Polity Set 28
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📌 Polity • Constitutional Amendments
Q.1) Article 31C, which saves laws giving effect to certain directive principles, was inserted by which Amendment Act?
Ans > 25th Amendment Act (1971)
- Context of the 25th Amendment (1971): Enacted during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tenure, this pivotal amendment was directly introduced as a legislative and political response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the R.C. Cooper case (popularly known as the Bank Nationalisation case). The judiciary had previously struck down the government’s aggressive nationalization policies, prompting a constitutional pushback.
- Purpose of Article 31C: The core objective of inserting Article 31C was to firmly secure the socialist goals of the Indian state. It explicitly mandated that any laws drafted by the government to implement the Directive Principles found under Article 39(b) (ensuring equitable distribution of community’s material resources) and Article 39(c) (preventing the concentration of wealth) absolutely cannot be declared void or unconstitutional even if they directly violate the Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, or 31.
- Constitutional Significance: This insertion marked a massive philosophical and legal shift in Indian jurisprudence. It explicitly prioritized collective socio-economic welfare and state intervention over individual property rights and unhindered capitalist enterprise, shaping the country’s economic policy for decades.
📌 Polity • Supreme Court Judgements
Q.2) In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), what was the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the second provision of Article 31C?
Ans > It was declared unconstitutional and invalid because judicial review is a basic feature.
- The Problematic Second Provision: The 25th Amendment had added a second, highly controversial clause to Article 31C. It stated that if a legislature passed a law and simply inserted a declaration claiming it was meant to enforce Directive Principles 39(b) or (c), no court in the country could question or review that law to see if it actually achieved those goals.
- The Historic Kesavananda Bharati Ruling: In 1973, the largest ever 13-judge bench of the Supreme Court examined this clause. While they upheld the first part of Article 31C (giving primacy to DPSP over certain Fundamental Rights), they forcefully struck down this second provision as entirely unconstitutional and legally invalid.
- Upholding the Basic Structure: The Supreme Court reasoned that the power of ‘Judicial Review’ is a fundamental, unalterable pillar of the Constitution (forming the ‘Basic Structure’). They established that Parliament cannot use its amending power under Article 368 to completely bypass judicial scrutiny and act with unchecked, absolute authority.
📌 Polity • Constituent Assembly
Q.3) Who recommended that the rights of an individual should be divided into two categories: justiciable and non-justiciable?
Ans > Sir B.N. Rau
- The Role of Sir B.N. Rau: Sir Benegal Narsing Rau served as the highly influential Constitutional Advisor to the Constituent Assembly of India. A brilliant jurist and civil servant, he traveled extensively across the globe to study various democratic constitutions and played a vital, foundational role in drafting the initial structure and blueprint of the Indian Constitution.
- The Pragmatic Division of Rights: Recognizing the immense poverty and lack of resources in newly independent India, Rau made a highly pragmatic recommendation. He proposed dividing individual rights into two distinct categories to ensure the state wasn’t immediately burdened with impossible legal obligations.
- Justiciable vs. Non-Justiciable: He suggested that essential, immediately enforceable civil and political rights should become ‘justiciable’ (which eventually became Part III: Fundamental Rights, enforceable in courts). Meanwhile, broader socio-economic goals that required massive state funding over time should be ‘non-justiciable’ (which became Part IV: Directive Principles of State Policy, serving as moral guidelines rather than enforceable laws).
📌 Polity • DPSP
Q.4) The Directive Principle “To promote the educational and economic interests of SCs, STs, and other weaker sections” is classified under which ideology?
Ans > Gandhian Principles
- The Gandhian Framework: The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are broadly classified into three ideological categories: Socialistic, Gandhian, and Liberal-Intellectual. The principles focusing on grassroots upliftment and protecting the marginalized are strictly classified as Gandhian Principles. They are directly based on the comprehensive socio-economic program reconstructed and championed by Mahatma Gandhi during the long national freedom struggle.
- Specifics of Article 46: This specific directive is formally enshrined in Article 46 of the Indian Constitution. It creates a binding moral obligation on the State to proactively promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs).
- Protection from Exploitation: Beyond just promotion, Article 46 also explicitly directs the government to protect these highly vulnerable communities from systemic social injustice and all existing forms of historical and economic exploitation, laying the philosophical groundwork for India’s extensive reservation and affirmative action policies.
📌 Polity • Constitutional Commissions
Q.5) The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was originally established as a combined commission by which Constitutional Amendment Act of 1990?
Ans > 65th Amendment Act
- Evolution from a Single Officer: Originally, Article 338 of the Constitution only provided for the appointment of a single ‘Special Officer’ to monitor the safeguards provided for SCs and STs. However, as the complexity of issues grew, a massive demand arose for a broader, more representative body to handle these sensitive matters.
- The 65th Amendment (1990): Enacted in 1990, this crucial amendment altered Article 338. It formally replaced the single Special Officer with a high-level, multi-member statutory body known as the combined ‘National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes’, granting it significant investigative powers regarding civil rights violations.
- Subsequent Bifurcation (89th Amendment): It is vital to note that this combined structure did not last permanently. Recognizing that SCs and STs face vastly different socio-economic, cultural, and geographical challenges, the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003 bifurcated the body. It created two entirely separate commissions: the National Commission for SCs (under Article 338) and the National Commission for STs (under a newly inserted Article 338A).
📌 Polity • Historical Acts
Q.6) The power of discussing the budget and addressing questions to the executive was first given to legislative councils by which act?
Ans > Indian Councils Act of 1892
- Background of Congress Demands: Following the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885, Indian leaders consistently demanded greater representation in government and, crucially, a voice in how public finances were being managed and spent by the colonial administration.
- Expanding Legislative Powers: As a cautious concession to these rising demands, the British Parliament passed the Indian Councils Act of 1892. This act significantly expanded the size of the legislative councils and, for the very first time, granted them the limited but crucial power to openly discuss the annual financial statement (the budget).
- Limitations of the Power: While members could now address questions to the executive on matters of public interest (requiring a strict 6-day advance notice), this power was highly restricted. They could not vote on the budget, could not move any resolutions to alter it, and were strictly forbidden from asking any spontaneous ‘supplementary questions’ following an executive’s answer.
📌 Polity • Historical Acts
Q.7) Which act separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorised the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets?
Ans > Government of India Act of 1919
- The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms: The Government of India Act of 1919, historically known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, was a landmark piece of legislation designed to gradually introduce self-governing institutions to British India. It aimed to relax central control over the provinces by cleanly demarcating central and provincial subjects.
- Financial Devolution and Autonomy: A major, transformative step in this act was the complete financial decentralization of the administration. For the very first time in British Indian history, it formally and strictly separated provincial budgets from the overarching central budget.
- Empowering Provincial Legislatures: This structural change massively empowered the provincial legislatures. It explicitly authorized them to enact their own independent budgets, levy specific provincial taxes, and manage their own local revenues. This critical move laid the foundational blueprint for the highly structured federal fiscal system that modern India operates under today.
📌 Polity • Constituent Assembly
Q.8) Which of the following leaders was a member of the Congress Experts Committee appointed in 1946?
Ans > K.T. Shah
- Formation of the Committee: As it became imminent that India would write its own Constitution, the Indian National Congress proactively appointed an ‘Experts Committee’ on July 8, 1946. Its primary mandate was to deeply research, prepare massive amounts of background material, and draft concrete structural proposals for the upcoming Constituent Assembly to debate.
- Prominent Leadership and Members: The committee was chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru. Alongside highly influential legal and political figures like Asaf Ali, K.M. Munshi, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, and D.R. Gadgil, the eminent economist and sharp legal mind K.T. Shah served as a crucial member, providing deep economic insights into the drafting process.
- K.T. Shah’s Later Impact: Although Shah helped lay the groundwork in this committee, he later became one of the most vocal, independent, and constructive critics inside the actual Constituent Assembly. He famously debated Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on several issues, passionately advocating for explicit inclusions of words like ‘Secular’ and ‘Socialist’ long before the 42nd Amendment did so.
📌 Polity • Constituent Assembly
Q.9) How many sittings did the Experts Committee of the Congress have before the Constituent Assembly began its work?
Ans > Two
- Short but Highly Impactful: Despite its massive mandate to prepare the groundwork for framing the Constitution of an enormous, diverse nation, the Congress Experts Committee held only two formal sittings before the Constituent Assembly officially convened.
- Timeline of Sittings: The very first sitting was intensely focused and held in New Delhi from July 20 to July 22, 1946. The second, equally crucial sitting took place shortly after in Bombay, spanning from August 15 to August 17, 1946.
- Laying the Essential Groundwork: Even within these two brief sessions, the committee was highly productive. They effectively laid out the complex procedural rules, designed the structural framework for various sub-committees, and most importantly, drafted the initial ideological framework that Jawaharlal Nehru would later passionately present to the Assembly as the historic ‘Objectives Resolution’.
📌 Polity • Sources of Constitution
Q.10) The structural part of the Indian Constitution is largely derived from the Government of India Act of 1935. What is derived from the British Constitution?
Ans > The political part (principle of Cabinet Government)
- A Borrowed but Customized Document: The Indian Constitution is famously known for drawing extensively from various global sources, blending them to suit Indian realities. While the massive, detailed administrative and structural framework was heavily lifted from the Government of India Act of 1935, the core political philosophy was borrowed from the United Kingdom.
- The British Political Framework: The entire political part of the Indian Constitution—specifically the principle of Parliamentary democracy and the Cabinet system of government—is a direct derivation from the unwritten British Constitution. The framers chose this because Indian leaders had grown familiar with its workings during the late colonial period.
- Key British Borrowings: Specific elements directly adopted from Britain include the concept of a nominal head of state (the President acting akin to the British Monarch), the strict collective responsibility of the executive cabinet to the lower house of the legislature (Lok Sabha), the concept of the Rule of Law, bicameralism, and the system of single citizenship.
📌 Polity • Preamble
Q.11) Which of the following words was NOT added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act (1976)?
Ans > Republic
- The Original Preamble Text: When the Constitution was formally adopted on November 26, 1949, the original text of the Preamble declared India to be a “Sovereign Democratic Republic.” The word “Republic” was fundamentally present from day one, signifying that the head of the Indian state (the President) would always be elected by the people, completely rejecting any hereditary monarchical system.
- The Swaran Singh Committee & 42nd Amendment: During the highly controversial Emergency period, the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976 (often dubbed the ‘Mini-Constitution’) was passed based on the broad recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee. This amendment deeply altered the Constitution’s structure.
- The Three Additions: The 42nd Amendment officially amended the Preamble for the first and only time in history. It strictly added only three new words to the text: “Socialist,” “Secular,” and “Integrity” (changing “unity of the nation” to “unity and integrity of the nation”). Therefore, ‘Republic’ was definitely not an addition.
📌 Polity • Preamble
Q.12) The Preamble secures to all citizens of India liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and:
Ans > Worship
- The Five Dimensions of Liberty: The Preamble of the Indian Constitution is incredibly precise in its language. It explicitly seeks to secure for all its citizens five distinct dimensions of liberty: “LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.” This reflects the framers’ deep commitment to both intellectual freedom and religious pluralism.
- Link to Fundamental Rights: These grand, philosophical declarations of liberty found in the Preamble are not merely empty words; they are concretely guaranteed and aggressively enforced by the courts through the Fundamental Rights located in Part III of the Constitution.
- Enforcing Worship and Belief: Specifically, the liberty of “belief, faith and worship” is intricately detailed and protected under the Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25 to 28). This ensures that the state maintains strict neutrality and every citizen has the absolute right to freely profess, practice, and propagate the religion of their choice without state coercion.
📌 Polity • States Reorganisation
Q.13) The Dhar Commission (1948) recommended the reorganisation of states on the basis of:
Ans > Administrative convenience
- Post-Independence Demands: Immediately following independence, there was a massive, highly emotional political demand, particularly from South India, to reorganize the haphazard borders of the states purely on a linguistic (language) basis to protect regional identities.
- Rejection of Linguistic Basis: To study this demand, the government appointed the Linguistic Provinces Commission in June 1948, chaired by S.K. Dhar. In its report submitted in December 1948, the Dhar Commission strongly and unambiguously rejected the idea of reorganizing states based purely on language.
- Focus on Stability and Administration: The Commission argued that a newly partitioned India was incredibly fragile and faced massive economic challenges. They strongly recommended that state borders should instead be drawn based on geographical contiguity, financial self-reliance, and sheer ‘administrative convenience’ to prevent the further balkanization of the country and ensure smooth governance.
📌 Polity • States Reorganisation
Q.14) The Fazl Ali Commission suggested the abolition of the four-fold classification of states and recommended the creation of how many states and centrally administered territories?
Ans > 16 states and 3 territories
- Formation of the Commission: Following the massive political unrest and the tragic death of Potti Sriramulu (which forced the creation of the first linguistic state, Andhra, in 1953), the Government of India was compelled to appoint a broad-based States Reorganisation Commission under the chairmanship of Fazl Ali.
- Abolishing the Old System: In its comprehensive 1955 report, the Commission broadly accepted language as a valid basis for reorganization, though it strictly rejected the dangerous theory of ‘one language, one state’. It strongly recommended the complete abolition of the complex, unequal four-fold classification of states (Part A, B, C, and D states) that existed under the original Constitution.
- The Recommendations vs. Reality: The Fazl Ali Commission officially recommended the creation of exactly 16 new states and 3 centrally administered territories. However, the Indian government implemented this with some strategic modifications, passing the States Reorganisation Act and the 7th Constitutional Amendment in 1956, which ultimately resulted in the creation of 14 States and 6 Union Territories.
📌 Polity • Citizenship
Q.15) A person born outside India on or after December 10, 1992, is considered a citizen of India by descent if:
Ans > Either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth.
- Removing Historical Gender Bias: The Citizenship Act of 1955 initially contained a glaring gender bias. Prior to 1992, a child born outside India could only claim Indian citizenship by descent if the *father* was an Indian citizen at the time of birth. The mother’s citizenship status was legally ignored.
- The 1992 Amendment: To align with international human rights standards and the constitutional guarantee of equality, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 1992 rectified this discrimination. It explicitly stated that for any child born outside India on or after December 10, 1992, having *either* parent (mother or father) as an Indian citizen at the time of birth was sufficient to claim citizenship by descent.
- Subsequent 2004 Restrictions: It is important to note that the rules were tightened again later. For children born outside India on or after December 3, 2004, simply having an Indian parent is no longer automatically enough; their birth must now be mandatorily registered at an Indian consulate within one year to acquire citizenship by descent.
📌 Polity • Fundamental Rights
Q.16) Which Article of the Constitution prohibits discrimination against any citizen on grounds ONLY of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth?
Ans > Article 15
- Core Constitutional Safeguard: Article 15 is a foundational pillar of Indian democracy, sitting squarely within the Right to Equality. It strictly prohibits the State from discriminating against any citizen on the five specific grounds explicitly mentioned: religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
- The Crucial Importance of “Only”: The use of the word “only” in this article is legally incredibly significant. It means that while the state cannot discriminate *solely* based on these five factors, it is perfectly legally permitted to discriminate based on other relevant grounds not mentioned here, such as educational qualifications, physical fitness, or a person’s current place of residence.
- Horizontal Application: Unlike many Fundamental Rights that only protect against state action, Article 15(2) has horizontal application. It explicitly prevents even private citizens from denying other citizens access to public shops, restaurants, hotels, or the use of public wells, tanks, and roads based on caste or religion, striking directly at the historical practice of untouchability.
📌 Polity • Fundamental Rights
Q.17) Article 16 provides equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. Which group was provided a 10% reservation in addition to existing reservations by the 103rd Amendment Act of 2019?
Ans > Economically Weaker Sections
- The Historic 103rd Amendment: Enacted in 2019, the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act brought a massive paradigm shift to India’s affirmative action framework. It amended Articles 15 and 16 to explicitly allow the state to make special provisions solely based on economic disadvantage, rather than social or educational backwardness.
- The 10% EWS Quota: This amendment specifically provided a maximum of 10% reservation in government jobs (Article 16) and admissions to educational institutions (Article 15) for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Crucially, this applies only to the “unreserved” or general category, expressly excluding those who already receive benefits under SC, ST, or OBC quotas.
- Breaching the 50% Ceiling: The introduction of this 10% quota was highly controversial because it effectively pushed total reservations past the historic 50% ceiling established by the Supreme Court in the 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment. However, in the 2022 Janhit Abhiyan case, a majority bench of the Supreme Court upheld the amendment, validating economic criteria as a sole basis for classification.
📌 Polity • Reservations
Q.18) When the “creamy layer” ceiling for OBCs was first introduced in 1993, what was the gross annual income limit?
Ans > ₹1 lakh
- Genesis of the Creamy Layer: The concept of the “creamy layer” was legally cemented by the Supreme Court in the landmark Indra Sawhney judgment (1992), which upheld the 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) recommended by the Mandal Commission. The court mandated that the socially and economically advanced sections among the OBCs must be strictly excluded from receiving reservation benefits.
- The Ram Nandan Committee: To figure out exactly who constituted this advanced section, the government appointed the Ram Nandan Committee. Based on their comprehensive report submitted in 1993, the ‘creamy layer’ criteria were officially established, encompassing children of high-ranking constitutional functionaries, Group A/B government officers, and high-income professionals.
- Evolution of the Income Ceiling: When the income criteria were first introduced in September 1993, the gross annual income ceiling to be considered in the creamy layer was incredibly low, set at just ₹1 lakh per annum. To account for massive inflation and rising wage levels over the decades, this ceiling has been revised upwards multiple times (to ₹2.5 lakh, ₹4.5 lakh, ₹6 lakh) and currently stands at ₹8 lakh per annum since 2017.
📌 Polity • Fundamental Rights
Q.19) Under Article 19, the right to freedom of speech and expression does NOT include the:
Ans > Right to strike
- Implicit vs. Excluded Rights: Article 19(1)(a) provides the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. Over decades, the Supreme Court has liberally interpreted this to implicitly include the freedom of the press, the right to information, and the right against phone tapping. However, it heavily draws the line at actions that disrupt public order.
- The Status of Striking: The Supreme Court has repeatedly and explicitly ruled that there is absolutely no fundamental right to strike, hold a ‘bandh’, or stage a complete ‘hartal’ in the Indian Constitution. While citizens have the fundamental right to form associations or trade unions (under Article 19(1)(c)), they do not have a constitutional right to force a work stoppage.
- A Statutory Right Only: The right to strike is strictly a legal or statutory right provided under specific labor laws, primarily the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947. This means the right to strike can be heavily regulated, restricted, or entirely suspended by the government to maintain essential public services and economic stability, without violating the Constitution.
📌 Polity • Fundamental Rights
Q.20) Under Article 22, the detention of a person without trial and conviction by a court to prevent him from committing an offence in the near future is called:
Ans > Preventive detention
- Punitive vs. Preventive: The legal system recognizes two distinct types of detention. Punitive detention occurs *after* a person has been formally tried, convicted, and sentenced by a court for committing a crime. In stark contrast, preventive detention is entirely anticipatory; it involves detaining a person without any trial, based purely on a strong suspicion that they are likely to commit an act dangerous to the state in the future.
- Unique Peacetime Provision: India is highly unique among modern democratic nations for having constitutional provisions allowing for preventive detention during peacetime (under Article 22), not just during periods of declared national emergency or war. It is primarily used to maintain national security, public order, and the essential supplies of the community.
- Constitutional Safeguards: Because this is an extreme power, Article 22 attempts to provide some safeguards against arbitrary state action. It generally mandates that a person cannot be held under preventive detention for more than 3 months without the explicit approval of an independent Advisory Board, and the detenu must be informed of the broad grounds for their arrest to make legal representation.
📌 Polity • DPSP
Q.21) Which Article under the Directive Principles directs the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of people and to improve public health?
Ans > Article 47
- The Public Health Mandate: Article 47 is a crucial Directive Principle that places a massive, primary obligation on the Indian State. It explicitly directs the government to focus on raising the level of nutrition and the general standard of living of its citizens, framing the improvement of public health as one of the state’s most fundamental duties.
- Basis for Massive Social Schemes: This specific article serves as the philosophical and constitutional justification for massive, nationwide welfare initiatives that require enormous state funding. Programs like the National Health Mission (NHM), the vast Public Distribution System (PDS) for subsidized rations, and the PM POSHAN (formerly Mid-Day Meal) scheme in schools directly draw their mandate from Article 47.
- The Prohibition Clause: Furthermore, Article 47 contains a highly specific, Gandhian-inspired directive regarding intoxication. It mandates the State to actively endeavor to bring about the complete prohibition of the consumption of intoxicating drinks (alcohol) and dangerous drugs that are severely injurious to public health. This is the exact constitutional basis used by “dry states” like Gujarat, Bihar, and Mizoram to enact strict anti-liquor laws.
📌 Polity • DPSP
Q.22) The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, were enacted to safeguard wildlife and forests in fulfillment of which Directive Principle?
Ans > Article 48 A
- A Post-Independence Addition: It is highly significant to note that specific directives regarding environmental protection were entirely absent from the original text of the Indian Constitution adopted in 1949. The framers did not foresee the massive ecological degradation that rapid industrialization would bring.
- The 42nd Amendment (1976): Heavily influenced by the growing global environmental movement and specifically the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, the Indian government passed the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976. This amendment explicitly inserted a brand new Directive Principle: Article 48A.
- The Direct Mandate: Article 48A creates a firm, constitutional directive stating that “The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country.” This single sentence provided the crucial, unshakeable constitutional backing required for the government to enact incredibly powerful, sweeping environmental legislation like the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the Forest (Conservation) Act, and later the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.
📌 Polity • Historical Acts
Q.23) Following the Government of India Act of 1858, Lord Canning became the first:
Ans > Viceroy of India
- The Catalyst of 1857: The massive, bloody uprising of 1857 (often termed the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Independence) completely shattered British confidence in the British East India Company’s ability to govern the vast, highly complex subcontinent. It forced the British Parliament to radically restructure the administration.
- The Transfer of Power: In response, Parliament passed the Government of India Act of 1858 (also known as the Act for the Good Government of India). This landmark legislation officially abolished the East India Company’s rule entirely and formally transferred all territorial and administrative powers directly to the British Crown (Queen Victoria).
- Change in Title and Status: To clearly reflect this massive shift from corporate rule to direct imperial rule, the designation of the top official was altered. The ‘Governor-General of India’ was given the additional, far more prestigious title of ‘Viceroy of India’, explicitly meaning he was the direct, personal representative of the British Monarch in India. Lord Canning, who was the Governor-General during the 1857 revolt, seamlessly transitioned to become the very first Viceroy.
📌 Polity • Constitution Drafting
Q.24) The original Indian Constitution was handwritten in a flowing italic style. Who was the calligrapher of this original English version?
Ans > Prem Behari Narain Raizada
- A Labor of Artistic Devotion: The original document of the Constitution of India is an extraordinary piece of artistic history. Unlike modern legal documents, it was completely handwritten, not typeset or printed. The drafting committee entrusted this monumental task to Prem Behari Narain Raizada, a highly skilled master calligrapher from a family of renowned penmen.
- The Flowing Italic Style: Raizada painstakingly wrote out the entire English version of the incredibly lengthy Constitution by hand, utilizing a beautiful, flowing italic script. It took him six long months in a dedicated room in Constitution Hall to complete the massive manuscript, using hundreds of specialized pen nibs brought from England.
- Refusal of Payment and Illumination: Remarkably, when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru asked Raizada how much he would charge for this massive undertaking, Raizada refused any monetary payment. He made only one request: the permission to sign his own name on every single page of the document, and his grandfather’s name on the final page. Following his writing, the pages were beautifully illuminated and decorated with historical motifs by eminent artists from Shantiniketan, led by Nandalal Bose.
📌 Polity • Sources of Constitution
Q.25) Which feature of the Indian Constitution was borrowed from the Japanese Constitution?
Ans > Procedure established by Law
- Defining the Right to Life: When drafting Article 21, which guarantees the fundamental right to life and personal liberty, the framers faced a massive debate over how much power the judiciary should have to strike down laws made by the legislature that restrict this liberty.
- Rejecting the American Model: They explicitly rejected the American constitutional concept of “Due process of Law.” The American system gives judges immense power to strike down a law not just if it was passed incorrectly, but if the judges subjectively feel the law itself is “unjust” or “unfair” in its substance. The Indian framers feared this would lead to judicial tyranny over an elected parliament.
- Adopting the Japanese Model: Instead, on the advice of Sir B.N. Rau and Felix Frankfurter, they adopted the phrase “Procedure established by Law,” directly borrowed from the Japanese Constitution. Originally, this meant Indian courts could only check if a law was validly passed by the legislature following correct procedures, regardless of whether the law itself was harsh. (Note: The Supreme Court later radically expanded this interpretation in the 1978 Maneka Gandhi case, effectively reading “due process” back into Article 21).
📌 Polity • Supreme Court Judgements
Q.26) In which case did the Supreme Court explicitly opine that the Preamble is NOT a part of the Constitution (an opinion it later reversed)?
Ans > Berubari Union case (1960)
- The Initial Dispute: The controversy arose over whether the Preamble, which sits at the very beginning of the Constitution, holds any actual legal weight or is merely an introductory statement. The President referred a complex matter regarding the transfer of the Berubari territory to Pakistan to the Supreme Court for its opinion.
- The 1960 Ruling: In the highly significant Berubari Union advisory opinion (1960), the Supreme Court acknowledged that the Preamble is incredibly valuable as a “key to open the mind of the makers.” However, the bench made a massive, controversial ruling that the Preamble is strictly NOT an official, legal part of the Constitution itself, and therefore cannot be a source of substantive power or a limitation on the government.
- The Historic Reversal: This narrow interpretation stood for 13 years until it was completely and famously overruled. In the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), a 13-judge bench reviewed the history of the Constituent Assembly debates and formally corrected the error, definitively declaring that the Preamble is indeed an integral, inseparable part of the Constitution and can be amended, provided its ‘Basic Structure’ is not destroyed.
📌 Polity • States Reorganisation
Q.27) In 1969, the State of Madras was renamed to Tamil Nadu. In which year was the state of Mysore renamed to Karnataka?
Ans > 1973
- Post-Independence Identity Reclaiming: In the decades following independence and the massive linguistic reorganization of states in 1956, several regions actively sought to shed colonial-era anglicized names or historical princely titles in favor of names that deeply reflected their historical, linguistic, and cultural roots.
- The Renaming Wave: This process requires an Act of Parliament. It began with the United Provinces being renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950. A major shift occurred when the vast Madras State was successfully renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969, driven by intense regional political movements championing the Tamil language.
- The Creation of Karnataka: Following this strong trend, the sprawling southern state historically known as Mysore (which had absorbed various Kannada-speaking regions during the 1956 reorganization) officially changed its name. By passing the Mysore State (Alteration of Name) Act, the state was formally and proudly renamed to Karnataka on November 1, 1973, unifying the linguistic identity of the region. (In the exact same year, the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands were collectively renamed Lakshadweep).
📌 Polity • Citizenship
Q.28) The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes how many ways of losing Indian citizenship?
Ans > Three
- Statutory Framework: While the Constitution only outlines who became a citizen at its commencement in 1950, Parliament enacted the comprehensive Citizenship Act of 1955 to strictly regulate the acquisition and loss of citizenship after that date. The Act explicitly prescribes exactly three distinct methods through which an individual can lose their Indian citizenship.
- Renunciation and Termination: The first way is ‘By Renunciation’, a voluntary act where an adult citizen of full capacity formally declares they are giving up their Indian citizenship. The second is ‘By Termination’, which happens entirely automatically by operation of law the moment an Indian citizen voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another sovereign country (as India strictly prohibits dual citizenship).
- Deprivation by the State: The third, most severe method is ‘By Deprivation’. This is a compulsory termination initiated directly by the Central government. It can occur if a citizen acquired citizenship through massive fraud, has shown explicit disloyalty to the Indian Constitution, unlawfully communicated with an enemy during a declared war, or if a naturalized citizen has been imprisoned in any country for two years within the first five years of acquiring Indian citizenship.
📌 Polity • Fundamental Rights
Q.29) According to Article 24, employment of children below what age is completely prohibited in any factory, mine, or other hazardous activities?
Ans > 14 years
- Constitutional Ban on Child Labor: Article 24 is a crucial Fundamental Right situated under the Right against Exploitation. It issues a strict, absolute constitutional ban, stating that no child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory, in any mine, or engaged in any other highly hazardous employment (such as construction work or the railway industry).
- The Limitation of the Article: Crucially, while Article 24 strictly bans hazardous work, it did not explicitly ban the employment of children below 14 in non-hazardous, “harmless” jobs (like working in local grocery shops, dhabas, or domestic work). This created a massive legal loophole for child exploitation for decades.
- Subsequent Stringent Legislation: To close this gap and align with the Right to Education, Parliament enacted and later heavily amended the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act. The landmark 2016 amendment finally completely banned the employment of children below 14 in absolutely ALL occupations and processes, completely regardless of whether they are hazardous or not. The only minor exception is helping in non-hazardous family businesses solely after school hours.
📌 Polity • DPSP
Q.30) The Directive Principles of State Policy are enumerated in Part IV of the Constitution from Articles:
Ans > 36 to 51
- Location and Structure: The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) form a massive, philosophically rich section of the Indian Constitution, meticulously enumerated in Part IV. They span continuously from Article 36 (which defines the term “State”) right through to Article 51 (which directs the state to promote international peace and security).
- International Borrowing: The brilliant framers of the Constitution did not invent this concept entirely from scratch. They directly borrowed the novel idea of placing non-justiciable socio-economic directives in the Constitution from the Irish Constitution of 1937. (The Irish, in turn, had originally copied the concept from the Spanish Constitution).
- The “Conscience” of the Constitution: Eminent constitutional scholar Granville Austin famously described the DPSP, alongside the Fundamental Rights, as the true “Conscience of the Constitution.” Dr. B.R. Ambedkar likened them to the “Instrument of Instructions” issued to colonial Governors under the 1935 Act. While courts cannot force the government to implement them, Article 37 explicitly declares that these principles are nonetheless “fundamental in the governance of the country,” imposing a deep moral obligation on all future governments to apply them when making laws.
📌 Quick Summary — Polity Set 28
- Constitutional Amendments: The 25th Amendment added Article 31C; the 65th created the combined SC/ST Commission.
- Supreme Court Cases: Kesavananda Bharati upheld judicial review; Berubari Union initially said Preamble is not part of the Constitution.
- Historical Acts: 1892 Act gave budget discussion power; 1919 Act separated provincial budgets.
- Constituent Assembly: B.N. Rau divided rights into justiciable/non-justiciable; Prem Behari Narain Raizada was the calligrapher.
- Preamble: “Republic” was original; “Socialist, Secular, Integrity” added by 42nd Amendment. Secures liberty of worship.
- States Reorganisation: Dhar Commission favored administrative convenience; Fazl Ali suggested 16 states & 3 territories. Mysore renamed Karnataka in 1973.
- Fundamental Rights: Article 15 prohibits discrimination; Article 16 amended for 10% EWS quota. Article 19 doesn’t guarantee right to strike.
- Directive Principles (DPSP): Found in Articles 36 to 51. Article 47 focuses on nutrition/health; Article 48A focuses on environment.
- Citizenship: Citizenship by descent expanded in 1992; can be lost in 3 ways (Renunciation, Termination, Deprivation).
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