Indian Constitution
What the Constitution section tests
Expect questions on the framing of the Constitution, borrowed features, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, Fundamental Duties, amendments, emergency provisions, the judiciary and Centre–State relations, including the special position J&K held until 2019.
Core facts
- The Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946; the Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.
- Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12–35) are enforced through writs - Article 32 in the Supreme Court, Article 226 in High Courts (wider, covering legal as well as fundamental rights).
- Directive Principles (Part IV) are non-justiciable; Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) were added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976, on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation.
- Emergency: Article 352 (national), 356 (President's rule in a State), 360 (financial).
- Amendments follow Article 368; the basic structure doctrine comes from Kesavananda Bharati (1973).
Worked example
How many Fundamental Duties were originally inserted, and by which amendment? Reasoning: the 42nd Amendment (1976) inserted Part IVA with ten duties; the 86th Amendment (2002) added the eleventh - a parent's duty to send children aged 6–14 to school. An option saying eleven duties were added by the 42nd Amendment is wrong on both counts.
Traps that cost marks
- Article 32 versus 226, and 352 versus 356 versus 360, get swapped in options.
- DPSPs are not enforceable in courts, however morally binding.
- The Preamble's words socialist, secular and integrity were added in 1976, not present originally.
- In J&K, Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019 and the state was reorganised into two Union Territories on 31 October 2019.