7th Constitutional Amendment Act 1956

Also called: 7th Amendment · Topic: Challenges of Nation Building: Partition, Princely States and Reorganisation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 changed the Constitution so that it matched the new map of India drawn by the States Reorganisation Act 1956. It ended the Part A, B, C and D classes of states, kept only two kinds of units (States and Union Territories), allowed one Governor and one High Court for two or more states, and added Articles 350A and 350B to protect linguistic minorities [1].

It matters because the 1956 map gave states boundaries based on language. That map could only work if the Constitution was rewritten to match it. The amendment also gave India its first constitutional safeguards for people who speak a minority language inside a language-based state.

Explanation

Why it was needed

• The old map had four classes of states (1950):
• Part A: the former governors' provinces, such as Bombay and Madras. Each had a Governor.
• Part B: the former princely states and unions of princely states, headed by a Rajpramukh (usually a former ruler acting as the head of a state union). Jammu and Kashmir was also in Part B.
• Part C: the former chief commissioners' provinces, such as Delhi, Coorg and Ajmer.

• Part D: only the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• The trigger:

• Andhra state was formed in 1953, after Potti Sriramulu died on a fast in December 1952.
• This set off demands for language-based states all over India.

• The States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) reported on 30 September 1955 [4]. It advised ending the Part A-D classes, abolishing the office of Rajpramukh and protecting linguistic minorities.

• The law and the amendment were a pair:

• The States Reorganisation Act 1956 (Act No. 37 of 1956) redrew the map. It created 14 states and 6 UTs from 1 November 1956 [6].
• The Seventh Amendment made the Constitution fit that new map [1].

Its main parts

Change	What it did
Ended Part A, B, C (and D) states	Only two kinds of units remained: States and Union Territories [1]
Rewrote the First Schedule	Listed the new states and UTs
Common Governor	One person can be Governor of two or more states
Common High Court	Parliament can set up one High Court for two or more states, or for a state and a UT
Inserted Art. 350A	States and local authorities must try to provide teaching in the mother tongue at the primary stage for children of linguistic minority groups. The President may issue directions to a state to secure this [1][2]
Inserted Art. 350B	A Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities, appointed by the President, checks whether the safeguards are working and reports to the President [1][3]

• Office of Rajpramukh ended: the Part B class was abolished, so the Rajpramukh's post went with it. Every state now had a Governor.
• Linguistic minorities: groups that speak a smaller language inside a state, such as Kannada speakers in Maharashtra.

Limits

• The amendment did not create the states. The States Reorganisation Act did that, as an ordinary law under Art. 3 [6][7].
• Art. 350A only asks states to "try" to provide teaching in the mother tongue. It is a duty to make efforts, not a guarantee [2].
• The Special Officer under Art. 350B can only investigate and report. The officer cannot force a state to act [3].

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits:
• It changed Art. 1 and the First Schedule (the list of states and UTs).
• It changed the provisions on Governors and High Courts so they could be shared.

• It inserted Arts. 350A and 350B in Part XVII (Official Language) [1].

• How it connects to Art. 3:

• Parliament can redraw states by ordinary law, passed by a simple majority.
• The bill needs the President's recommendation before it is introduced.
• The affected state's legislature is asked for its views, but those views are not binding [7].

• So the SRA 1956 itself was an Art. 3 law. The Seventh Amendment changed the wider structure of the Constitution, which an Art. 3 law alone could not do.

• Key instances:

• 1 November 1956: the new map came into force. Kerala was formed, Mysore was enlarged (renamed Karnataka in 1973), Andhra Pradesh got Telangana, and Bombay stayed a bilingual state [6].
• Common High Court and common Governor: these have often been used for smaller states and UTs that share one High Court or one Governor.

• Art. 350B Special Officer: this is the main constitutional office for linguistic minorities, who still face pressure in schooling and jobs [3].

• Lasting effect:

• The States-and-UTs pattern it set up is still used. New states (1960 to 2014) and the 2019 reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into two UTs all fitted into this two-part structure.
• Leaders such as Nehru had feared that language-based states would encourage separatism (a region wanting to break away from India). That did not happen. Language-based states widened democracy and made national unity stronger.

Don't confuse with

• States Reorganisation Act 1956: this is an ordinary law made under Art. 3. It actually created the 14 states and 6 UTs and set up the Zonal Councils [6]. The Seventh Amendment changed the Constitution itself to fit that map [1].
• Seventh Schedule: this is the Union, State and Concurrent Lists that divide law-making powers. It has nothing to do with the Seventh Amendment. This is a common naming trap.
• Zonal Councils: these are statutory bodies set up by Part III of the SRA 1956, not by the Seventh Amendment. They are chaired by the Union Home Minister [5].
• Art. 350A vs Art. 350B: 350A is a duty on states to provide mother-tongue teaching at the primary stage [2]. 350B creates an officer (the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities) who reports to the President [3].

Prelims Hooks

• 7th Amendment, 1956: ended Part A, B, C and D states, and left only States and Union Territories [1].
• It allowed a common Governor and a common High Court for two or more states [1].
• It inserted Art. 350A (mother-tongue teaching at the primary stage) and Art. 350B (Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities, appointed by and reporting to the President) [1][2][3].
• The SRA 1956 came into force on 1 November 1956 and created 14 states + 6 UTs. That was the Act's work, not the amendment's [6].
• Trap: the SRC (chair Fazl Ali, with K.M. Panikkar and H.N. Kunzru) advised ending Part A-D and abolishing the Rajpramukh [4]. The JVP Committee (1948-49) and the Dar Commission (1948) were earlier bodies.
• Trap: "Seventh Amendment = Seventh Schedule" is wrong.

Mains Points

• Accommodation as nation-building (GS-I):
• The Seventh Amendment gave constitutional shape to language-based states. It also protected the minorities left inside them through Arts. 350A-350B [1].

• Recognising diversity, instead of suppressing it, strengthened unity. Nehru's fear of separatism proved wrong.

• Federalism trade-off (GS-II):

• The 1956 package showed how flexible the Union is. Parliament can redraw states without their consent (Art. 3) [7]. This is why India is called "an indestructible Union of destructible states".

• A balanced answer adds consultative tools, such as the Zonal Councils, which work towards cooperative federalism (the Centre and the states working together) [5].

• Unfinished agenda on linguistic minorities:

• 'Sons of the soil' politics, border disputes such as Belagavi (the Mahajan Commission, 1966-67) and pressure on minority schooling continue.
• Possible reforms:
  • give the Art. 350B Special Officer more power [3];
  • enforce Art. 350A more firmly [2];
  • use Zonal Councils actively to settle disputes [5].

Related concepts

• Part A, B, C and D states
• States Reorganisation Commission
• States Reorganisation Act 1956
• Linguistic reorganisation of states

Read more

• The States Reorganisation Commission and the 1956 reorganisation