Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 15

The correct answer is D, Socialist. The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 added three words to the Preamble: Socialist, Secular and Integrity. With them the description of India changed from a 'Sovereign Democratic Republic' to a 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic', and 'unity of the Nation' became 'unity and integrity of the Nation'. This is the only amendment so far to have touched the Preamble, and because it made so many other changes it is nicknamed the Mini Constitution. Justice, liberty and equality were part of the original Preamble adopted on 26 November 1949, borrowed in spirit from the ideals of the French Revolution. Option A is wrong because justice, in its social, economic and political forms, was there from the start. Option B is wrong because equality of status and opportunity was also in the original text. Option C is wrong because liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship was original too. Exam tip: 42nd Amendment gave the Preamble three words - Socialist, Secular, Integrity.

The correct answer is D, President of India. Article 239AA(5) of the Constitution says the Chief Minister of Delhi shall be appointed by the President. The other ministers are also appointed by the President, on the advice of the Chief Minister, and they hold office during the pleasure of the President. This is the key difference from a state, where the Governor appoints the Chief Minister under Article 164. Article 239AA was added by the 69th Amendment Act, 1991, which gave Delhi a Legislative Assembly and named it the National Capital Territory. The Council of Ministers in Delhi cannot be larger than 10% of the Assembly's total strength. Option A is wrong because Delhi, being a Union Territory, has no Governor. Option B is wrong because the Lieutenant Governor is the administrator and administers the oath, but does not make the appointment. Option C is wrong because the Prime Minister has no constitutional role in appointing a Chief Minister. Exam tip: a state's Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor (Article 164); Delhi's by the President (Article 239AA).

The correct answer is To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity. The tenth Fundamental Duty is clause (j) of Article 51A, which continues: "so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement". It was also the last of the ten duties added in 1976, which is why it is sometimes described as the concluding duty of the original list.

The other options sit at different positions in the list. Developing the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform is clause (h), the eighth duty. Cherishing and following the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom is clause (b), the second. Providing opportunities for education to a child or ward between six and fourteen is clause (k), the eleventh, added in 2002. Counting is easy once you know the letters: (a) is the first duty, so (j), the tenth letter, is the tenth duty and (k) the eleventh.

The correct answer is D, French Revolution. The ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution come from the French Revolution of 1789, whose famous slogan was made of these three words. The makers of the Constitution borrowed from many countries and then shaped the ideas to suit India. From France came these three ideals and the idea of a republic. From the former USSR came the ideals of social, economic and political justice and, later, the Fundamental Duties. Britain gave the parliamentary system and Ireland the Directive Principles. A is wrong because the Russian Revolution of 1917 is linked with the ideal of justice, not with this trio. B is wrong because the Magna Carta of 1215 was an English charter that limited the king's power, and it is linked with the idea of rights in general. C is wrong because the American model gave India its Fundamental Rights, judicial review and an independent judiciary. Exam tip: liberty, equality, fraternity, France; justice, USSR; Directive Principles, Ireland; parliamentary system, Britain.

The correct answer is Nominated Member of Parliament. Under Article 54, the President is elected by an electoral college made up only of elected members: the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States, and, since the 70th Amendment of 1992, of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry. The 12 members the President nominates to the Rajya Sabha therefore have no vote, and neither do nominated members of the Assemblies or any member of a State Legislative Council.

The three other options, elected members of the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha and a State Assembly, are exactly the people who do vote. The exception to remember is impeachment: nominated members of Parliament do take part in impeaching the President under Article 61, while elected MLAs, who helped elect the President, have no part in removing him or her. Examiners like to swap these two facts.

The correct answer is C, Article 243 D. This Article deals with reservation of seats in Panchayats, including the seats for women. Article 243 D, added by the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992, reserves seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population, and reserves not less than one-third of the total seats for women, counting women's seats inside the SC and ST quota too. The same one-third rule applies to the offices of chairpersons at every level. Many states, Bihar being the first, have raised the women's share to 50 per cent through their own laws. A is wrong, because Article 243 B deals with the constitution of Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels. B is wrong, because Article 243 C covers the composition of Panchayats. D is wrong, because Article 243 E fixes the duration of Panchayats at five years. Exam tip: 243 B set up, 243 C composition, 243 D reservation, 243 E five-year term.

The correct answer is A, 12 members. Article 80 of the Constitution lets the President nominate twelve members to the Rajya Sabha from people with special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. The maximum strength of the House is 250, of whom 238 are elected by the elected members of the State and Union Territory legislatures and 12 are nominated. A nominated member takes part in every proceeding of the House and may join a political party within six months of taking a seat, but does not vote in the election of the President. Option B is wrong because ten is not the figure for either House. Option C is wrong because 14 matches no provision. Option D is wrong because no article allows 16 nominations. Exam tip: Article 80 gives 12 nominated members in the Rajya Sabha; the Lok Sabha has had no nominated members since the 104th Amendment ended the two Anglo-Indian seats.

The correct answer is C, Right to Property. The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 removed it from the list of Fundamental Rights. Before 1978, property was protected by Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31. The Janata government repealed both and placed a new Article 300A in Part XII, which says no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law. So property is now only a constitutional and legal right: a person can go to a High Court under Article 226, but not straight to the Supreme Court under Article 32. A is wrong, because the Right against Exploitation under Articles 23 and 24 still stands as a Fundamental Right. B is wrong, because the Right to Constitutional Remedies under Article 32 remains; Ambedkar called it the heart and soul of the Constitution. D is wrong, because the Right to Education was added, not removed, as Article 21A by the 86th Amendment of 2002. Exam tip: 44th Amendment, 1978, property moved from Articles 19(1)(f) and 31 to Article 300A.

The correct answer is C, (A) and (B). India does not keep separate sets of courts for central and state laws; it has one single pyramid, with the Supreme Court at the top, the High Courts below it and the district and subordinate courts at the base. Integration shows itself in exactly two ways, and both are named in statements (A) and (B): a ruling of a higher court binds every court below it, and a party unhappy with a lower court's order can carry the case upward in appeal. Statement (C) is untrue, because the Supreme Court is the highest court of the land and its powers are wider than a High Court's. Statement (D) is a general remark about the importance of the judiciary and says nothing about integration. A and D are therefore wrong because each of them includes (C), and B is wrong because it rests on (D). Exam tip: integrated judiciary means one hierarchy, appeals move up, and higher court rulings bind the courts below.

The correct answer is C, 61st Amendment. The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988 changed Article 326, which provides for elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage, and lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years. It was passed under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and came into force in March 1989, so the Lok Sabha election of 1989 was the first in which 18-year-olds could vote. The aim was to give young people, a large part of the population, a voice in choosing governments. Option A is wrong because the 66th Amendment (1990) added more land reform laws to the Ninth Schedule. Option B is wrong because the 62nd Amendment (1989) extended the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in legislatures for another ten years. Option D is wrong because the 63rd Amendment (1989) repealed the special emergency provisions for Punjab added by the 59th Amendment. Exam tip: 61st Amendment, 1988, Article 326, voting age 21 to 18.

The correct answer is A, Article 164. Clause (2) of Article 164 says that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State, which is the rule of collective responsibility in a parliamentary system: the ministry stays in office only while it holds the confidence of the elected house, and a no-confidence motion removes the whole ministry, not one minister. The same Article also provides that the Governor appoints the Chief Minister and, on the Chief Minister's advice, the other ministers, and that a minister who is not a member of the legislature for six consecutive months ceases to hold office. Option B is wrong because Article 154 vests the executive power of the State in the Governor. Option C is wrong because Article 161 gives the Governor the power to pardon, reprieve and remit sentences. Option D is wrong because Article 151 deals with the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Exam tip: collective responsibility is Article 75(3) for the Union and Article 164(2) for a State.

The correct answer is B, Nagaland – Haryana – Sikkim – Arunachal Pradesh. Nagaland became a state on 1 December 1963, carved out of Assam. Haryana followed on 1 November 1966, when the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 divided Punjab on the basis of the Shah Commission's report. Sikkim, until then an Indian protectorate, became the 22nd state through the 36th Amendment Act, 1975, with statehood from 16 May 1975. Arunachal Pradesh, earlier the North-East Frontier Agency and then a Union Territory from 1972, became a state on 20 February 1987, on the same day as Mizoram. Option A is wrong because it places Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh before Nagaland and Haryana. Option C is wrong because Sikkim (1975) cannot come before Haryana (1966) or Nagaland (1963). Option D is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh (1987) became a state long after both Sikkim and Haryana. Exam tip: 1963 Nagaland, 1966 Haryana, 1975 Sikkim, 1987 Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram; Haryana Day falls on 1 November.

The correct answer is D, United States of America. The very idea of opening a constitution with a preamble came from the American Constitution of 1787, which begins 'We the People of the United States'. India's Preamble likewise begins 'We, the people of India', showing that the Constitution draws its authority from the people. From the same source India also took the Fundamental Rights, an independent judiciary and judicial review, impeachment of the President, and the removal of Supreme Court and High Court judges. The Objectives Resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946 later grew into our Preamble, which was adopted on 26 November 1949. Option A is wrong because the USSR gave us the Fundamental Duties, the ideal of justice and the five-year plans. Option B is wrong because Canada gave us a federation with a strong Centre, residuary powers and the appointment of Governors. Option C is wrong because Britain gave us the parliamentary system, rule of law, single citizenship and the office of Speaker. Exam tip: preamble and fundamental rights from the US, duties from the USSR.

The correct answer is B, Third Schedule. The Third Schedule of the Constitution gives the forms of oaths or affirmations for important constitutional posts. It covers Union ministers, candidates for election to Parliament, Members of Parliament, judges of the Supreme Court and the Comptroller and Auditor-General, and at the state level ministers, candidates for the legislature, MLAs and High Court judges. The oaths of the President and the Vice-President are not in this Schedule; they are given in Articles 60 and 69. A is wrong because the Eleventh Schedule, added by the 73rd Amendment in 1992, lists the subjects given to Panchayats. C is wrong because the Ninth Schedule, added by the First Amendment in 1951, protects certain land reform and other laws from challenge in court. D is wrong because the First Schedule lists the names of the states and union territories and their territories. Exam tip: 1st = states and UTs, 3rd = oaths, 7th = Union, State and Concurrent Lists, 10th = anti-defection, 11th = Panchayats, 12th = Municipalities.

The correct answer is A, To consider cases of civil and criminal nature. Subordinate courts are the courts at the district level and below, and they hear civil and criminal cases as courts of first instance.

The Indian judiciary is a single pyramid. The Supreme Court stands at the top, a High Court in each state comes next, and below it are the subordinate courts, which work under the control of that High Court. On the civil side the District Judge is the highest, and below come the courts of the Civil Judge; on the criminal side the Sessions Judge is the highest, with Judicial Magistrates below. Articles 233 to 237 deal with these courts, and the Governor appoints district judges in consultation with the High Court.

Option B is wrong because writs are issued by the Supreme Court under Article 32 and by High Courts under Article 226. Option C is wrong because hearing appeals from lower courts is mainly the work of the High Court. Option D is wrong because transferring cases is a power of the higher courts.

Exam tip: District and Sessions Courts are subordinate courts; writs belong only to the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

The correct answer is B, Kaka Saheb Kalelkar. The first Backward Classes Commission, set up by the President under Article 340 in January 1953, was headed by the Gandhian writer Kaka Kalelkar. It submitted its report in 1955, but the Centre did not accept its main recommendations. The second Backward Classes Commission was set up in 1979 under B. P. Mandal, a former Chief Minister of Bihar, and its 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in central jobs was implemented in 1990. The 102nd Amendment of 2018 later gave the National Commission for Backward Classes constitutional status under Article 338B. Option A is wrong because Jagjivan Ram, also from Bihar, was a Dalit leader and Deputy Prime Minister, not the head of this commission. Option C is wrong because B. D. Sharma was an IAS officer known for his work on tribal rights. Option D is wrong because the first commission had only one chairman, Kalelkar. Exam tip: first commission Kalelkar 1953, second Mandal 1979, NCBC made constitutional in 2018.

The correct answer is A, JS Khehar. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was the Chief Justice of India when the nine-judge bench delivered its verdict in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India on 24 August 2017, and he presided over it. The bench held unanimously that privacy is a fundamental right, protected mainly as part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and by the freedoms in Part III. It overruled the older rulings in M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962), which had said the Constitution gives no such right. The case grew out of a challenge to the Aadhaar scheme. Justice Khehar was also the first Sikh Chief Justice of India. Option B is wrong because Dipak Misra became Chief Justice a week later, and led the benches on Section 377 and adultery. Option C is wrong because H.J. Kania was India's first Chief Justice, in 1950. Option D is wrong because T.S. Thakur retired as Chief Justice in January 2017. Exam tip: Puttaswamy 2017, nine judges, Article 21, CJI Khehar.

The correct answer is C, 1961. The Dowry Prohibition Act was passed by Parliament in 1961 and came into force on 1 July 1961. It makes both the giving and the taking of dowry an offence, and it also punishes anyone who demands dowry or advertises an offer of money or property in return for a marriage. The Act defines dowry as property or valuable security given in connection with a marriage, and it keeps gifts freely given to the bride outside that definition. It was tightened by amendments in 1984 and 1986, which brought in Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code on dowry death and Section 498A on cruelty by a husband or his relatives. Option A is wrong because 1973 is the year of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Option B is wrong because no dowry law was enacted in 1982. Option D is wrong because 1954 is the year of the Special Marriage Act. Exam tip: Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Special Marriage Act 1954.

The correct answer is To protect and improve the natural environment. Teaching people to turn kitchen waste into compost for a park reduces waste and enriches the soil, which is exactly what Article 51A(g) asks for: to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures. It matches the Directive Principle in Article 48A, which asks the State to protect the environment.

The other duties do not fit the activity as closely. Striving towards excellence, clause (j), is about raising the nation's achievements in every field. Safeguarding public property and abjuring violence, clause (i), is about not damaging what belongs to the public. Developing the scientific temper, clause (h), is about questioning and reasoning, and although making compost involves some science, the purpose of the session is environmental. This kind of situation-based question is becoming common in SSC papers, so practise linking everyday actions to the clause they fulfil.

The correct answer is 35 years. Article 58 lays down four qualifications for the President: the person must be a citizen of India, must have completed 35 years of age, must be qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha, and must not hold any office of profit under the Union, a State or a local authority.

The wrong options are ages that belong to other offices, which is what makes them tempting. Twenty-five is the minimum age for the Lok Sabha and a State Legislative Assembly, and thirty is the minimum for the Rajya Sabha and a State Legislative Council. Thirty-four is simply a distractor. The same age of 35 applies to the Vice-President and to a Governor. A useful set to learn together: Lok Sabha 25, Rajya Sabha 30, President, Vice-President and Governor 35. There is no minimum age at all for a judge of the Supreme Court.