The Union and Its Territory: Articles 1 to 4

India begins with a map. Articles 1 to 4 name the Union and mark out its territory. They also give Parliament the power to create new States or redraw old ones. This is how Telangana, Uttarakhand and the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh came about. Let us see how the four articles work, one step at a time.

1Chapter 1: Article 1, the Union and Its Territory

Must Know

What Article 1 says

• Article 1 says India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.
• The States and their territories are listed in the First Schedule.
• The territory has three parts: the States, the Union territories, and any territory acquired later.
• The First Schedule is the Constitution’s own atlas.

Why “Union” and not “Federation”

• In 1947 the Constituent Assembly inherited over 500 princely states and a patchwork of provinces.
• It had to knit them into one country.
• Ambedkar chose “Union of States” over “Federation”.
• He wanted to show that States cannot secede.
• The Union is indestructible. Its States are not.

State versus Union Territory

• A State has its own elected government. It controls most subjects day to day.
• A Union Territory is usually run by the Centre, often through an Administrator.
• Article 1(3) lists them separately for this reason.
• Both are part of India’s territory.

2Chapter 2: Articles 2, 3 and 4, Reshaping the Map

Must Know

Article 2 and Article 3

• Article 2: Parliament may admit new territory into the Union, or establish new States.
• It can do so on terms it thinks fit.
• Article 3: Parliament may reshape territory already inside India.
• It can form a new State, or unite States or parts of States.
• It can increase or reduce a State’s area.
• It can alter a State’s boundary or change its name.
• Sikkim’s entry in 1975 used the Article 2 side. Telangana’s birth in 2014 used Article 3.

Article 4, the shortcut

• Article 4 says laws under Articles 2 and 3 are not amendments under Article 368.
• So they pass by simple majority, like an ordinary law.
• No special majority is needed. No ratification by half the States is needed.
• Article 4 also lets these laws amend the First and Fourth Schedules directly.

The safeguards

• An Article 3 Bill can be introduced only on the President’s recommendation.
• The President then refers it to the State Legislature for its views, within a time he sets.
• Parliament is not bound by those views.
• In 2014 the Andhra Pradesh Assembly rejected the Telangana Bill.
• Parliament passed it anyway.

3Chapter 3: How the Map Was Redrawn

Good to Know

1956, India on linguistic lines

• The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 redrew the map on linguistic lines.
• It created 14 States and 6 Union territories.
• It was passed under Article 3.

The three States of 2000

• 1 November 2000: Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh.
• 9 November 2000: Uttarakhand, then called Uttaranchal, was carved out of Uttar Pradesh.
• 15 November 2000: Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar.
• All three were born within a fortnight.

2014 and 2019

• 2 June 2014: Telangana became the 29th State, out of Andhra Pradesh.
• It is the latest full State created under Article 3.
• The J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 split Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.
• This used Article 3 too.

Name changes also use Article 3

• Pondicherry became Puducherry on 1 October 2006.
• Uttaranchal became Uttarakhand on 1 January 2007.
• Orissa became Odisha in 2011.
• These were renamings under Article 3, not new States.
• Uttarakhand was therefore renamed after being created. It had two names in seven years.

Sikkim, a different road

• The 35th Amendment (1974) made Sikkim an Associate State.
• The 36th Amendment (1975) made it a full State.
• Sikkim came by constitutional amendments, not by an ordinary Article 3 law.

4Chapter 4: When Article 3 Is Not Enough

Great to Know

Berubari, 1960

• In In re: Berubari Union (1960), the Supreme Court limited Article 3.
• Article 3 covers reshaping territory inside India only.
• It cannot hand Indian territory to a foreign country.
• The Berubari enclave was to go to Pakistan under the Nehru–Noon Agreement.
• That needed a full Article 368 amendment, the 9th Amendment, 1960.

Bangladesh, 2015

• The 2015 land boundary deal with Bangladesh followed the same route.
• The 100th Amendment changed the First Schedule.
• It also needed ratification by State legislatures.
• Both cases gave up Indian territory. Both needed Article 368, not Article 3.

5Chapter 5: The Map in the News

Great to Know

Gorkha statehood talks, August 2026

• On 23 August 2026 the Centre formed a committee under former deputy NSA Pankaj Kumar Singh.
• It is to work out a “permanent political solution” to the Gorkha issue in Darjeeling.
• It is the clearest sign yet that an Article 3 proposal could follow.
• Source: The Hitavada.
• Every new State demand is really a question of whether Parliament will use Article 3.

6Previous Year Questions

Exam angle: real questions on this topic.

Quick Q&A

• Article 1 phrase? Union of States.
• Article 4 does what? Keeps Art 2–3 laws outside Art 368.
• 29th State? Telangana, 2014.
• Sikkim full State by? 36th Amendment, 1975.
• Berubari needed? 9th Amendment, 1960.