Constitution Of India Online Test 12th Political Science Lesson 1 Questions in English

Nationalism during the colonial period strived not only for political independence but also for territorial integration, constitutionalism and democratization.

There is a felt need to have specific agreed basic rules and regulations which could facilitate the people of this country to live together. The absence of the basic rules and regulations may imperil the very statehood of India also make the people feel insecure.

Colonial rule was based on Charters, councils Acts and government of India Acts. The leaders and political movements of the newly emerging Indian nation to based on a definite written constitution.

The central legislative body was converted into a constituent Assembly (i.e. a constitution waking body). The proposed constitution was meant to bind different shatter and different categories of society into one state, facilitating a union of states and co-operation and co-ordination between various segments that constitute the federal narrow.

The most critical function of a constitution is to provide a set of basic rules that allow for optimal coordination amongst members of the state.

The constitution specifies the necessary allocation of power between the various segments of the state. Indian diversities necessitated a Union of states, and the freedom movements favoured a democratic form of government. For example, Accordingly the Parliament in India decides laws and policies

Constitution empowers the government to fulfill the aspirations of a society and create conditions for a just society. The part four of the Indian Constitution has provisions for the government to make laws to address many problems prevalent in Indian society.

The people of a country will have a political identity after the promulgation of the structure by accepting the fundamental laws of the state put forth by the constitution.

The individual’s objectives, aspirations, and freedoms should comply with the constitutional regulations of a country.

Constitutional puts forth specific fundamental laws which cannot be violated by its citizens. It also protects certain fundamental rights of the people living in a country. The constitution of a country defines who are all the citizens of a nation.

Constitution also sets the framework that illustrates the relationship between the states or parts of a country with each other and even with the central government.

Most of the constitutions in the world are written documents that comprise many articles and schedules.

The United Kingdom, instead has a series of customs, conventions and historical precedents which are collectively referred to as its constitutional components.

There are still a few constitutions like that of the United Kingdom which do not have one single document, which could be called as a district constitution

A state which is not secular is a Theocratic State. Theocratic state has an official religion (State religion).

Theocratic state has an official religion (State religion), and all the high posts of the country are reserved for the followers of the religion. Pakistan, Vatican, Japan, Yemen etc., are some examples of a Theocratic State.

Formulation refers to how a constitution comes into being, who crafted it and their authority. Indian Constitution like the United States was drafted after a successful national movement.

The Constitution of India has the legitimacy since it has been drafted by a constituent assembly consisting of people’s representations. The Constitution of India reflected the consensus of most of the sections of people in India during Independence. There are instances where some countries have subjected their constitution to a full-fledged referendum.

The referendum is also often used to determine issues of morality which divide a government of party and to settle local matters which it is thought are best left to individual areas to decide. The referendum is seen as conferring legitimacy and popular approval on an individual and sanctions absolute authority.

Neither Indian Constitution nor the amendments made later were subjected to a referendum which could also be seen as a setback in Indian democracy perhaps the conditions prevailing at that time were not conducive to a referendum.

Neither Indian Constitution nor the amendments made later were subjected to a referendum which could also be seen as a setback in Indian democracy perhaps the conditions prevailing at that time were not conducive to a referendum. In this regard may be useful to study the working of referendum in Switzerland.

Constitutions that are discriminative based on religion, caste and language may not get the overwhelming acceptance from all in the nation. The fundamental laws of the structure would reveal the nature of a constitution. Any constitution could be successful only when it preserves the freedom and equality of all its citizens.

The 42nd Amendment act enacted in the year 1976 which enlarged the Preamble of the Indian Constitution

Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi enacted the 42nd Amendment in 1976, during the Emergency, obviously to emphasise the latent secular and socialist ideals as inalienable sprit of the constitution.

The 42nd Amendment enlarged the Preamble of the Indian Constitution from “Sovereign Democratic Republic” to a “Sovereign, Socialist Secular Democratic Republic,” and also changed the words “unity of the nation” to “unity and integrity of the nation.”

Well-drafted constitution does not concentrate all powers in a single person or a single institution as it may lead to abuse of power by few or one institution.

One method that may be incorporated to address this issue is to divide powers among different organs in a balanced way.

The Indian Constitution separates the power horizontally amongst institutions like the legislature, executive and judiciary that prevents any of the organs from subverting the Constitution and enhances its success and durability.

Indian Constitution is not too rigid and not too flexible, which is evident from the restrictions and flexibility in the name of the basic structure of constitution and amending provisions respectively.

A well-drafted constitution will maintain the core values and also adapt itself to changing environment. The Indian Constitution balanced the possibility to not only change the provisions but also limits on such changes. The framers of the Indian Constitution had ensured that it would survive during the test of times.

The members of Constituent Assembly drafted the Indian Constitution. The Constituent Assembly held its first meeting on 9 December 1946.

The members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies indirectly elected the members of constituent assembly.

The Constituent Assembly was composed of members along the lines suggested by the plan proposed by the Committee of the British Cabinet, also known as the Cabinet Mission.

The provinces were to elect 292 members while the princely states were to send a minimum of 93 seats.

According to this Plan- Provinces and princely states or group of states were allotted seats proportional to their respective population roughly in the ratio of 1:1 million. The provinces were to elect 292 members while the princely states were to send a minimum of 93 seats.

The seats of each province to the constituent assembly were distributed among three main communities, namely, the Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs, in proportion to their respective populations in their province.

Members of each community in the Provisional Legislative Assembly elected their representatives to constituent assembly by the method of proportional representation with a single transferable vote. The method of selection of representatives of Princely States was to be determined by the princely states themselves.

Two hundred eighty-four members were present on 26 November 1949 and appended their signature to the Constitution as finally passed.

The 1st meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place in Constitution Hall, New Delhi, on Monday, the 9th December 1946, at Eleven of the Clock.

The Final meeting of constituent assembly held on 24.01.1950with the title of “Signing of the Constitution”.

The Final meeting held on 24.01.1950with the title of “Signing of the Constitution” and Dr. Rajendra Prasad is the Chairman of the debate.

The Constituent assembly debate consists of 12 Volume and it held between 9th December 1946 to 24thJanuary 1950.

The framers of the Constitution adopted the features of the Indian Constitution from several sources. The Weimar constitution is also known as Germany constitution.

Federal provisions, office of Governor, judiciary, public service commissions, emergency provisions, and administrative details were adopted from the Government of India Act, 1935.

Fundamental duties, the ideal of justice (social, economic and political) in the Preamble, were on the model of the constitution of the USSR. (Fundamental duties were asserted through 42nd amendment in 1976).

Federation with a strong centre, residuary powers with the centre, concurrent list, the appointment of state governors by the centre and advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court were adopted from the Canadian constitution.

The Indian Constitution is considered to be the longest written constitution in the world. The framers of the Constitution have borrowed provisions from several sources and several other constitutions of the world

Indian Constitution may be called rigid as well as flexible based on its amending procedure.

People govern India through their representatives elected by the universal adult franchise. India as a sovereign country means it manages its internal and external affairs freely without the interference of any external factors.

Socialism in Indian context means achievement of socialist goals through democratic, evolutionary and non-violent means. In India, we follow the mixed model of the socialist and capitalist economy.

Secularism in Indian context means that it recognizes all religions equally without having any state religion. Republic in Indian context means the head of the state in India is elected and not the monarch.

Parliament controls the functioning of the Council of Ministers, and hence it is called the Parliamentary system.

In a parliamentary system of government, (i.e.) the executive is responsible to the legislature and remains in power only when it enjoys the confidence of the majority legislators.

The President of India, remaining in office for a five-year duration, is the nominal, titular or constitutional head, and the executive head

The Prime Minister in India is the real executive and head of the Council of Ministers who are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

Find out the correct statement

1. The Prime Minister in India is the head of the state
2. The President in India is the head of the government

Constitution has the provision for single citizenship provided by the union and recognized by all the states across India.

The Constitution of India establishes political equality in India through the method of the universal adult franchise which operates with the principle of ‘one person one vote.

All Indians who are eighteen years of age or above is entitled to vote in the elections. There is no discrimination in voting rights for the citizens of India based on caste, religion, gender, race or status.

In India, the judicial system is an autonomous organ kept free from the influence and intervention of the executive and the legislature in exercising its functions. The integrated Indian judicial system has the Supreme Court at the apex, the high courts and lower courts are subordinate to it.

Fundamental Rights are significant provisions of the Indian Constitution and are inviolable and normal times. Fundamental Rights in India can be suspended during emergencies

Fundamental Rights can be amended by extra ordinary means. The provisions of Fundamental Rights are enforceable in the court of law when it is violated.

Eighty – Sixth Amendment Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India.

The Indian Constitution (Eighty – Sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full-time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.

Fourth part of the Indian Constitution titled the Directive Principles of State Policies provides the guidelines to be followed by the states regarding governance and are not enforceable in the court of law.

Fundamental Duties were added to the Indian Constitution through the 42nd Amendment.

Fundamental duties provided in part IVA Article 51A are moral conscience which ought to be followed by the Indian Citizens.

India is an indestructible Union with destructible states which means it acquires a unitary character during the time of emergency.

The Union is not strictly a federal polity but a quasi-federal polity with some vital elements of unitariness. Though federal in form, the Indian Constitution, unlike other federal Constitutions, is both unitary as well as federal according to the requirements of the times and the circumstances.

The Constitution recognizes the need to provide for the review of the judgment or the order of the Supreme Court by itself.

Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament or any rules made by the Supreme Court under Artical.145, the Supreme Court has the power to review any judgment pronounced or made by it.

The independent judiciary in India with the power of judicial review is a prominent feature of our constitution

The harmonization which our Constitution has effected between Parliamentary Sovereignty and a written Constitution with a provision for Judicial Review is a remarkable achievement of the framers of our Constitution.

Citizenship identifies those who are the lawful members of a country. The Citizenship Act, 1955 regulates the determination and acquisition of citizenship after the adoption of the Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution provides for citizenship by birth, descent, registration, naturalization and by incorporation of territory

The Constitution also provides for renunciation and termination of citizenship under certain circumstances. The Constitution contains provisions regarding registration of Overseas Citizens of India and their rights.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs, on February 27, 2015 that amends the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The Act allows a person to apply for citizenship by registration or naturalization if they fulfill specific qualifications. A person may apply for a certificate of naturalization if they have resided in India or have served the Government in India for twelve months immediately preceding the date of application. The Bill allows the Central Government to relax the requirement of twelve months stay or service if extraordinary circumstances exist.

The Constitution of India asserts the basic principle that every individual is entitled to enjoy certain essential rights

Fundamental Rights as categorized into six heads, firstly Right to Equality, secondly Right to Freedom, thirdly Right against Exploitation, fourthly Right to Freedom of Religion, fifthly Cultural and Educational Rights and lastly Right to Constitutional Remedies.

Initially there was a provision for Right to Property under Article-31 which was also a Fundamental Right.

Initially there was a provision for Right to Property under Article-31 which was also a Fundamental Right. The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 had omitted Right to Property from the Fundamental Rights Part

The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 had omitted Right to Property from the Fundamental Rights Part and added it as Article 300A therefore considered as a legal right.

Fundamental rights provided in Part III of the Indian Constitution are judicially enforceable, thereby the individual can move the judiciary, if there is a violation on any of these rights

The right to move straight to the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights is under 32 that is named as Right to Constitutional Remedies.

Fundamental rights in India are however not absolute and rational restrictions can be imposed keeping in view of the security requirements of the state. It ensures political justice for the people.

One of the unique provisions of the Indian Constitution is the chapter on Directive Principles of State Policy. These principles are like directives to the government to implement them for establishing social and economic justice in India.

It comprises significant provisions for equal pay for both men and women, free and compulsory primary education, and right to work.

Part IV of the Indian Constitution also has provision for public assistance in case of old age, unemployment, sickness and disablement, the organization of village Panchayats, adequate means to livelihood, special privilege to the economically backward sections of the people and distribution of wealth

Find out the correct statement

1. The provisions given in the Directive Principles of State Policy is always justifiable
2. The provisions given in the Directive Principles of State Policy is sometimes justifiable

Gandhi wanted the central government to have minimal power, and he wanted the villages to rule themselves traditionally with village chiefs and councilors. According to Ambedkar, village possessed a cruel reality of communalism and caste system; thus it will lead to the cornering of minorities.

For Ambedkar, those villages were nothing “but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance and communalism.” The dominant and influential communities would make villages their monopoly and that would render other communities voiceless. The result was that the Constitution that was drafted under his Chairmanship did not mention a word about Panchayat Raj.

Many Gandhians persuaded the committee to have a provision for the village panchayats in Part IV of the Indian Constitution titled Directive Principle of State Policy vesting the responsibility in State legislatures.

Article 40 states that the State shall take steps to organize village panchayat and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self -government.

Part IVA of Indian Constitution defines as Fundamental duties. (51A) – It shall be the duty of every citizen of India – (a) To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem; (b) To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; (c) To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India; (d) To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.

To promote harmony and the spirit of universal brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.

To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform; To safeguard public property and to abjure violence; To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement; Who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

Under Article 79, the Parliament of the Union consists of the President and two Houses known respectively as the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

The Council of States is called as Rajya Sabha. The House of the People is otherwise known as Lok Sabha.

The Union Legislature is bicameral, and the need for a bicameral system of the legislature in a federation is admitted: the Upper House represents the units, the Lower House represents the people; the two Houses respectively at once functioning to preserve the integrity of the units and to secure the integration of the Union.

The Rajya Sabha consists of 250 members, where the President nominates twelve in the manner provided. The remaining 238 members will be the representatives of the States and the Union territories.

The Lok Sabha consists of 543 members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the States and not more than twenty-five members to represent the Union territories selected in such manner as Parliament may by law provide.

The president of India is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of States/UTs. Term: Five Years.

Term of president is subject to impeachment by Parliament.

A permanent body not subject to dissolution. However, one third of members retire biennially after completing a term of six years.

The ‘Council of States’ which is also known as Rajya Sabha, a nomenclature that was announced by the Chair on 23rd of August 1954 as its distinguishable feature.

Rajya Sabha is the second chamber of the Parliament. The origin of the second Chamber can be traced to the Montague Chelmsford Report.

The Government of India Act, 1919 provided for the creation of a ‘Council of State’ as a second chamber of the then legislature with a restricted franchise which came into existence in 1921.

The Governor-General was the ex-officio President of the then Council of State. The Government of India Act, 1935, hardly made any changes in its composition.

Composition: 250 Members: 238 representing states/UTs and 12 nominated by President of India. Term: A permanent body not subject to dissolution. However, one third of members retire biennially after completing a term of six years.

Rajya Sabha is a federal chamber where 238 members are elected by the elected members of Assemblies of the States and Union Territories. Apart from elected, the President can nominate 12 members to Rajya Sabha, thus making a total of 250

The Vice-President acts as the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. In his absence, the deputy chairman takes the place of the chairman who is elected by the members of Rajya Sabha

The 1st sitting of Rajya Sabha was held on 13th May 1952, unlike Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha can never be dissolved.

The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha is the booklet that provides explicit conduct of its members. There are various discussions namely: half an hour discussion, short duration discussion and motions of matters in public interests.

The official Languages Bill, 1963, was introduced, because Article 343 of the Constitution stated categorically that the Official Language of the Union shall be Hindi after 1963.

The government has accepted two national anthems, Vande Mataram and Jana gana mana. Neither of these two national anthems is in the Hindi language.They come from Bengali.

Generally, during a year, three sessions of the Rajya Sabha are held, as follows: First Session (Budget Session. Second Session (Monsoon Session). Third Session (Winter Session).