Indian History and Indian Polity/Constitution
Two halves, one section
History runs from the Indus Valley to 1947; polity covers the Constitution, its sources, rights and duties, the union executive, Parliament, the judiciary, panchayati raj and constitutional bodies.
High-yield history
- Harappan: planned towns, Great Bath at Mohenjodaro, dockyard at Lothal, seals and script.
- Buddhism and Jainism arose in the 6th century BCE; Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh.
- The 1857 revolt began at Meerut; the INC was founded in 1885; Jallianwala Bagh happened in 1919; the Dandi march in 1930; Quit India in 1942.
High-yield polity
- The Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946; the Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and enforced on 26 January 1950.
- Fundamental Rights occupy Articles 12–35; Article 32, the Right to Constitutional Remedies, was called the heart of the Constitution by Ambedkar.
- DPSPs are Articles 36–51; Fundamental Duties were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) as Article 51A.
- The President is elected indirectly by an electoral college; a money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha.
Worked example
“Which Article guarantees the right to move the Supreme Court for enforcement of Fundamental Rights?” Article 32. Article 226 gives the High Courts a similar power, but it is wider and not the article Ambedkar described as the heart and soul of the Constitution.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing the adoption date (1949) with the enforcement date (1950).
- Treating DPSPs as enforceable; they are non-justiciable.
- Believing “socialist, secular” were in the original Preamble; they came through the 42nd Amendment.