Answer:

It is generally accepted that a Constitution should be a dynamic document. It should be able to adapt itself to the changing needs of society. Sometimes under the impact of new powerful social and economic forces, the pattern of government requires major changes. As political practices change over time, adjustments to the constitutional text keep it aligned with current practices and help ensure its continued relevance. Constitutional change also gives the citizenry a say in how they are governed.

However, it must also be realized that the Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people. Rather it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government. If a Constitution is changed too often, it may lose its importance, since the safeguards present may be gradually undone by amendments. This could make the Constitution seem like any other law, and lead to erosion of its power. Thus, the basic ideas -- separation of powers, checks and balances, limited government etc. must be necessarily preserved.

The system of government we have, has plenty of flaws because it is run by people. But the flaws can also be fixed without changing the Constitution. As Pt. Nehru appropriately said, "The Constitution should not be changed too frequently. It must be changed when the situation requires it to be changed".

Keeping these factors in mind, the draftsmen of the Indian Constitution incorporated Article 368 in the Constitution. This article deals with the procedure of amendment of the Constitution. It is due to Article 368 that the Indian Constitution can neither be called rigid nor flexible, rather partly rigid and partly flexible.

Articles of the Indian Constitution can be amended through:

♤ a simple majority in the Parliament;

♤ special majority i.e. majority of the total membership of each house and majority of not less than two thirds of the members of each house present and voting;

♤ ratification by atleast half the State Legislatures, in addition to special majority. Examples of a few major amendments, responding to needs of citizen and society:

♤ The 52nd amendment to the Constitution added the Tenth Schedule, which laid down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection. The main intent of the law was to combat the evil of political defections, which arises due to coalition politics.

♤ The introduction of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act institutionalized the Panchayati Raj System. It unleashed the power of the grassroots, providing representation to voiceless and disadvantaged sections. Thus it initiated India’s largest exercise in democratic decentralization.

Some of the amendments have definitely improved the content and quality of the constitutional document in the context of the changed and changing societal, economic or political needs. Others were either inevitable or consequential for implementation of policy decisions. However, there have also been quite a few which were avoidable, unnecessary or motivated by merely political and partisan interest considerations of the ruling majority party (for instance, the 42nd amendment act). In principle, the

Constitution must never be subjected to easy amendments by temporary party majority in legislatures.

It needs to be understood that the growing disenchantment among public, relating to governance, calls for remedies other than constitutional amendments. The most important areas of reforms, in the electoral laws and processes and in political parties, for example, need no constitutional changes. If there is political will legislation can be passed to address the concerns as and when the need arises.