Introduction

India's Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and its implementation formally began on 26 January 1950. More than 69 years later, the very same Constitution still provides the framework within which the government of the country operates.

This raises a natural question: is it that our Constitution is so good that it needs no change at all, or that its makers were so farsighted that they foresaw every future situation? In some sense both answers are partly true. India did inherit a very robust Constitution, and its makers were farsighted enough to provide for many future situations. But no Constitution, however carefully drafted, can provide for every eventuality — no document can be written so completely that it never needs a change. …