Preamble and Salient Features Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The idea was first put forward by M.N. Roy.

Manabendra Nath Roy, a pioneer of the communist movement in India, proposed in 1934 that India's constitution should be framed by a Constituent Assembly elected by the people. The Indian National Congress formally adopted the demand in 1935, and the Constituent Assembly was eventually set up under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946.

Rajendra Prasad later became the President of the Constituent Assembly, B.R. Ambedkar chaired its Drafting Committee, and Jawaharlal Nehru moved its Objectives Resolution, but none of them originated the idea.

Answer: A

The key marks (i), (ii) and (iii) as correct: the Preamble is a part of the Constitution, it can be amended, and its provisions are not enforceable in courts.

Statement (iv), that the Preamble is a source of power, is not accepted, since it is neither a source of power nor a limitation. Option A.

The Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and can be amended without destroying the basic structure, as happened in 1976. Its provisions are not enforceable in courts, and the Preamble is neither a source of power nor a limitation on power.

Answer: A

The phrase "Union of States" in our Constitution was inspired by the Canadian Constitution, which created a union with a strong centre; the Constituent Assembly borrowed the Canadian model.

The English, Irish and American constitutions gave India other features, such as parliamentary government, directive principles and fundamental rights with judicial review respectively.

The Government of India Act, 1935 had also spoken of a federation, but it was the Canadian model, a union with a strong Centre, that the Drafting Committee followed for the words Union of States.

Answer: B

Statements (i) and (iv) are correct: the American Constitution was the first to begin with a preamble, and a Republic means public offices are open to every citizen without discrimination.

Statement (iii) is wrongly attributed, since it was N.A. Palkhivala who called the Preamble the identity card of the Constitution. Statement (ii) is also not accepted by the key. Options with (ii) or (iii) are therefore rejected.

The American Constitution of 1787 begins with the words We the People, and our own Preamble was drawn from the Objectives Resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru in the Constituent Assembly in 1946.

Answer: A

The correct matching is Part XIV with Services under the Union and States (3), Part XV with Elections (1), Part XVIII with Emergency provisions (4) and Part XX with Amendment of the Constitution (2), the code 3 1 4 2.

Part XIV covers Articles 308 to 323 on services, Part XV covers Articles 324 to 329 on elections, Part XVIII covers Articles 352 to 360 on emergency provisions and Part XX covers Article 368 on amendment. The other codes swap these parts.

Answer: D

The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January, 1950.

The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, and a few provisions (on citizenship, elections and provisional parliament) took effect that day. The rest came into force on 26 January 1950, chosen because the Congress had declared Purna Swaraj on 26 January 1930. It is celebrated as Republic Day.

26 November 1949 is the date of adoption, now Constitution Day. 15 August 1947 is Independence Day. 23 January is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary and has no connection with the Constitution.

Answer: B

Dr. Ambedkar introduced the Draft Constitution on November 4th, 1948.

On 4 November 1948 Ambedkar moved the Draft Constitution prepared by the Drafting Committee in the Constituent Assembly, with a long speech explaining its scheme. The clause-by-clause consideration (the second reading) began on 15 November 1948, which is the trap in option A.

26 November 1949 is the date the Assembly adopted the Constitution, now observed as Constitution Day, and it came into force on 26 January 1950; nothing of this kind happened on 26 January 1948.

Answer: C

Both 1 and 2 are correct.

The original English Constitution was handwritten by the calligrapher Prem Behari Narain Raizada in a flowing italic style, by hand and without any printing. The Hindi version was calligraphed by Vasant Krishan Vaidya.

The pages of both were decorated by artists of Santiniketan under Nandalal Bose. Since each statement is true, '1 only', '2 only' and 'Neither' are wrong.

Answer: C

'Secular' was added by the 42nd Amendment Act.

The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, passed during the Emergency, inserted the words 'Socialist' and 'Secular' into the Preamble's description of India, and changed 'unity of the Nation' to 'unity and integrity of the Nation'. It is the only amendment so far to the Preamble.

The 1st (1951), 22nd and 76th Amendments made other changes and did not touch the Preamble.

Answer: A

The Constitution has 12 schedules.

The original Constitution of 1950 had eight schedules. The Ninth was added by the First Amendment (1951), the Tenth (anti-defection) by the 52nd Amendment (1985), the Eleventh (panchayats) by the 73rd Amendment (1992) and the Twelfth (municipalities) by the 74th Amendment (1992).

That makes twelve, so 11, 13 and 14 are wrong. Eleven was the count only between 1993, when the 73rd Amendment came into force, and the 74th Amendment.