Important Articles of the Indian Constitution

India is the world's largest democratic country. Our Indian constitution was adopted on January 26, 1950, after nearly 200 years of colonial rule, countless freedom struggles, the Indian national movement, sectarian violence, and a historic legacy. The Constitution defines the duties and responsibilities of the three branches of government: the judiciary, legislative and executive. The Indian Constitution has several important articles that define a person's fundamental rights, political rules, procedures, and duties. Hence, this article will help us in learning about all of the important articles of the Indian Constitution.

 

How many Articles are in the Constitution?

The Indian Constitution is an important topic for IAS aspirants as it mostly appears in the UPSC exam. A constitutional article is a set of instructions that describe a rule & regulations, theses articles discuss the political system, individual rights, and election process, etc. There are 448 articles, 25 parts, 12 schedules, and 104 amendments in Indian constitution, earlier that in 1949 there were 395 articles in 22 parts. The articles in each part cover various aspects of the Constitution, such as legislatures, executive branches, schedules, sections, constitutional bodies, statutory bodies, fundamental rights, and so on.

Also Read, Important Features of Indian Constitution

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List of Important Articles in the Indian Constitution

Since Indian Polity is an important subject for the aspirants in UPSC exam, it is essential to know all the articles and amendments of the Indian Constitution. Below we have mentioned a list of the most significant Indian Constitutional Articles, along with a brief description of each one that made up the Indian Constitution.

Article 1 - Article 4 (Part 1)

• Article 1 - Name and territory of the union
• Article 2 - Admission and establishment of the new state
• Article 3 - Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries, and name of existing states

 

Article 5 - Article 11 (Part 2)

• Article 5 - Citizenship at the commencement of the constitution
• Article 6 - Rights of citizenship of a certain person who has migrated to India from Pakistan
• Article 10 - Continuance of rights of citizenship
• Article 11 - Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law

 

Article 12 - Article 35 (Part 3)

• Article 12 - Definition of the state
• Article 13 - Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights

 

Important Fundamental Rights of India

There used to be 7 Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution, but currently only 6 are left. The Right to Property U/A 31 was removed by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978. A legal right U/A 300-A was created and added to Part XII of the Constitution.

 

Right to Equality: Article 14 to Article 18

• Article 14 - Equality before the law
• Article 15 - Prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth
• Article 16 - Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
• Article 17 - Abolition of the untouchability
• Article 18 - Abolition of titles

 

Right to Freedom: Article 19 to Article 22

• Article 19 - Guarantees the six rights to citizens of India

1. Freedom of speech and expression
2. Freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms
3. Freedom to form associations or unions
4. Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India
5. Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India
6. Omitted
7. Freedom to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business

 

• Article 20 - Protection in respect of conviction for offenses
• Article 21 - Protection of life and personal liberty
• Article 22 - Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases

 

Right to Exploitation: Article 23 to Article 24

• Article 23 - Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labor
• Article 24 - Prohibition of employment of children (Under the age of 14) in factories and mines

 

Right to Exploitation: Article 25 to Article 28

• Article 25 - Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion
• Article 26 - Freedom to manage religious affairs
• Article 27 - Freedom as to pay taxes for promotion of any particular religion
• Article 28 - Freedom from attending religious instruction

 

Cultural and Educational Rights: Article 29 to Article 30

• Article 29 - Protection of interest of minorities
• Article 30 - Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions

 

Right to Constitutional Remedies: Article 32

• Article 32 - Remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights

 

Directive Principal of States Policy: Article 36 - 51 (Part 4)

• Article 36 - Definition
• Article 37 - Application of DPSP
• Article 39A - Equal justice and free legal aid
• Article 40 - Organization of a village panchayat
• Article 41 - Right to work, to education, and to public assistance in certain cases
• Article 43 - Living Wages, etc. for Workers
• Article 43A - Participation of workers in management of industries
• Article 44 - Uniform civil code ( applicable in Goa only)
• Article 45 - Provision for free and compulsory education for children
• Article 46 - Promotion of educational and economic interest of scheduled castes, ST, and OBC
• Article 47 - Duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health
• Article 48 - Organization of agriculture and animal husbandry
• Article 49 - Protection of monuments and places and objects of natural importance
• Article 50 - Separation of judiciary from the executive
• Article 51 - Promotion of international peace and security

 

Fundamental Duties: Article 51A (Part 4A)

Earlier there were 10 Fundamental Duties but after 86th Amendment Act 2002 it became 11 Duties.

Union: Article 52 - 151 (Part 5)

• Article 52 - The President of India
• Article 53 - Executive Power of the union
• Article 54 - Election of President
• Article 61 - Procedure for Impeachment of the President
• Article 63 - The Vice-president of India
• Article 64 - The Vice-President to be ex-officio chairman the council of States
• Article 66 - Election of Vice-president
• Article 72 - Pardoning powers of President
• Article 74 - Council of ministers to aid and advise President
• Article 76 - Attorney-General for India
• Article 79 - Constitution of Parliament
• Article 80 - Composition of Rajya Sabha
• Article 81 - Composition of Lok Sabha
• Article 83 - Duration of Houses of Parliament
• Article 93 - The speakers and Deputy speakers of the house of the people
• Article 105 - Powers, Privileges, etc. of the House of Parliament
• Article 109 - Special procedure in respects of money bills
• Article 110 - Definition of “Money Bills”
• Article 112 - Annual Financial Budget
• Article 114 - Appropriation Bills
• Article 123 - Powers of the President to promulgate Ordinances during recess of parliament
• Article 124 - Establishment of Supreme Court
• Article 125 - Salaries of Judges
• Article 126 - Appointment of acting Chief justice
• Article 127 - Appointment of ad-hoc judges
• Article 128 - Attendance of retired judge at sitting of the Supreme Court
• Article 129 - Supreme Court to be a court of Record
• Article 130 - Seat of the Supreme Court
• Article 136 - Special leaves for an appeal to the Supreme Court
• Article 137 - Review of judgment or orders by the Supreme Court
• Article 141 - Decision of the Supreme Court binding on all the courts
• Article 148 - Comptroller and Auditor- General of India
• Article 149 - Duties and Powers of CAG

 

States: Article 152 - 237 (Part 6)

• Article 153 - Governors of State
• Article 154 - Executive Powers of Governor
• Article 161 - Pardoning powers of the Governor
• Article 165 - Advocate-General of the State
• Article 213 - Power of Governor to promulgate ordinances
• Article 214 - High Courts for states
• Article 215 - High Courts to be a court of record
• Article 226 - Power of High Courts to issue certain writs
• Article 233 - Appointment of District judges
• Article 235 - Control over Subordinate Courts

 

Repealed: Article 238 (Part 7)

 

Union Territories: Article 239 - 242 (Part 8)

 

Panchayats: Article 243 - 243O (Part 9)

• Article 243A - Gram Sabha
• Article 243B - Constitution of Panchayats

 

Municipalities: Article 243P - 243ZG (Part 9A)

 

Co-operative Societies: Article 243ZH - 243ZT (Part 9B)

 

Scheduled and Tribal Areas: Article 244 (Part 10)

 

Center- State Relations: Article 245 - 263 (Part 11)

 

Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits: Article 264 - 300A (Part 12)

• Article 266 - Consolidated Fund and Public Accounts Fund
• Article 267 - Contingency Fund of India
• Article 280 - Finance Commission
• Article 300-A - Right to property

 

Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the territories of India: Article 301 - 307 (Part 13)

• Article 301 - Freedom to trade, commerce, and intercourse.
• Article 302 - Power of Parliament to impose restrictions on trade, commerce, and intercourse.

 

Services Under Center and State: Article 308 - 323 (Part 14)

• Article 312 - All- India-Service.
• Article 315 - Public service commissions for the union and for the states
• Article 320 - Functions of Public Service Commission.

 

Tribunals: Article 323A - 323B (Part 14A)

• Article 323A - Administrative Tribunals

 

Elections: Article 324 - 329 (Part 15)

• Article 324 - Superintendence, direction and control of Elections to be vested in an Election Commission.
• Article 325 - No person to be ineligible for inclusion in or to claim to be included in a special, electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste, or sex.
• Article 326 - Elections to the house of the people and to the legislative assemblies of states to be on the basis of adult suffrage.

 

Special Provisions to SC, ST, OBC, Minorities etc: Article 330 - 342 (Part 16)

• Article 338 - National Commission for the SC, & ST.
• Article 340 - Appointment of a commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes.

 

Official Language: Article 343 - 351 (Part 17)

• Article 343 - Official languages of the Union.
• Article 345 - Official languages or languages of states.
• Article 348 - Languages to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts.
• Article 351 - Directive for development of the Hindi languages.

 

Emergency: Article 352 - 360 (Part 18)

• Article 352 - Proclamation of emergency ( National Emergency).
• Article 356 - State Emergency (President’s Rule)
• Article 360 - Financial Emergency

 

Miscellaneous: Article 361 - 367 (Part 19)

• Article 361- Protection of President and Governors

 

Amendment of Constitution: Article 368 (Part 20)

• Article 368 - Powers of Parliaments to amend the constitution

 

Special, Transitional and Temporary Provisions: Article 369 - 392 (Part 21)

• Article 370 - Special provision of J&K.
• Article 371A - Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland
• Article 371-J - Special Status for Hyderabad-Karnataka region

 

Short Text, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindi and Repeals : Article 392 - 395 (Part 22)

• Article 393 - Short title - This Constitution may be called the Constitution of India.

 

Must Read Articles in Indian Constitution

Although you are aware of the articles listed above, it is not necessary to know every article of the Indian Constitution for UPSC exams. The table below gives you a summary of the most important articles on the Indian Constitution for the Civil Services exam.

Article 12-35:	This article discusses the six fundamental rights. Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to Constitutional Remedies.
Article 36-51:	This part of the article covers the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). The concept of DPSP originated in the Spanish Constitution and was borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland.
Article 51 A:	It specifies 11 fundamental duties and responsibilities that all citizens of our country need to perform. The basic requirement of these duties is to protect the sovereignty of our nation and safeguard the unity and integrity of our country.
Article 343:	Under this article, the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
Article 356:	The Article 356 of the Indian Constitution empowers the President to suspend the state government and impose President's rule in any state of the country. The President may declare an emergency if he believes that the state government can no longer function according to the provisions of the Constitution. It is also known as ‘State Emergency’ or ‘Constitutional Emergency’.
Article 370:	Under the provision of Article 370, provides a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and allows the state to draft its own constitution. Parliament needs the approval of the J&K government before making laws in the state - apart from defense, foreign affairs, finance and communications.
Article 395:	The Indian Independence Act, 1947, and the Government of India Act, 1935, together with all enactments amending or supplementing the latter Act, but not including the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949, are hereby repealed.

Schedules of the Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution has 12 Schedules. These are listed below, along with the Indian Constitution articles:

Indian Constitution Schedules	Importance
First Schedule	It includes the states and union territories
Second Schedule	Provisions relating to government authorities such as President, Ministers, Governors, Chairman, Speaker, Judges, etc.
Third Schedule	Includes the oath and affirmation forms
Fourth Schedule	It specifies the allotment of Rajya Sabha seats to States and Union Territories.
Fifth Schedule	It regulates the management and control of scheduled areas and tribes.
Sixth Schedule	It makes provisions for the management of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
Seventhh Schedule	It discusses the three legislative powers— Union, State, and Concurrent.
Eigth Schedule	It covers the 22 official Indian languages.
Ninth Schedule	It mentions state acts and regulations like land reform and zamindari abolishment. It protects laws from judicial interference.
Tenth Schedule	It discusses the dismissal and removal of MPs and state legislators for comparable reasons.
Eleventh Schedule	It specifies Panchayats' powers, authority, and obligations. There are a total of 29 matters.
Twelth Schedule:	It deals with the provisions that define municipal powers, authority, and obligations.

Parts of the Constitution

The Indian constitution originally included 395 articles divided into 22 parts and 8 schedules. The number of articles has expanded to 448 since its introduction with various amendments. There are 25 parts of Indian Constitution that are mentioned below: 

1. The Union and its Territory
2. Citizenship
3. Fundamental Rights
4. Directive Principles of the State Policy
5. Fundamental Duties
6. The Union 
7. The State
8. Repealed by Const. (7th Amendment) Act, 1956
9. Union Territory
10. Panchayati Raj
11. The Municipalities
12. Co-operative Societies
13. Scheduled and Tribal Areas
14. Relations between the Union and the States
15. Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
16. Trade, Commerce, and Intercourse within the territory
17. Services under the Union and the States
18. Tribunals
19. Elections
20. Special Provisions for certain classes
21. Official Language
22. Emergency Provisions
23. Miscellaneous
24. Amendment of the Constitution
25. Temporary, Transitional, and Special Provisions

 

Important Questions for UPSC

• Que. What is the basis of recognition of minorities in Indian Constitution?

Ans. Minorities based on religion or language are recognized under Article 30 of India's Constitution. By Article 30, all minorities are guaranteed the right to create and govern educational institutions of their choice; they are not barred from doing so because they are a minority group.

• Que. What does Article 12 say?

Ans. Article 12 defines the term 'state'. Unless the context indicates otherwise, "the State" includes the Government and Parliament of India and the Government and the Legislature of each of the States and all local or other authorities within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India.

• Que. Which act introduced a bicameral legislature in the centre?

Ans. In India, the Government of India Act, 1919 established a bicameral legislature with a Council of States consisting of 60 members and a Legislative Assembly consisting of 145 members.

• Que. Explain the Fundamental rights of a citizen?

Ans. The Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights to Indian citizens as follows:
(i) right to equality
(ii) right to freedom
(iii) right against exploitation
(iv) right to freedom of religion
(v) cultural and educational rights
(vi) right to constitutional remedies.

• Que. How many articles are there in the Indian Constitution?

Ans. The constitution includes a preamble and 470 articles divided into 25 parts. It has been revised 104 times, with the most recent amendment taking effect on 25 January 2020.

• Que. Which article is for equality before the law?

Ans. Article 14. Equality before law. It ensures the equal treatment of everyone before the law, prevents discrimination on various grounds, treats everybody as equals in matters of public employment, and abolishes untouchability, and titles (such as Sir, Rai Bahadur, etc).

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