Revision summary
The Forty-second Amendment Act, 1976, is called a mini-Constitution because of its range. It changed the Preamble and added Article 51A duties and new DPSPs. It bound the President, extended House terms, and moved several subjects to the Concurrent List. It tried to shield constitutional amendments from judicial review. The Forty-fourth Amendment and Minerva Mills rolled much of that rewriting back.
Model answer
Introduction
The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, passed in the Emergency, touched so many Parts at once that it is often called a mini-Constitution or a rewriting of the 1950 text. The claim is about scale, not about a new Constituent Assembly.
Body
Why it is called a revision
- It altered the Preamble by inserting socialist, secular, and integrity, which is a change to the stated philosophy of the State.
- It added Part IVA and Article 51A on Fundamental Duties, and new Directive Principles in Articles 39A, 43A, and 48A, so rights, duties, and policy were recast together.
- It made the President bound by Cabinet advice under Article 74, lengthened the Lok Sabha and Assemblies to six years, and shifted education, forests, wildlife, and weights and measures to the Concurrent List.
Why the rewriting charge is fair but incomplete
- Article 31C was widened and Article 368 was fortified against judicial review, which tried to put the amendment itself beyond the Court; Minerva Mills (1980) later cut that back.
- Articles 323A and 323B created tribunal routes that pulled service and other disputes off ordinary courts.
- The Forty-fourth Amendment, 1978, restored much of the pre-1976 balance on emergency, property, and House tenure, proving that 1976 was a political rewrite, not a final new Constitution.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD E[Emergency 1975-77] --> A[42nd Amendment 1976] A --> P[Preamble duties DPSPs] A --> I[Institutions and Concurrent List] A --> J[Curtailed review] J --> M[Minerva Mills 44th Amendment]
Conclusion
The Forty-second Amendment is called a revision because it rewrote the Preamble, added duties, expanded DPSPs, bound the President, moved subjects, and tried to lock amendments from review in a single Emergency statute. Later amendments and Minerva Mills show that the rewrite was large, not permanent.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Mention three demerits of Judicial Activism.
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Did the 42nd Amendment replace the 1950 Constitution?
No. It amended the existing text on a very large scale. The same Constitution continued, later corrected by the 44th Amendment and by the Court.
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Which later amendment reversed House tenure to five years?
The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, restored five-year terms for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
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