Constitution Basics — Set 3

Correct Answer: C. Eighth Schedule

• **Eighth Schedule** = contains the list of officially recognized languages of India; currently 22 languages. • **14 → 22 Languages** — originally 14 in 1950; Sindhi added in 1967 (21st Amendment); Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali added in 1992 (71st Amendment); Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali added in 2003 (92nd Amendment). • 💡 Option A (Seventh Schedule) is wrong because it contains the Union List, State List, and Concurrent List; Option B (Tenth Schedule) is wrong because it contains the Anti-Defection Law; Option D (Ninth Schedule) is wrong because it contains laws protected from judicial scrutiny.

Correct Answer: C. Weimar Constitution of Germany

• **Weimar Constitution of Germany** = source for the provision of suspension of Fundamental Rights during Emergency in India. • **Articles 20 & 21** — even during a National Emergency under Article 352, these two articles (protection against double jeopardy/ex-post-facto laws and right to life) cannot be suspended. • 💡 Option A (Constitution of Japan) is wrong because Japan contributed the phrase 'Procedure established by law'; Option B (Constitution of USA) is wrong because USA contributed Fundamental Rights and Judicial Review; Option D (Constitution of USSR) is wrong because USSR contributed Five Year Plans and inspiration for Fundamental Duties.

Correct Answer: B. Government of India Act 1919

• **Government of India Act, 1919** = introduced bicameralism (two-house legislature) at the Centre for the first time in India. • **Council of State & Legislative Assembly** — these two chambers were the precursors of modern Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively; the Act also introduced Dyarchy in provinces. • 💡 Option A (Indian Independence Act 1947) is wrong because that act divided British India into two dominions, India and Pakistan; Option C (Government of India Act 1909) is wrong because it introduced separate electorates for Muslims (Minto-Morley reforms); Option D (Government of India Act 1935) is wrong because it established a Federal Court and introduced provincial autonomy, not bicameralism.

Correct Answer: B. Navy Blue

• **Navy Blue** = the color of the Ashoka Chakra (Dharma Chakra) placed at the center of the white band in the Indian National Flag. • **24 Spokes** — the 24 spokes of the Chakra represent the 24 hours of the day, symbolizing that the wheel of dharma (righteous conduct) is always in motion. • 💡 Option A (Black) is wrong because the Ashoka Chakra is Navy Blue, not black — black appears nowhere in the national flag; Option C (Green) is wrong because green is the color of the bottom stripe of the tricolour, not the Chakra; Option D (Saffron) is wrong because saffron is the color of the top stripe of the tricolour, not the Chakra.

Correct Answer: C. Jawaharlal Nehru

• **Jawaharlal Nehru** = chaired the Union Powers Committee, the Union Constitution Committee, and the States Committee of the Constituent Assembly. • **Key Committees** — Sardar Patel chaired the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights; Dr. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee; Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the Assembly President. • 💡 Option A (Sardar Patel) is wrong because Patel chaired the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities; Option B (J.B. Kripalani) is wrong because Kripalani was the INC president at the time, not a committee chair in the Assembly; Option D (Dr. B.R. Ambedkar) is wrong because Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee, not the Union Powers Committee.

Correct Answer: A. Part IX

• **Part IX** = added by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992; deals with Panchayats and contains Articles 243 to 243-O. • **73rd & 74th Amendments (1992)** — the 73rd Amendment added Part IX (Panchayats); the 74th Amendment added Part IX-A (Municipalities); both came into force on April 24, 1993. • 💡 Option B (Part XI) is wrong because Part XI deals with relations between the Union and States; Option C (Part X) is wrong because Part X deals with the Scheduled and Tribal Areas; Option D (Part IX-A) is wrong because Part IX-A deals with Municipalities, not Panchayats.

Correct Answer: D. UK

• **UK (Britain)** = source for the concept of Single Citizenship in India; every Indian is a citizen of India only, not of any state. • **Single vs Dual** — USA has dual citizenship (state + federal); India follows UK's model of single citizenship, promoting national unity over regional identity. • 💡 Option A (USA) is wrong because the USA has dual citizenship — citizens are simultaneously citizens of their state and of the federal nation; Option B (Canada) is wrong because Canada contributed 'Federation with strong Centre' and residuary powers to Centre; Option C (Australia) is wrong because Australia contributed the Concurrent List and Joint Sitting of Parliament.

Correct Answer: C. Kesavananda Bharati Case

• **Kesavananda Bharati Case, 1973** = Supreme Court established the 'Basic Structure' doctrine — Parliament can amend the Constitution but cannot destroy its basic features. • **Basic Structure** — includes features like supremacy of the Constitution, republican and democratic form of government, secularism, and separation of powers. • 💡 Option A (Minerva Mills Case) is wrong because while Minerva Mills (1980) upheld the basic structure doctrine, the doctrine was originally formulated in Kesavananda Bharati; Option B (Golaknath Case) is wrong because Golaknath (1967) held Parliament cannot amend Fundamental Rights, but did not articulate the basic structure doctrine; Option D (Berubari Union Case) is wrong because that 1960 case dealt with territorial boundaries, not constitutional amendment powers.

Correct Answer: A. 29

• **Eleventh Schedule** = added by the 73rd Amendment Act (1992); lists 29 functional items within the purview of Panchayats. • **29 vs 18** — Eleventh Schedule (Panchayats) has 29 items; Twelfth Schedule (Municipalities, 74th Amendment) has 18 items — this number pair is frequently tested. • 💡 Option B (10) is wrong because 10 is not the number of items in any current schedule; Option C (18) is wrong because 18 is the number of items in the Twelfth Schedule (Municipalities), not the Eleventh; Option D (22) is wrong because 22 is the number of officially recognized languages in the Eighth Schedule, not items in this schedule.

Correct Answer: B. Granville Austin

• **Granville Austin** = American historian who called Fundamental Rights and DPSP together the 'Conscience of the Constitution'. • **Conscience of Constitution** — Austin described them as the 'core of the commitment to social revolution', meaning they together drive India's socio-economic transformation. • 💡 Option A (Dr. B.R. Ambedkar) is wrong because Ambedkar called Article 32 the 'Heart and Soul' of the Constitution, not the FRs and DPSPs together; Option C (K.C. Wheare) is wrong because Wheare described the Indian Constitution as 'quasi-federal'; Option D (Ivor Jennings) is wrong because Jennings criticized the Preamble as philosophical rhetoric, not a source of positive descriptions.