Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act, 1961

The Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act, 1961 formally incorporated Dadra and Nagar Haveli into the Indian Union as the seventh Union territory of India. It amended the First Schedule of the Constitution to include the territory under the heading “Union Territories” and further modified Article 240(1) to empower the President of India to make regulations for the peace, progress, and good government of the territory. The amendment was enacted following the people’s request for integration with India and the end of Portuguese rule in the region.
The Act received Presidential assent on 16 August 1961, but was given retrospective effect from 11 August 1961, the date on which the formal merger agreement was signed.

Historical Background

Dadra and Nagar Haveli were small Portuguese-held enclaves situated between the then Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Portuguese occupation of these territories dated back to the late eighteenth century. Nagar Haveli came under Portuguese control in 1783 under a treaty concluded in 1779 as compensation for damages caused to a Portuguese ship by the Maratha navy, and Dadra was purchased by the Portuguese in 1785.
After India gained independence in 1947, nationalist movements in the remaining Portuguese territories began to intensify. In 1954, with the support of Indian nationalist volunteers and organisations such as the United Front of Goans (UFG), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Azad Gomantak Dal, and the National Movement Liberation Organisation (NMLO), the people of Dadra and Nagar Haveli rose in revolt and successfully overthrew Portuguese control.
Although the Portuguese administration was expelled, the territory was not formally recognised internationally as part of India, since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) continued to regard it as Portuguese territory. For administrative purposes, it was managed locally by a Varishta Panchayat (Council of Elders), which governed the area under the name “Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli.”
During this period, the Panchayat repeatedly expressed its desire for formal integration with the Republic of India. The Government of India responded by extending administrative assistance and appointing K. G. Badlani, an Indian Administrative Service officer, as the Administrator of the territory.
In August 1961, amid India’s broader policy of ending Portuguese colonial presence—including preparations for the liberation of Goa, Daman and Diu—a formal act of accession was arranged. On 11 August 1961, K. G. Badlani was designated Prime Minister of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli for one day to legally execute a merger agreement with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. This ceremonial act enabled the territory’s formal and voluntary integration into the Indian Union.

Objectives and Rationale

The Statement of Objects and Reasons, appended to the Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Bill, 1961, made clear that the amendment’s purpose was to:

1. Acknowledge the will of the people of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, who had expressed through their elected Varishta Panchayat their desire to join India.
2. Provide constitutional recognition to the territories by incorporating them explicitly into the First Schedule of the Constitution as a Union territory.
3. Empower the President under Article 240(1) to make necessary regulations for their governance, as the region lacked an established legislative framework.

Thus, the amendment aimed to convert the territory’s de facto independence since 1954 into de jure union with India, thereby regularising its status under the Constitution.

Key Provisions

The Tenth Amendment comprised three principal sections:

1. Short title and commencement (Section 1):
   • The Act was titled The Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act, 1961.
   • It was deemed to have come into force retroactively on 11 August 1961, the date of the merger agreement.
2. Amendment of the First Schedule (Section 2):
   • Under the heading “Union Territories,” a new entry was inserted as:

     “7. Dadra and Nagar Haveli – The territory which immediately before the eleventh day of August 1961 was comprised in Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli.”

   • This addition constitutionally declared the region to be a Union territory of India.
3. Amendment of Article 240 (Section 3):
   • A new clause was added to include Dadra and Nagar Haveli, enabling the President to make regulations for its peace, progress, and good government.
   • Article 240(1), as amended, empowered the President to legislate by regulation for Union territories without legislatures, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Legislative History and Enactment

The Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Bill, 1961 (Bill No. 43 of 1961) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 11 August 1961 by Laxmi Menon, Deputy Minister of External Affairs. It was debated and passed by the Lok Sabha on 14 August 1961 without amendment and subsequently adopted by the Rajya Sabha on 16 August 1961.
The President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, gave his assent on 16 August 1961, and the Act was published in The Gazette of India on 17 August 1961. Its provisions, however, took effect retrospectively from 11 August 1961, the date on which the merger was completed.

Legal and Administrative Effects

With the enactment of the Tenth Amendment:

• Dadra and Nagar Haveli became the seventh Union territory of India.
• The President of India obtained direct legislative authority to administer the region through regulations under Article 240(1).
• Existing local institutions such as the Varishta Panchayat were gradually integrated into India’s administrative system, and Indian laws were extended to the territory.
• The amendment provided a constitutional foundation for further administrative integration and representation of the territory in national governance.

Subsequently, in 1974, India and Portugal signed a treaty recognising India’s sovereignty over Goa, Daman, Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, thereby settling the issue internationally.

Constitutional Context

The Tenth Amendment is part of a sequence of territorial integration amendments that incorporated former colonial enclaves and territories into the Republic of India. These include:

• Ninth Amendment (1960) – adjusting the boundary of Assam for the transfer of certain territories to Pakistan following the Indo-Pakistan Agreement of 1958.
• Twelfth Amendment (1962) – incorporating Goa, Daman, and Diu after liberation from Portuguese rule.
• Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments (1962–1963) – concerning the status and constitutional arrangements of Nagaland and Pondicherry (now Puducherry).

Together, these amendments reflect India’s post-independence constitutional strategy of integration through peaceful negotiation, legal incorporation, and democratic consent.

Significance

The Tenth Amendment holds enduring significance as:

• A constitutional recognition of voluntary union: The people of Dadra and Nagar Haveli democratically chose to join India, making this one of the rare instances of accession by consent rather than conquest.
• An instrument of national integration: It reinforced the policy of assimilating former colonial territories into India’s federal structure while maintaining local autonomy through Union territory status.
• A precedent for future incorporations: The amendment served as a model for subsequent accessions of territories such as Goa, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry.

Legacy

After remaining a Union territory for six decades, Dadra and Nagar Haveli was merged with Daman and Diu in January 2020 under the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Act, 2019, forming a single Union territory named Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
The constitutional incorporation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli through the Tenth Amendment thus stands as a milestone in India’s constitutional evolution and territorial consolidation, exemplifying the principles of peaceful integration, popular will, and administrative pragmatism that underpin the Republic’s federal development.