---
title: "Landmark Amendments: 1st, 42nd, 44th & More | Model Diplomat"
description: "Survey the five most-tested constitutional amendments—the 1st, 42nd, 44th, 73rd-74th and 101st—and the major doctrines and reforms each one triggered."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/upsc-indian-polity-landmark-constitutional-amendments-1st-42nd-44th-73rd-74th-101st"
---

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Landmark constitutional amendments (1st, 42nd, 44th, 73rd-74th, 101st)

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# Landmark constitutional amendments (1st, 42nd, 44th, 73rd-74th, 101st)

A high-yield survey of the five most-tested constitutional amendments—the 1st, 42nd, 44th, 73rd-74th, and 101st—and the doctrines they triggered.

## The amending power: Article 368

The Constitution is amended under **Article 368**, which prescribes three procedures: a simple majority for certain provisions (Articles 4, 169, etc., outside Article 368), a special majority of each House (majority of total membership plus two-thirds of members present and voting), and a special majority *plus* ratification by at least half the state legislatures for federal provisions. As of 2024 the Constitution has been amended over 105 times. Five amendments are perennial favourites in both Prelims and Mains because each one redrew a structural boundary of the polity.

## The First Amendment (1951): the original course-correction

The **Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951** was enacted by the **Provisional Parliament** under Prime Minister Nehru, barely sixteen months after commencement. It responded to early High Court rulings (e.g. *Romesh Thapar v. State of Madras*, 1950; *Kameshwar Singh* on zamindari abolition) that struck down speech restrictions and land-reform laws. It added **Article 31A** and **Article 31B** with the **Ninth Schedule**, immunising listed laws from Fundamental Rights challenge; inserted the words **'reasonable'** and the grounds 'public order', 'friendly relations with foreign States' and 'incitement to an offence' into **Article 19(2)**; and added **Article 15(4)** enabling special provisions for backward classes. It established the template that Parliament would amend Part III to overcome judicial review.

## The 42nd Amendment (1976): the 'Mini-Constitution'

Enacted during the **Emergency (1975-77)** on the recommendations of the **Swaran Singh Committee**, the **42nd Amendment** is the most sweeping single amendment. It added the words **'Socialist', 'Secular' and 'Integrity'** to the Preamble; inserted **Part IVA (Article 51A, Fundamental Duties)**; added **Article 31C** giving DPSPs primacy over Articles 14, 19 and 31; transferred subjects (education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds) from State List to **Concurrent List**; extended Lok Sabha and Assembly terms from 5 to 6 years; and through **Articles 368(4) and (5)** tried to bar judicial review of amendments and declare Parliament's amending power unlimited. **Minerva Mills v. Union of India (1980)** struck down clauses (4) and (5) and the 31C primacy, reaffirming the basic structure.

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