Indian Constitution Questions for CDS

Making of the Constitution

The Constituent Assembly was set up in 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan. Dr B R Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 (Constitution Day) and came into force on 26 January 1950 (Republic Day). It took 2 years 11 months and 18 days to draft. Originally it had 395 Articles, 8 Schedules, and 22 Parts.

• President of Constituent Assembly: Dr Rajendra Prasad
• Drafting Committee Chairman: Dr B R Ambedkar
• Adopted: 26 Nov 1949 | Enforced: 26 Jan 1950
• Original: 395 Articles, 8 Schedules — now 448+ Articles, 12 Schedules
• Longest written constitution in the world
• Borrowed heavily from GoI Act 1935 — called its backbone

Preamble

The Preamble is the soul and mirror of the Constitution. It declares India to be a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. The words Socialist and Secular were added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. The Preamble is NOT enforceable in court but is used to interpret the Constitution. In Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) the Supreme Court held that Preamble is part of the Constitution.

• SSDР mnemonic: Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic
• Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity — four objectives in Preamble
• 42nd Amendment 1976 added Socialist and Secular
• Preamble borrowed from USA (idea of Preamble)
• Berubari Case 1960 — SC said Preamble is NOT part of Constitution; reversed in Kesavananda 1973

Borrowed Features — Source Countries

The framers borrowed provisions from multiple constitutions. CDS loves asking which feature came from which country. Think of it as a shopping list — India picked the best from each constitution. The single biggest source was the Government of India Act 1935 for administrative machinery.

• USA: Fundamental Rights, Judicial Review, Impeachment of President, Preamble idea
• UK: Parliamentary system, Rule of Law, Cabinet system, Writs
• Ireland: Directive Principles of State Policy, Nomination to Rajya Sabha, Emergency
• Canada: Federation with strong Centre, residuary powers with Centre
• Australia: Concurrent List, joint sitting of Parliament
• USSR (Russia): Fundamental Duties (added later), Five Year Plans concept
• Germany (Weimar): Suspension of Fundamental Rights during Emergency
• South Africa: Amendment procedure (Article 368), election of Rajya Sabha members

Fundamental Rights — Articles 12 to 35

Fundamental Rights are justiciable — you can go to court if they are violated. There are now 6 Fundamental Rights after the Right to Property was removed by the 44th Amendment 1978 and made a legal right under Article 300A. Article 32 is itself a Fundamental Right — Dr Ambedkar called it the heart and soul of the Constitution.

• Right to Equality: Articles 14-18
• Right to Freedom: Articles 19-22 (6 freedoms under 19)
• Right against Exploitation: Articles 23-24
• Right to Freedom of Religion: Articles 25-28
• Cultural and Educational Rights: Articles 29-30
• Right to Constitutional Remedies: Article 32
• Right to Property removed as FR by 44th Amendment 1978
• Article 21A — Right to Education (6-14 yrs) added by 86th Amendment 2002

Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) — Articles 36 to 51

DPSPs are non-justiciable — the state should follow them but courts cannot enforce them. Borrowed from Ireland. They are socio-economic goals for the state. Think of DPSPs as the conscience of the Constitution — morally binding but not legally enforceable. In Minerva Mills case (1980) SC said Parliament cannot destroy the balance between Fundamental Rights and DPSPs.

• Non-justiciable but fundamental in governance
• Borrowed from Irish Constitution
• Key articles: Article 39 (equal pay), Article 44 (Uniform Civil Code), Article 45 (free education), Article 48 (cattle protection)
• 42nd Amendment gave DPSPs precedence over some Fundamental Rights — partially reversed by Minerva Mills 1980
• Article 51 deals with international peace and security

Fundamental Duties — Article 51A

Added by 42nd Amendment 1976 on recommendation of Swaran Singh Committee. Originally 10 duties, an 11th was added by the 86th Amendment 2002 (duty to provide education to children aged 6-14). Borrowed from USSR. They are non-justiciable but courts can use them to uphold laws.

• Added by 42nd Amendment 1976
• Swaran Singh Committee recommended them
• Originally 10, now 11 Fundamental Duties
• 11th duty added by 86th Amendment 2002 — parents/guardian to provide education
• Borrowed from Soviet Constitution

Important Constitutional Amendments

Amendments are extremely high-frequency in CDS. Memorise the key ones by linking them to events or numbers. Think of it as a timeline of India's political evolution.

• 1st Amendment 1951: Added 9th Schedule, curbed right to property and speech slightly
• 7th Amendment 1956: Reorganised states on linguistic basis
• 42nd Amendment 1976: Mini Constitution — added Socialist, Secular, Fundamental Duties; DPSP precedence
• 44th Amendment 1978: Removed Right to Property as FR; restored some rights removed by 42nd
• 52nd Amendment 1985: Anti-defection law — 10th Schedule
• 61st Amendment 1988: Voting age from 21 to 18
• 73rd and 74th Amendment 1992: Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies constitutional status
• 86th Amendment 2002: Right to Education (Article 21A), 11th Fundamental Duty
• 101st Amendment 2016: Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• 103rd Amendment 2019: 10% EWS reservation

Schedules of the Constitution

There are 12 Schedules. CDS asks which schedule contains what. Think of schedules as annexures — they contain lists and details that do not fit in the main articles.

• 1st Schedule: States and Union Territories
• 2nd Schedule: Salaries of President, Governors, judges etc.
• 3rd Schedule: Oaths and Affirmations
• 5th Schedule: Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribes
• 7th Schedule: Three Lists — Union, State, Concurrent
• 8th Schedule: 22 Official Languages
• 9th Schedule: Land reform laws protected from judicial review (added by 1st Amendment)
• 10th Schedule: Anti-defection law (added by 52nd Amendment)
• 11th Schedule: Panchayati Raj subjects (29 items)
• 12th Schedule: Urban Local Bodies subjects (18 items)

• Confusing adoption date (26 Nov 1949) with enforcement date (26 Jan 1950) — both appear in options to trap you
• Thinking Right to Property is still a Fundamental Right — it became a legal right under Article 300A after 44th Amendment 1978
• Mixing up DPSP source (Ireland) with Fundamental Rights source (USA) — a very common error
• Forgetting that Socialist and Secular were NOT in the original Preamble — they were added by 42nd Amendment 1976
• Confusing 42nd Amendment (added Fundamental Duties) with 44th Amendment (removed Property from FR) — remember 42 added, 44 removed

• SSDР for Preamble: Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic — So Sonia Sings Daily Rhymes
• Borrowed features country trick: USA = Rights, UK = Parliament, Ireland = DPSP, Canada = Centre strong — URIC mnemonic (US-UK-Republic of Ireland-Canada)
• 42-44 rule: 42nd Amendment was Indira Gandhi's power grab (added duties, Socialist/Secular) — 44th was the correction after Emergency (removed Property FR)
• Schedules shortcut: 7th = 3 Lists (Union/State/Concurrent), 8th = 22 Languages, 9th = Protected laws, 10th = Anti-defection — 7-8-9-10 in order of importance for exam

• CDS typically asks 1-2 questions on which feature was borrowed from which country — memorise the URIC plus Australia and Germany list cold
• Preamble questions appear almost every year — focus on what was original vs what was added by 42nd Amendment
• Amendment numbers are directly asked — at minimum memorise 1st, 42nd, 44th, 52nd, 61st, 73rd, 74th, 86th, 101st, 103rd
• Schedule-based questions are increasing in recent papers — 7th (three lists), 8th (languages), 10th (anti-defection) are most asked
• Article numbers for Fundamental Rights come up — Article 32 (Ambedkar: heart and soul), Article 21 (life and liberty), Article 19 (six freedoms), and Article 21A (RTE) are exam favourites