The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, a written framework that defines the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out the rights and duties of citizens. It is the longest written national constitution in the world. The Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, and came into force on January 26, 1950, establishing India as a sovereign democratic republic. Its creation solved the problem of governing a newly independent nation, replacing the Government of India Act, 1935, and the Indian Independence Act, 1947, by providing a comprehensive, autochthonous legal basis for a parliamentary system.
The Constitution originally contained 395 Articles in 22 Parts and 8 Schedules. It works by establishing a federal structure with a parliamentary system, dividing power among the Legislature (Parliament, defined in Articles 79 to 122), the Executive, and the Judiciary (Supreme Court, defined in Articles 124 to 147). Key provisions include Part III (Articles 12 to 35) on Fundamental Rights (like the Right to Equality in Article 14 and the Right to Constitutional Remedies in Article 32), and Part IV (Articles 36 to 51) on Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
The Constitution connects to major institutions like the Supreme Court (created by Article 124) and the Election Commission of India (created by Article 324). It is a dynamic document, with the power to amend it lying with Parliament under Article 368. As of late 2023, it has been amended 106 times. A recent significant change is the 106th Amendment Act, 2023, which introduced a one-third reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The core principle of the Basic Structure doctrine, established in the 1973 judgment of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, which holds that Parliament cannot alter the Constitution's fundamental features, has stayed the same.