The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India, which incorporated Article 17 in the Fundamental Rights chapter, declaring “untouchability” abolished and prohibiting its practice in any form.
The Constitution of India came into effect, making Article 17 (abolition of untouchability) enforceable as a Fundamental Right and providing a constitutional basis for penal legislation and safeguards.
With the Constitution in force, Article 338 (as originally enacted in 1950) provided for a Special Officer for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to investigate and report on the working of constitutional safeguards—an early institutional mechanism for monitoring protections.
Using powers under Article 341, the President issued the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, specifying which groups were recognized as Scheduled Castes for purposes including political representation and protective/affirmative measures.
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 (C.O. 22) was issued to specify Scheduled Tribes under Article 342, enabling constitutional safeguards and reserved political representation to operate with defined beneficiary lists.
In State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, the Supreme Court invalidated a caste-based communal G.O. for admissions, holding it violated constitutional nondiscrimination provisions; the decision became an immediate trigger for constitutional change enabling certain affirmative-action measures.
The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 (enacted on this date) inserted Article 15(4), clarifying that the equality guarantee does not prevent the State from making special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes and for SC/STs, strengthening the constitutional footing for affirmative action.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951 established the statutory framework for elections, including the operationalization of constitutional provisions such as reserved constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in legislatures.
Parliament enacted the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 to give penal force to Article 17 by criminalizing specific disabilities and exclusions imposed on the ground of untouchability (later renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act).
The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 commenced, creating enforceable criminal prohibitions against a range of discriminatory practices (e.g., denial of access to public places/services) connected to untouchability, operationalizing Article 17 beyond a constitutional declaration.
Constitutional abolition of untouchability and safeguards in India (1947–1955)
