Welcome to the complete guide to Political Science, focusing on the Indian Constitution. This tutorial covers the Preamble, the structure of Schedules, and the evolution of our Constitution through major amendments.

1. The Preamble: The Identity Card of the Constitution

The Preamble is like a introduction that tells us about the guidelines and principles of the Constitution. It also tells us where the Constitution gets its authority from.

The Keywords are important to remember. You can use the acronym S-S-S-D-R to help you remember them.

The Indian State is Sovereign, which means India is free to make its decisions and no other country can tell India what to do.

The Indian State is also Socialist, which was added to the Constitution in 1976. This means India wants to reduce poverty and make sure everyone has opportunities.

The Indian State is Secular, which means all religions are treated equally. The state does not have a favorite religion.

The Indian State is Democratic which means the government gets its power from the people.

The Indian State is a Republic, which means the President is elected and not born into the role.

The 42nd Amendment, which was made in 1976 added some words to the Preamble. These words are Socialist, Secular and Integrity.

2. The Schedules: The Detailed Appendices

The Constitution can be thought of as a textbook and the Schedules are like the detailed tables at the end.

There are now 12 Schedules. There used to be only 8.

The 7th Schedule is important because it divides power between the Centre and the States. It has three lists: the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List.

• The Union List has things like Defense and Foreign Affairs which are decided by the Parliament.
• The State List has things like Public Order and Police which are decided by the State Legislatures.
• The Concurrent List has things like Education and Marriage which can be decided by both the Parliament and the State Legislatures.

The 10th Schedule is also important because it has the Anti-Defection Law. This law was added in 1985 to stop politicians from switching parties for gain. If a politician switches parties or votes against their party they can be disqualified.

The 11th and 12th Schedules are about self-government.

• The 11th Schedule has 29 items for Panchayats, which're rural councils.
• The 12th Schedule has 18 items for Municipalities, which're urban councils.

3. Important Amendments: The Evolution

The Constitution is a living document, which means it can be changed.

One of the important amendments is the 42nd Amendment, which was made in 1976. This amendment added the words Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble. It also added the Fundamental Duties which're the duties of every citizen.

The 44th Amendment, which was made in 1978 removed the Right to Property from the list of Fundamental Rights. It also made it harder for the government to declare a National Emergency.

The 73rd and 74th Amendments, which were made in 1992 gave power to local governments.

• The 73rd Amendment gave status to Panchayati Raj Institutions, which are rural councils.
• The 74th Amendment gave status to Urban Local Bodies, which are urban councils.

The 101st Amendment, which was made in 2016 introduced the Goods and Services Tax or GST. This replaced indirect taxes with a single tax. It also created the GST Council, which decides the tax rates.

Comparison Table: Key Amendments

The 12 Schedules of the Indian Constitution

1st Schedule: Territories of India

• What it contains: Names of all 28 States and 8 Union Territories (UTs).
• It defines their jurisdictions and boundaries.
  Whenever a new state is created or a UT is changed this Schedule must be amended. For example when Telangana was created in 2014 or when J&K and Ladakh were changed in 2019.

2nd Schedule: Emoluments & Salaries

• What it contains: Details about the salaries, allowances and privileges of ranking constitutional officials.
  The list includes:
• President
• Governors
• Speaker/Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha & State Assemblies
• Chairman/Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha & State Councils
• Supreme & High Court Judges
• The CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General)
  Note that the Prime Minister and Ministers salaries are not listed here. They are determined by Parliament separately.

3rd Schedule: Oaths & Affirmations

• What it contains: The text/forms of oaths for officials before they enter office.
  The list includes:
• Union/State Ministers
• MPs/MLAs
• Supreme Court/High Court Judges
• The CAG
  The Oaths for the President, Vice-President and Governor are not in this schedule. They have their specific Articles.

4th Schedule: Rajya Sabha Seat Allocation

• What it contains: Allocation of seats in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to each State and Union Territory.
  Seats are allocated based on population. For example Odisha has 10 seats in the Rajya Sabha.

5th Schedule: Scheduled Areas & Tribes

• What it contains: Provisions for the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes.
  This applies to states across India including many districts in Odisha. However it excludes the four states mentioned in the 6th Schedule.

6th Schedule: Tribal Areas of the NE States

• What it contains: Administration of areas in four specific North-Eastern states: Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

7th Schedule: Division of Powers

• What it contains: Three lists that divide subjects between the Centre and States.
• Union List: 100 subjects. Only Parliament can make laws.
• State List: 61 subjects. Only State Legislatures can make laws.
• Concurrent List: 52 subjects. Both can make laws.

8th Schedule: Recognized Languages

• What it contains: A list of 22 languages recognized by the Constitution.
  Originally there were 14 languages. Odia is one of them. English is not in the Schedule.
  Some recent additions include Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali which were added in 2003.

9th Schedule: Validation of Certain Acts

• Added by: 1st Amendment (1951).
• Purpose: Originally created to protect land reform laws from being challenged in court.
  The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that laws added to this schedule after April 24 1973 can be reviewed if they violate Fundamental Rights.

10th Schedule: Anti-Defection Law

• Added by: 52nd Amendment (1985).
• Purpose: To prevent elected members from switching parties for personal gain.
  The Speaker/Chairman of the house has the power to disqualify a member on grounds of defection.

11th Schedule: Panchayati Raj

• Added by: 73rd Amendment (1992).
• Details: Contains 29 items (powers) for rural local bodies (Panchayats).
  This is vital for Odisha, which was a pioneer in strengthening Panchayati Raj.

12th Schedule: Municipalities

• Added by: 74th Amendment (1992).
• Details: Contains 18 items for urban local bodies (Municipalities/NACs).

Quick Summary Table for Revision