry out Union directives.
Definitions outlined in Article 366.
Interpretation of the constitutional provisions.

Part XX : Amendment to the Constitution

Part XX is concerned with Amendment of the Constitutional of India.
The designers of the Constitution of India envisioned a mechanism for amending the Constitution that is neither too rigid nor too flexible.
Article 368 particularly addresses amendments, while other provisions of the Constitution provide amendments through the ordinary parliamentary system.

Part XXI : Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions

Part XXI of the Indian Constitution contains legislation pertaining to the country’s Constitution and the union of states that comprise it.
This section of the Constitution is made up of articles on Temporary, Transitional, and Special Provisions.
The purpose of Articles 371 to 371-J of Part XXI is to meet the aspirations of the people of backward regions of the states, to protect the tribal people’s cultural and economic interests, to deal with the disturbed law and order situation in some parts of the states, and to protect the interests of the local people of the states.

Part XXII : Short Title, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindi and Repeals

Part XXII is a compilation of laws that includes articles on the short title, beginning date, authoritative text in Hindi, and repeals.

73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment	Important Amendments to Indian Constitution
Urban Local Bodies	Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI)