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A Short Note On Schedules Of Indian Constitution

Schedules are a part of the Indian constitution which have details that are not mentioned in the articles. In the beginning, our constitution had eight schedules. Later, amendments were made and four more schedules were added.

The Indian Constitution mentioned the schedules for the first time back in 1935, in the Government Of India Act. Initially, it had 8 schedules and later 4 new schedules were added through amendments. 

List Of Schedules 

  1. The First schedule has a list of union territories and states. 
  2. The second schedule has provisions for the President, governor of the state, speaker and deputy speaker, and all the high position holders in the parliament. 
  3. The Third schedule includes oaths and affirmations. 
  4. This schedule includes the allocation of seats in the council of states. 
  5. The Fifth schedule contains information for the control of SCs and STs. 
  6. The sixth schedule includes the administration of tribal areas. 
  7. The seventh schedule consists of a union and states list. 
  8. The eighth schedule is about the languages recognized in the country. 
  9. The Ninth schedule controls the agreement of acts and regulations. 
  10. The tenth schedule has provisions for disqualification in case of a problem. 
  11. The eleventh schedule explains the powers, authority and responsibilities of panchayats. 
  12. The twelfth schedule explains the powers, authority and responsibilities of the municipalities. 

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Purpose Of Schedules In The Indian Constitution

  • The schedules mentioned in the Indian Constitution don’t have a legal element, which makes the provisions easy to understand. The provisions become less complicated and brief. 
  • The schedules of the Indian Constitution make it easier to make revisions or updates to the provisions as the amendments are divided. The whole article does not have to be revised in case of updates, which saves a lot of time. 
  • The schedule not only acts as an aid to the Indian Constitution but also for various laws. With the help of the schedules, there are defined lists of states and union territories. The schedules also take care of lists of laws for the state and the union. 
  • Schedules can be used to solve a variety of problems. They can be adhered to when clarification or more information is required on a subject matter. 

These schedules are part of the constitution; they are not in the constitution. They are kept as separate documents in our constitution. 

Our constitution is very lengthy and adding extra information to the articles would make it hard to understand. Thus schedules were added separately so that additional information could be added about provisions that were not added in the articles of our Indian Constitution. 

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Key Features

  • The schedules make it easier for the reader to understand and analyse the information of the Indian legislation more effectively. 
  • The information mentioned in these schedules is not legal. It can be easily understood. It is technical and administrative in nature. 
  • The main text of the act is of the perfect size and length. All the additional information is added to the schedules of the Indian Constitution. 
  • Schedules make it easier for amendments or changes to be made as they are written separately with divisions. It makes the process of amendments more convenient. 
  • The schedules are mentioned in chronological order of the provisions. 
  • All the additional information is made as a part of the main text with the help of these schedules. 
  • The information written in these schedules can be presented in any form, in graphs, in flowcharts or in numbers. This helps in the imparting of information most effectively. 

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Fundamental Rights

Fundamental rights are the rights that are guaranteed by the constitution of India. 

There are six fundamental rights that cater to the following- 

  1. Equality. 
  2. Freedom.
  3. Exploitation. 
  4. Freedom of religion. 
  5. Cultural and educational access. 
  6. Constitutional remedies. 

These rights were established by Sardar Vallabhai Patel. If any of the fundamental rights are violated, the supreme court can be petitioned under article 32 of the Indian Constitution. 

Untouchability and discrimination based on religion or caste are also prohibited by these fundamental rights. Human and labour trafficking is also forbidden as a crime under these rights. 

Conclusion

Schedules are used to bring clarity to the Indian Constitution. They are used by various legislations. There are a total of 12 schedules. It has extra information that has not been made a part of the articles of the constitution.

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Frequently asked questions

Get answers to the most common queries related to the UPSC Examination Preparation.

Which are the states that come under tribal areas in schedule six of the Indian Constitution?

Ans. Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura are the states that come under schedule six of the Indian Constitution.Â...Read full

What are schedules?

Ans. Schedules are tables which have additional information that is not mentioned in the articles. Our constitution ...Read full

Which schedule recognises the official languages of the republic of India?

Ans. The eight schedule recognises the official languages of India. It Includes Assamese, Bengali, Gujrati, Hindi, K...Read full

Explain 11th and 12th schedule of India.

Ans. 11th schedule- it contains information regarding the power and authority of panchayats.  ...Read full

Who is mentioned in the second schedule of the Indian constitution?

Ans. The president, governor of states, speaker and the deputy speaker of the house of the people and the chairman a...Read full