Constitutional Amendments for Social Justice — Amendments

Amendment	Year	Description	Impact
1st	1951	Introduced Article 15(4) for special provisions for backward classes/SCs/STs, and Articles 31A/31B and the Ninth Schedule to protect land reform laws from judicial review.	Provided the constitutional basis for reservations and protected early land reform legislation, overcoming initial judicial challenges to state-led social engineering.
4th	1955	Amended Article 31(2) to make adequacy of compensation for acquired property non-justiciable and expanded the scope of Article 31A.	Further strengthened the state's power to implement land reforms and nationalization policies by limiting judicial intervention on compensation.
7th	1956	Reorganized states on a linguistic basis, abolished Part A, B, C, D states, and provided for common High Courts and Union Territories.	Crucial for administrative justice and creating the modern federal structure, indirectly contributing to social justice through more coherent and equitable governance.
9th	1960	Effected the transfer of Berubari Union territory to Pakistan as per an international agreement, amending the First Schedule.	Demonstrated the constitutional mechanism for territorial adjustments and affirmed the importance of constitutional integrity in international relations, a facet of a just legal order.
25th	1971	Replaced 'compensation' with 'amount' in Article 31(2) and introduced Article 31C, giving primacy to Article 39(b) and (c) over Articles 14, 19, 31.	Aimed to facilitate socialist policies by limiting judicial review on property acquisition and prioritizing certain Directive Principles, though later restricted by the Basic Structure Doctrine.
42nd	1976	Added 'Socialist' and 'Secular' to the Preamble, expanded Article 31C to cover all DPSPs, and added Articles 39A, 43A, 48A.	A comprehensive amendment reinforcing India's socialist and secular character and strengthening the state's power to implement welfare policies, though some parts were later struck down or modified.
73rd	1992	Granted constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions, mandating a three-tier system, regular elections, and reservations for SC/ST/women.	Revolutionized rural local self-governance, ensuring democratic decentralization and empowering marginalized communities, especially women, at the grassroots level.
74th	1992	Granted constitutional status to Urban Local Bodies (Municipalities), mandating similar provisions for urban areas as the 73rd Amendment.	Strengthened urban governance and ensured representation for SC/ST/women in urban planning and decision-making, addressing urban social justice issues.
77th	1995	Introduced Article 16(4A), enabling the state to make provisions for reservation in matters of promotion for SC/STs with consequential seniority.	Overcame the Indra Sawhney judgment's bar on reservations in promotions, ensuring upward mobility and representation for SC/STs in public services.
81st	2000	Introduced Article 16(4B), allowing unfilled reserved vacancies to be carried forward without being subject to the 50% reservation ceiling.	Addressed the backlog of SC/ST vacancies by exempting carried-forward quotas from the 50% ceiling, ensuring that reservation benefits are not lost.
85th	2001	Amended Article 16(4A) to provide for consequential seniority to SC/STs in promotions retrospectively from June 17, 1995.	Clarified and protected the seniority of SC/ST employees promoted under reservation, ensuring their career progression is not hampered by later promotions of general category colleagues.
93rd	2005	Introduced Article 15(5), enabling the state to make special provisions for reservation for SC/ST/OBCs in private unaided educational institutions (excluding minority institutions).	Significantly expanded access to higher education for backward classes by extending reservation benefits to the private unaided sector, overcoming T.M.A. Pai Foundation judgment.
103rd	2019	Introduced Articles 15(6) and 16(6), providing for 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in educational institutions and public employment.	Marked a paradigm shift by introducing economic criteria for reservation, expanding affirmative action beyond caste and addressing the needs of economically disadvantaged sections.
104th	2020	Extended reservation for SC/STs in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for another 10 years (until 2030) and discontinued reservation for Anglo-Indians.	Ensured continued political representation for SC/STs, vital for inclusive democracy, while rationalizing special provisions based on demographic changes.