The Indian Constitution: A Part-by-Part Breakdown
The Indian Constitution is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishing the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. It is a living document, constantly evolving through amendments. This article provides a comprehensive overview of its parts, articles, and subjects.
| Part | Subject | Articles | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | The Union and its Territory | 1-4 | Declares India a Union of States. |
| Part 2 | Citizenship | 5-11 | Defines criteria for Indian citizenship. |
| Part 3 | Fundamental Rights | 12-35 | Guarantees fundamental rights to all citizens. |
| Part 4 | Directive Principles of State Policy | 36-51 | Sets out social and economic goals for the state. Added by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. |
| Part 4A | Fundamental Duties | 51A | Defines the duties of every citizen. |
| Part 5 | Union Government | 52-151 | Establishes the structure and powers of the Union government. |
| Chapter I: Executive | 52-78 | Deals with the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, and Council of Ministers. | |
| Chapter II: Parliament | 79-122 | Deals with the composition and powers of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha). | |
| Chapter III: Legislative Powers of the President | 123 | Deals with the President’s power to promulgate ordinances. | |
| Chapter IV: Union Judiciary | 124-147 | Establishes the Supreme Court and its jurisdiction. | |
| Chapter V: Comptroller and Auditor-General of India | 148-151 | Deals with the independent audit of government accounts. | |
| Part 6 | State Governments | 152-237 | Establishes the structure and powers of State governments. |
| Chapter I: General | 152 | General provisions related to states. | |
| Chapter II: Executive | 153-167 | Deals with the Governor, Chief Minister, and State Council of Ministers. | |
| Chapter III: State Legislature | 168-212 | Deals with the composition and powers of State Legislatures. | |
| Chapter IV: Legislative Powers of the Governor | 213 | Deals with the Governor’s power to promulgate ordinances. | |
| Chapter V: High Courts in the States | 214-232 | Establishes High Courts and their jurisdiction. | |
| Chapter VI: Subordinate Courts | 233-237 | Deals with subordinate courts. | |
| Part 7 | Repealed (Originally dealt with Part ‘B’ States) | Article 238 (Repealed) | Repealed by the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956, after the reorganization of states. |
| Part 8 | Union Territories | 239-242 | Deals with the administration of Union Territories. |
| Part 9 | Panchayats | 243-243O | Deals with rural local self-government. Added by the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992. |
| Part 9A | Municipalities | 243P-243ZG | Deals with urban local self-government. Added by the 74th Amendment Act, 1992. |
| Part 9B | Co-operative Societies | 243ZH-243ZT | Deals with co-operative societies. Added by the 97th Amendment Act, 2011. |
| Part 10 | Scheduled and Tribal Areas | 244-244A | Deals with the administration of Scheduled and Tribal areas. |
| Part 11 | Relations between the Union and the States | 245-263 | Defines the legislative and administrative relations between the Union and the States. |
| Chapter I: Legislative Relations | 245-255 | Deals with the distribution of legislative powers. | |
| Chapter II: Administrative Relations | 256-263 | Deals with administrative coordination between the Union and the States. | |
| Part 12 | Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits | 264-300A | Deals with financial provisions, property, contracts, and suits. |
| Chapter I: Finance | 264-291 | Deals with the distribution of financial resources. | |
| Chapter II: Borrowing | 292-293 | Deals with government borrowing. | |
| Chapter III: Property, Contracts, Rights, Liabilities, Obligations and Suits | 294-300 | Deals with government property, contracts, and legal matters. | |
| Chapter IV: Right to Property | 300A | Deals with the right to property as a legal right. | |
| Part 13 | Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the Territory of India | 301-307 | Deals with freedom of trade and commerce within India. |
| Part 14 | Services under the Union and the States | 308-323 | Deals with public services. |
| Chapter I: Services | 308-314 | General provisions relating to public services. | |
| Chapter II: Public Service Commissions | 315-323 | Deals with the establishment and functions of Public Service Commissions. | |
| Part 14A | Tribunals | 323A-323B | Deals with administrative tribunals. Added by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. |
| Part 15 | Elections | 324-329A | Deals with the conduct of elections. |
| Part 16 | Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes | 330-342A | Deals with provisions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward classes. |
| Part 17 | Official Language | 343-351 | Deals with the official languages of the Union and States. |
| Chapter I: Language of the Union | 343-344 | Designates Hindi as the official language of the Union. | |
| Chapter II: Regional Languages | 345-347 | Deals with regional languages as official languages of the States. | |
| Chapter III: Language of the Supreme Court and High Courts, etc. | 348-349 | Deals with the language to be used in the Supreme Court and High Courts. | |
| Chapter IV: Special Directives | 350-351 | Directives relating to the promotion of Hindi. | |
| Part 18 | Emergency Provisions | 352-360 | Deals with provisions for National Emergency, State Emergency, and Financial Emergency. |
| Part 19 | Miscellaneous | 361-367 | Deals with various miscellaneous provisions. |
| Part 20 | Amendment of the Constitution | 368 | Deals with the procedure for amending the Constitution. |
| Part 21 | Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions | 369-392 | Deals with temporary and transitional provisions. |
| Part 22 | Short title, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindi and Repeals | 393-395 | Deals with the short title, commencement, and authoritative text of the Constitution. |
Important Note: Although there are 22 parts listed, due to insertions and repeals, the Indian Constitution effectively has 25 parts when counting sequentially.