Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 36

The correct answer is D, Irish. The Directive Principles of State Policy, in Part IV of the Constitution from Articles 36 to 51, were taken from the Constitution of Ireland, which had in turn drawn the idea from Spain. They set out goals for the state in making law and policy, such as equal pay for equal work, a living wage, free and compulsory education for children, village panchayats and the protection of monuments. They are not enforceable in a court, which is how they differ from the Fundamental Rights, but Article 37 calls them fundamental in the governance of the country. A is wrong because the idea of a single citizenship came from Britain, not Norway, which lent nothing of note. B is wrong because Australia gave the concurrent list, freedom of trade and commerce and the joint sitting. C is wrong because Spain is only the earlier source for Ireland, not the direct one for India. Exam tip: remember the chain - the Directive Principles reached India from Ireland, and the method of electing the President also comes from there.

The correct answer is B, Sarkaria Commission. The Inter-State Council was constituted in 1990 by a presidential order acting on this commission's report on centre-state relations. Article 263 empowers the President to set up such a council to inquire into disputes between states, discuss subjects of common interest and make recommendations. The Sarkaria Commission, headed by Justice R. S. Sarkaria, was appointed in 1983 and submitted its report in 1988; it asked that the council be made a permanent body. The Prime Minister chairs it, and the chief ministers of all states, the administrators of union territories and six union ministers are its members. Option A is wrong because the Punchhi Commission came much later, in 2007, and reported in 2010. Option C is wrong because the Rajamannar Committee of 1969 was set up by the Tamil Nadu government, not the Union. Option D is wrong because the Mungerilal Commission dealt with backward class reservation in Bihar. Exam tip: Article 263 plus Sarkaria Commission gives the Inter-State Council, 1990.

The correct answer is D, the President of India. Article 324(2) says the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners shall be appointed by the President, and under the Act of 2023 the President acts on the recommendation of a Selection Committee of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Option A is wrong because the Central Government only advises or recommends; the warrant of appointment is issued by the President, and the office is a constitutional one, not a departmental post. Option B is wrong because a State Government has no role at all in the Union Election Commission; it appoints nothing beyond its own State Election Commissioner, which is done by the Governor. Option C is wrong because the Chief Justice of India has no part in the appointment, although he is on the collegium for judges; the Supreme Court is relevant here only for removal, because the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court.

The correct answer is B, N.C.E.R.T. Section 29(1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 says the curriculum and the evaluation procedure for elementary education shall be laid down by an academic authority notified by the appropriate government, and the Central Government notified the National Council of Educational Research and Training for the schools under it, while the states notified their own SCERTs. Section 29(2) then binds that authority to constitutional values, the all-round development of the child, learning through activity and discovery, teaching in the mother tongue as far as practicable, and continuous and comprehensive evaluation. A is wrong because the N.C.T.E. frames norms for teacher education and teacher eligibility, which the Act deals with in Section 23. C is wrong because N.I.E.P.A. works on educational planning and administration. D is wrong because N.I.O.S. runs open and distance schooling. Exam tip: in the RTE Act, Section 29 gives the academic authority, NCERT, and Section 23 the teacher qualifications through NCTE.

The correct answer is B, Part II. Citizenship is dealt with in Part II of the Constitution, which contains Articles 5 to 11. These provisions settle who became a citizen of India at the commencement of the Constitution on 26 January 1950 and, through Article 11, leave all later law on citizenship to Parliament. Option A is wrong because Part I, containing Articles 1 to 4, deals with the Union and its territory, the formation of new states and the alteration of boundaries. Option C is wrong because Part VII originally contained Article 238 on the states in Part B of the First Schedule and was repealed by the Seventh Amendment in 1956. Option D is wrong because Part IX deals with the Panchayats, inserted by the Seventy-third Amendment of 1992, while Part IXA covers the municipalities. Remember the simple order: Part I territory, Part II citizenship, Part III fundamental rights.

The correct answer is A, Land transfers. The Fifth Schedule lets the Governor make regulations for the peace and good government of a Scheduled Area, and it names three matters such a regulation may cover: it may prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of the Scheduled Tribes, regulate the allotment of land to them, and regulate money-lending to them. The purpose is to stop outsiders from buying up tribal land, so land alienation is the heart of the provision. A regulation of this kind needs the assent of the President, and the Governor must also report to the President every year on the administration of these areas, advised by a Tribes Advisory Council. Option B is wrong because taxation is settled by Parliament and the state legislature, not by such a regulation. Option C is wrong because freedom of speech is a fundamental right no Governor's regulation can curtail. Option D is wrong because water use is not one of the three listed matters. Exam tip: Fifth Schedule regulations cover land transfer, land allotment and money-lending.

The correct answer is C, Sarkaria commission. The Sarkaria Commission said the Governor should be a detached figure chosen without regard to party, and ideally someone who has not taken an active part in politics in the recent past or belonged to the ruling party at the centre. It was set up in 1983 under Justice R S Sarkaria to review centre-state relations and reported in 1988. It also advised that the Chief Minister of the state be consulted before a Governor is appointed, that Article 356 be used only as a last resort, and that the Inter-State Council be set up, which was done in 1990. A is wrong because the Fazal Ali Commission of 1953 was the States Reorganisation Commission on state boundaries. B is wrong because the Rajamannar Committee of 1969 was appointed by Tamil Nadu, not by the Union. D is wrong because the Mandal Commission of 1979 dealt with reservation for backward classes. Exam tip: tie the names - Sarkaria 1983 for centre-state relations, Punchhi 2007 for the same subject later.

The correct answer is D, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and is counted as its founder member and first president. The party was launched at Delhi in October 1951 as a nationalist alternative to the Congress. Mookerjee had resigned from Nehru's cabinet in 1950 over the Nehru-Liaquat pact, and he had earlier led the Hindu Mahasabha and served as Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University. He died in 1953 in detention in Kashmir while agitating against the state's special status, after which Deendayal Upadhyaya built up the party's organisation; it was reorganised as the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980. A is wrong because K M Munshi was a Constituent Assembly member and Congress leader who later joined the Swatantra Party. B is wrong because Baldev Singh was independent India's first Defence Minister. C is wrong because Minoo Masani was a founder of the Swatantra Party. Exam tip: Bharatiya Jana Sangh 1951 with Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Swatantra Party 1959 with C Rajagopalachari and Minoo Masani.

The correct answer is B, Article 338. Article 338 provides for the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, a constitutional body that investigates and monitors the safeguards given to Scheduled Castes, enquires into specific complaints and reports to the President, who places the report before Parliament. The 65th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1990 replaced the earlier Special Officer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with this multi-member Commission, and the 89th Amendment of 2003 divided it, creating a separate National Commission for Scheduled Tribes under Article 338A. A is wrong because Article 332 deals with the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state legislative assemblies. C is wrong because Article 342 empowers the President to specify the Scheduled Tribes of a state or union territory. D is wrong because Article 328 concerns a state legislature's power to make laws on elections to its own House. Exam tip: hold the trio together - 338 for SCs, 338A for STs and 338B for backward classes.

The correct answer is D, Dual Government. A dual government, one at the centre and one in the units, is the common feature of every federation, so India and the USA do not differ on this point. Both countries divide powers between a national government and state governments through a written constitution, and both let courts settle disputes about that division. The other three features are exactly where the two systems part company, because India has a federation with a strong unitary bias. Option A is wrong because every American state sends two members to the Senate regardless of size, while seats in the Rajya Sabha are allotted according to a state’s population, so representation is unequal. Option B is wrong because an American citizen is a citizen of both the Union and a state, while India gives only single citizenship. Option C is wrong because the USA has separate federal and state courts, while India has one integrated judiciary headed by the Supreme Court. Exam tip: India — single citizenship, integrated judiciary, unequal Rajya Sabha seats.

The correct answer is C, Article 319. It bars the holding of certain offices after a member ceases to be one, and its first clause makes a retiring chairman of the Union Public Service Commission ineligible for any further employment either under the Government of India or under a state government. Within the same article a UPSC member other than the chairman may be appointed chairman of the UPSC or of a State Commission but nothing more, and a State chairman may become chairman or member of the UPSC or chairman of another State Commission. Option A is wrong because Article 317 deals with removal and suspension. Option B is wrong because Article 318 empowers the President or the Governor to make regulations on the number of members and the conditions of service. Option D is wrong because Article 322 charges the Commission's expenses on the Consolidated Fund.

The correct answer is B, Tenth Schedule. The anti-defection law sits in the Tenth Schedule, which sets out when a member of Parliament or of a State legislature loses the seat for defecting. It was inserted by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1985, after a decade in which governments were toppled by floor crossing. A member is disqualified for voluntarily giving up the membership of the party on whose ticket the seat was won, or for voting against the party whip. The Speaker or the Chairman of the House decides such a case, and courts can review that decision. The 91st Amendment of 2003 removed the old one third split defence, so only a merger supported by two thirds of a party’s legislators is now protected. A is wrong because the Second Schedule fixes the salaries and allowances of the President, Governors, Speakers and judges. C is wrong because the Third Schedule carries the forms of oath and affirmation. D is wrong because the Fourth Schedule allots Rajya Sabha seats to states and union territories. Exam tip: Tenth Schedule, anti-defection, 52nd Amendment of 1985.

The correct answer is D, (A), (B) and (C). All three statements describe real features of the Indian Constitution, so all of them have to be counted.

Universal adult suffrage was there from the first general election itself. Article 326 gives the vote to every citizen without any test of property, education, caste or sex, and the voting age was brought down from twenty-one to eighteen by the 61st Amendment. Equality before the law and equal protection of the laws come from Article 14, while Articles 15 and 16 forbid discrimination. At the same time the Constitution allows special provisions for the socially disadvantaged, such as reservation of seats and posts for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the backward classes, because real equality needs unequal treatment of the unequal.

Options A, B and C are each wrong because each one of them drops a statement that is in fact a feature of the Constitution.

Exam tip: equality in our Constitution means equality before law plus protective discrimination for the weaker sections.

The correct answer is D, Mizoram. Mizoram is a full state, not a Union Territory. It was carved out of Assam as a Union Territory in 1972, and after the Mizo Accord of 1986 it became a state on 20 February 1987 under the 53rd Constitutional Amendment, on the same day as Arunachal Pradesh. The difference matters: a Union Territory is administered by the President through an Administrator or Lieutenant Governor under Article 239, while a state has its own Governor and its own government under Part VI of the Constitution. Option A is wrong because Ladakh has been a Union Territory since 31 October 2019 and Puducherry since 1962, and both are listed as Union Territories in the First Schedule. Option B is wrong because Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were joined into one Union Territory on 26 January 2020. Option C is wrong because Lakshadweep is a Union Territory of coral islands in the Arabian Sea, with its capital at Kavaratti. Exam tip: Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh became states on 20 February 1987, Goa on 30 May 1987.

The correct answer is D, Members of a Trade Union. A pressure group is an organised body of people with a shared interest that tries to influence government policy without contesting elections or seeking power itself, so a trade union pressing for better wages is the classic example. Pressure groups work through petitions, strikes, lobbying, publicity and public campaigns; in India business bodies such as FICCI, farmers' organisations, caste associations and student unions act in the same way. A is wrong because members of the Lok Sabha are elected representatives who sit inside the lawmaking body itself. B is wrong because panchayat members are elected office-holders of local self-government. C is wrong because cabinet members form the executive that takes the very decisions a pressure group tries to influence. Exam tip: the line to remember is that a political party seeks power, while a pressure group seeks only influence.

The correct answer is B, Article 161. Article 161 lets the Governor grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishment, and suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of an offence against a law on a matter to which the executive power of the state extends. His power is narrower than the President's under Article 72 in two ways: the Governor cannot pardon a death sentence and has no say in a sentence passed by a court martial, while the President can act in both cases. Like the President, the Governor exercises this power on the advice of the state Council of Ministers. Option A is wrong because Article 163 provides for the Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Governor. Option C is wrong because Article 55 lays down the manner of election of the President. Option D is wrong because Article 145 lets the Supreme Court frame rules of procedure. Exam tip: Article 72 for the President's pardon and Article 161 for the Governor's; only the President can pardon a death sentence or a court-martial sentence.

The correct answer is D, Pranab Mukherjee. The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act was passed in 2015 and received the President's assent on 31 May 2015, when Pranab Mukherjee held the office; he was President from 2012 to 2017. The amendment gave effect to the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, under which the two countries exchanged enclaves and adverse possessions, and it altered the First Schedule entries for Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura. People living in the transferred enclaves were allowed to choose their citizenship. Option A is wrong because Ram Nath Kovind became President only in 2017, two years later. Option B is wrong because Pratibha Patil's term ran from 2007 to 2012, before this amendment. Option C is wrong because A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was President from 2002 to 2007. Exam tip: the 100th Amendment of 2015 settled the India-Bangladesh land boundary and changed the First Schedule.

The correct answer is B, State Government. Section 16 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 extends the collective-fine provision of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 to atrocities, and the power to impose and recover a collective fine on the inhabitants of an area rests with the State Government. The purpose is to make a whole locality answerable when its people abet an atrocity or shield the offenders, and the inhabitants must be given a chance to be heard before the fine is fixed and apportioned among them. A is wrong because the District Magistrate carries out such orders but is not the authority that imposes the fine. C is wrong because the Special Court tries offences under the Act and punishes individual offenders. D is wrong because the High Court hears appeals and does not levy collective fines. Exam tip: remember the pair - collective fine under Section 16, imposed by the State Government.

The correct answer is C, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. A VVPAT unit is attached to the balloting unit of an electronic voting machine and prints a slip showing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate the voter has chosen; the slip is visible through a window for about seven seconds and then drops into a sealed box, so the vote can be audited on paper without being traced to the voter. It was used for the first time in 2013 in the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland. Options A, B and D are wrong because each changes one word of the expansion, and the changed word matters: the machine makes the vote verifiable by the voter, not merely visited or vivid, and what it leaves behind is an audit trail on paper, not an account. Remembering the four words in order, verifiable, paper, audit, trail, is enough to reject all three distractors.

The correct answer is C, Article 5 to 11. Part II of the Constitution runs from Article 5 to Article 11. Article 5 states who was a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution, Articles 6 and 7 deal with migrants from and to Pakistan, Article 8 with persons of Indian origin living abroad, Article 9 with the loss of citizenship on voluntarily acquiring a foreign citizenship, Article 10 with the continuance of citizenship rights and Article 11 with the power of Parliament to regulate citizenship by law. Option A is wrong because Articles 3 and 4 belong to Part I and deal with the formation of new states and consequential changes to the First and Fourth Schedules. Option B is wrong for the same reason: Article 4 is not part of the citizenship chapter. Option D is wrong because it leaves out Article 5, which is the opening and most important provision of the chapter.