The Fundamental Rights have been guaranteed to protect the public from repressive state actions; judicial decisions tend to expand the scope of the word 'State' as defined by _______ of the Indian Constitution.

The correct answer is the USA. The Bill of Rights is the name given to the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States, adopted in 1791, which protect freedoms such as speech and religion against the government. India's framers took from it the idea of a written list of rights that the State cannot violate and that the courts will enforce. Part III of our Constitution, Articles 12 to 35, is the result, and it is often called the Magna Carta of India.

The other countries gave India different features. From Australia came the Concurrent List, freedom of trade and commerce, and the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. From Japan came the phrase "procedure established by law" used in Article 21. From the former USSR came the Fundamental Duties and the ideal of social, economic and political justice in the Preamble. So even inside Part III there are two sources to remember: the chapter as a whole from the USA, and the wording of Article 21 from Japan.

The correct answer is Right to property. When the Constitution came into force, property was protected as a Fundamental Right in two places: Article 19(1)(f), the freedom to acquire, hold and dispose of property, and Article 31, protection against being deprived of property. The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 deleted both and inserted Article 300A in Part XII, which says that no person shall be deprived of property save by authority of law. Property is therefore still protected, but only as a constitutional or legal right, not as a Fundamental Right.

The practical difference is that a person whose property is taken can no longer go straight to the Supreme Court under Article 32, which is only for Fundamental Rights; they can still approach a High Court under Article 226 or an ordinary court. The other three options, the Right to Equality (Articles 14 to 18), the Right against Exploitation (Articles 23 and 24) and the Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25 to 28), all remain Fundamental Rights. The same 44th Amendment also made Articles 20 and 21 impossible to suspend during an emergency.

The correct answer is Article 17. Article 17 abolishes untouchability, forbids its practice in any form, and makes the enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability an offence punishable in accordance with law. To give it effect Parliament passed the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976, and later the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Neither the Constitution nor these Acts define the word "untouchability"; courts have read it in its historical sense. The right carries no exceptions and applies against private individuals as well as the State.

The other options are its neighbours in the Right to Equality group, which is why they appear together. Article 14 guarantees equality before law and equal protection of the laws. Article 15 forbids discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment. Remember the group in order: 14 equality, 15 no discrimination, 16 public jobs, 17 untouchability, 18 titles.

The correct answer is 6. Article 19(1) gives every citizen six freedoms: speech and expression; to assemble peaceably and without arms; to form associations, unions or co-operative societies; to move freely throughout India; to reside and settle in any part of India; and to practise any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business. There were seven when the Constitution began. The seventh, clause (f), the freedom to acquire, hold and dispose of property, was deleted by the 44th Amendment Act, 1978.

The 97th Amendment Act, 2011 added the words "co-operative societies" to clause (c), but that widened an existing freedom rather than creating a new one, so the count is still six. These freedoms belong only to citizens, and none of them is absolute: clauses (2) to (6) of Article 19 let the State impose reasonable restrictions. The wrong options are borrowed from nearby numbers in this topic, Article 13, Article 30 and the 44th Amendment, which is exactly why they look familiar and tempt you.

The correct answer is 86th. The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 made education a Fundamental Right by inserting Article 21A, under which the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children aged six to fourteen years, in the manner it determines by law. That law is the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which came into force on 1 April 2010.

The same amendment made two more changes, and both are asked in exams. It rewrote Article 45, a Directive Principle, so that it now asks the State to provide early childhood care and education for children below six. And it added a Fundamental Duty, Article 51A(k), requiring parents or guardians to provide opportunities for education to their child between six and fourteen. So one amendment touched three Parts of the Constitution: Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties. The 85th, 87th and 88th are neighbouring numbers placed as distractors; the 85th Amendment, for example, dealt with consequential seniority in promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.