Union of States : Details of Article 1-4

Article 1 describes India as Union of States rather than Federation of States. And according to the President of the Constituent Assemble, Dr. B.R.Ambedkar "Union of States has been preferred to the Federation of states because the Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement
among the States, as in United States of America. Secondly, the states have no right to secede from the federation."

Article 2 authorises the Parliament to admit new States in the Union and establish new States. It can be said that this article relates only to those states that are not part of the Union. Reason being :
  • It refers to the admission of States which are duly formed and established and are, already in existence.
  • It refers to the admission and formation of a State which was not in existence before.
Article 3 is the main reason that India is called as "Indestructible Union of Destructible States". Article 3 can be easily understood by referring to the formation of new states like Jharkhand from Bihar, as it deals with the internal readjustment of the territories of the Constitution. However, three conditions in this regard under Article 3 are :
  • Only after the recommendation of the President, a Bill mentioning the above changes can be introduced in the Parliament.
  • President should refer the views of the State Legislature concerned, giving the legislature a specific period to express its views.
  • Parliament / President is not bound by the views of the State Legislature.
Article 4 states that Article 2 and Article 3 are not to be considered as amendments of the Constitution under Article 368. This implies that such laws can be passed by a simple majority and by the ordinary legislative policies. But the real controversy started during the Berubari Union case, when the government's decision to cede Berubari Union (Paschim Banga) to Pakistan led to agitation in the citizens of the nation.

Later on, Supreme Court held that the power of Parliament to diminish the area of a State does not cover cession of the Indian territory to a Foreign country. Hence, the Indian Territory can be ceded to a Foreign State only by amending the Constitution under Article 368. Consequently, the 9th Constitutional Amendment Act 1960, was enacted to transfer the Berubari Union to Pakistan.