Controversial Amendments

Not every amendment has gone through smoothly. The period from 1970 to 1980 in particular generated real legal and political controversy, and parties that were in the opposition during 1971-1976 saw many of the amendments of that time as attempts by the ruling party to subvert the Constitution rather than genuinely improve it. The 38th, 39th and 42nd Amendments — all made against the background of the internal Emergency declared in June 1975 — are widely regarded as the most controversial amendments in India's constitutional history.

Of these, the 42nd Amendment stood out for how wide-ranging it was. It changed the Preamble itself, altered the Seventh Schedule, and touched 53 different articles of the Constitution — changes so extensive that it was described at the time as practically a rewriting of large parts of the original Constitution. Among other things, it added the Fundamental Duties to the Constitution, extended the normal term of the Lok Sabha from five years to six, and placed restrictions on the judiciary's power of review — in part as an attempt to override the Supreme Court's ruling in the Kesavananda Bharati case. It was passed in Parliament while many opposition MPs were in jail because of the Emergency. …