Indian Constitution
Indian Constitution. Expect questions on how the Constitution was made, the architecture of rights and duties, and the exact amendment that changed a provision.
Making and structure
- The Constituent Assembly, constituted under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, first met on 9 December 1946; Rajendra Prasad presided; Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee from 29 August 1947.
- Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution on 13 December 1946 (adopted 22 January 1947). The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.
- The Preamble declares a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic; "socialist" and "secular" were inserted by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.
Rights, duties and directive principles
- Fundamental Rights occupy Part III, Articles 12–35: equality (14–18), including abolition of untouchability (17); six freedoms under 19(1); life and liberty (21); education (21A, inserted by the 86th Amendment, 2002); remedies through writs (32), which Ambedkar called the heart and soul of the Constitution.
- Directive Principles sit in Part IV, Articles 36–51, and are not judicially enforceable; the uniform civil code appears as Article 44.
- Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) were added by the 42nd Amendment with ten duties; the 86th Amendment added the eleventh.
Worked example
Is free education a fundamental right? Originally Article 45 placed it among the Directive Principles, to be achieved within ten years. The Supreme Court read it into Article 21 in the 1990s, and Parliament then inserted Article 21A through the 86th Amendment in 2002. The reasoning shows the FR–DPSP distinction and the interaction of judicial interpretation with constitutional amendment.
Traps
- Adoption (26 November 1949) is not commencement (26 January 1950).
- Directive Principles are moral and political guides, not enforceable claims.
- Article 32 (Supreme Court) and Article 226 (High Courts) are different provisions.
- Confusing the 42nd (1976) and 44th (1978) Amendments loses marks.