Constitution as a Living Document
Class 11 Political Science · Indian Constitution at Work · Chapter 9
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Summary
This chapter shows how the same Constitution has worked for over seven decades by being a living document that responds to changing needs. Unlike the USSR or France, which rewrote their constitutions several times, India has been governed by one Constitution adopted on 26 November 1949, because it accepts modification according to changing needs and has been interpreted flexibly by political practice and judicial rulings. The chapter explains the amendment procedure under Article 368, which combines flexibility and rigidity: some provisions can be changed by a simple majority "by law"; most require a special majority of both houses; and provisions affecting federal relations also need ratification by half the State legislatures. Only elected representatives can amend the Constitution, reflecting parliamentary sovereignty. It analyses why there have been so many amendments (106 in 74 years), classifying them as technical/administrative, those resolving differing interpretations between Parliament and judiciary, and those reflecting political consensus; it notes controversial amendments like the 38th, 39th and 42nd during the Emergency, and the corrective 43rd and 44th. The basic structure doctrine from the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), reaffirmed in the Minerva Mills case (1980), sets limits on amendment, balancing rigidity and flexibility, and itself exemplifies a living constitution shaped by judicial interpretation and the maturity of political leadership.
Constitution as a Living Document
Key terms
Living document
a constitution that keeps responding to changing situations through interpretation, practice and amendment.
Article 368
the article laying down the procedure for amending the Constitution.
Special majority
two-thirds of those present and voting plus a majority of the total membership of the House, required for most amendments.
Ratification by States
the additional requirement that legislatures of half the States approve amendments affecting federal relations.
Basic structure doctrine
the judicial principle that Parliament cannot amend the basic structure of the Constitution.
42nd Amendment
the wide-ranging and controversial amendment of the Emergency period, later partly reversed by the 43rd and 44th amendments.
Extra questions & answers
Try one from this chapter
The Indian Constitution is called a "living document" because it: