Test: Making of Indian Constitution - 2 - Humanities/Arts MCQ

Article 19 of the Constitution of India entails the provision of the right to freedom and in further clauses lays down six freedoms granted by the Constitution which includes right to freedom of speech and expression, right to assembly, right to move freely and reside anywhere in the country, right to freedom of profession and occupation etc.

A Republic means the head of the State is elected and not a hereditary monarch. India is a republic because the Supreme head of the State/Country i.e the President is elected by the people. The term Republic is incorporated in the Preamble of the Constitution, which explains that India has an elected head as the President, who is indirectly elected for a fixed term of five years. 

The ordinary bills have to be passed from both the houses before they can be presented before the President. In case of a difference of opinion between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over an ordinary bill, a joint meeting of both the houses is called for a discussion and the Prime Minister plays a very important role in this session.

The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and signed by. The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950 which is the date of commencement of the Constitution.

The Fundamental Rights is defined as the basic human rights of all citizens. These rights, defined in Part III of the Constitution, apply irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste, creed or gender. They are enforceable by the courts, subject to specific restrictions. Hence they make each individual realize their best.

The indian Constitution originally did not include fundamental duties. 10 fundamental duties were added by the 42nd Amendment act of 1976 and 1 more was added by the 86th CAA. These are moral obligations on the citizens of the country and are non-justiciable. As of now, there are 11 fundamental duties included in Part IV(A) of the Indian Constitution.

The Fundamental Rights are defined as basic human freedoms that every Indian citizen has the right to enjoy for a proper and harmonious growth and development of personality. These rights universally apply to all citizens, irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste or gender. Aliens (persons who are not citizens) are also considered in matters like equality before law. They are enforceable by the courts, subject to certain restrictions.

Constitutional Amendments means the set of values that can change according to time. The new laws can be added by process of amendment done by Parliament.

Three features that were committed by the leaders of the Congress Party in 1928 and in 1931 to keep as basic principles in the independent Constitution of India are:
To maintain India as a socialist-secular country where religious tolerance is appreciated and every individual is free to follow the religion he/she likes.
To establish freedom and equality: every person should possess certain rights and enjoy equality without any discrimination.
To protect rights of minorities: for the ages schedules castes and tribes have faced atrocities and hence it was decided that the rights of minorities to be protected.

The Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India in 1976, was enacted during the Emergency by the Indian National Congress government headed by Indira Gandhi. The 42nd Amendment changed the description of India from a 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".

The preamble to the Constitution of India is a brief introductory statement that sets out guidelines, which guides the people of the nation. It is called the soul of constitution. It is adapted by the people themselves.

There is a major difference between the fundamental rights and the fundamental duties. The fundamental duties are non-justifiable, that is no one can be punished in case of their violation or non-compliance. The fundamental duties are defined as the moral obligations of all citizens to help promote a spirit of patriotism and to uphold the unity of India.
The Constitution guarantees six fundamental rights to Indian citizens as follows:
(i) right to equality,
(ii) right to freedom,
(iii) right against exploitation,
(iv) right to freedom of religion,
(v) cultural and educational rights, and (vi) right to constitutional remedies.

The preamble to the Constitution is a brief introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose and principles of the document.
Both India and Us constitution use the expression "we the people" in their preamble.

Many features of the Indian Constituion are borrowed from various countries of the world. The feature of Parliamentary democracy is borrowed from Britain. Parliamentary democracies may be a monarchy or a republic. While Britain has a monarch as head of the state, India has an elected head of the state. India adopted Parliamentary form of government over Presidential one due to multiple reasons one of them being its familiarity with the system.