Indian Politics Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Correct answer: Fundamental Rights

Part III, Articles 12 to 35, contains the Fundamental Rights. They are enforceable against the State, and Article 32 provides the remedy for enforcing them. Six rights remain: equality (Articles 14–18), freedom (19–22), against exploitation (23–24), freedom of religion (25–28), cultural and educational rights (29–30), and constitutional remedies (32). A seventh, the right to property, was removed from Part III by the 44th Amendment in 1978 and made an ordinary legal right under Article 300-A. The neighbouring parts are examined just as often. Part II covers citizenship, Part IV the Directive Principles, Part IV-A the Fundamental Duties, and Part V the Union - executive, Parliament and judiciary. It is worth remembering that some rights are available to all persons, including foreigners - Articles 14, 20, 21, 21-A, 22, 25 to 28 - while others, notably Articles 15, 16, 19, 29 and 30, are confined to citizens.

Answer: C

Articles 20 and 21 can never be suspended, even during an emergency.

Article 20 protects against conviction under retrospective law, double jeopardy and self-incrimination; Article 21 protects life and personal liberty. The 44th Amendment of 1978 put them beyond the reach of Article 359, after the experience of the 1975 emergency.

Answer: B

K.C. Wheare called the Indian Constitution quasi-federal.

He meant that it is federal in form but unitary in spirit: the centre can redraw state boundaries, legislate on state subjects in defined circumstances, and take over a state's administration under Article 356.

Answer: A

The Supreme Court of India was inaugurated on 28 January 1950, two days after the Constitution came into force.

It first sat in the Chamber of Princes in Parliament House, moving to its own building in 1958. It replaced the Federal Court of India and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Answer: A

The White Paper is the official document associated with India, as with Britain.

It is a detailed statement of government policy on a subject, issued to inform Parliament and the public before legislation. The Yellow Book is French, the Blue Book British diplomatic, and the Green Paper a consultative document.

Answer: C

Correct answer: A majority of the total membership and two thirds of those present and voting

Article 368 requires a constitutional amendment bill to be passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members present and voting. Both conditions must be met. The two are distinct. In a Lok Sabha of 543 the first requires at least 272 votes regardless of attendance; the second requires two thirds of whoever is actually present. Where attendance is high the second is the harder test; where it is low the first is. There is no provision for a joint sitting on an amendment bill, so each House must pass it independently - which gives the Rajya Sabha a real veto, unlike its position on money bills. For amendments affecting the federal structure - the election of the President, the distribution of legislative powers, representation of states, Article 368 itself - ratification by at least half the state legislatures is additionally required, by simple majority. The President must assent; the 24th Amendment made that mandatory.

Answer: A

Granville Austin described Indian federalism as co-operative federalism in The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation.

He meant that the centre and the states are not rivals in watertight compartments but partners working together, with a strong centre able to act while leaving the states real space of their own.

Answer: B

The 42nd Amendment of 1976 gave the directive principles precedence over the fundamental rights where they conflict.

It provided that no law giving effect to a directive principle could be struck down for violating Articles 14, 19 or 31. The Supreme Court struck that provision down in Minerva Mills in 1980, holding the balance between the two to be part of the basic structure.

Answer: D

The Indian Constitution is partly rigid and partly flexible.

Some provisions are amended by a simple majority; most need a two-thirds majority of those present and voting in each House and a majority of the total membership; and provisions touching the federal structure need that plus ratification by half the state legislatures.

Answer: B

Fundamental rights aim at ensuring individual liberty.

They set limits the state cannot cross - on speech, movement, religion, life and personal liberty - and are enforceable in court under Article 32. That enforceability is what turns a declaration into a protection.