Chapter - 3: Salient Features Of The Constitution (Gist) - UPSC MCQ

Article 159 contains the provisions for oath or affirmation by Governors of States. Third Schedule contains the Forms of Oaths or Affirmations for the following:

• The Union ministers
• The candidates for election to the Parliament
• The members of Parliament
• The judges of the Supreme Court
• The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
• The state ministers
• The candidates for election to the state legislature
• The members of the state legislature
• The judges of the High Courts

Fourth Schedule (Article 4 and 80) provides for the allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the states and the union territories. Article 4 maintains that laws made under Articles 2 and 3 provide for the amendment of the First and the Fourth Schedules and supplemental, incidental and consequential matters.

DPSPs are contained in Part IV of the Indian Constitution in Article 36-51. The idea of DPSPs was borrowed from the constitution of Ireland. They impose a moral obligation on the state authorities for their application. They aim to establish social and economic democracy in the country.

The Indian constitution was criticised on the grounds of “Un-Gandhian” as the critics believed it did not reflect the philosophy and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. However, the Indian Constitution does contain both- the detailed fundamental principles of governance as well as the ordinary legislation or established political conventions.

Indian Parliamentary form of Government:

• It is based on the principle of cooperation and coordination between the legislative and executive

• The legislature is responsible to the Parliament.

• It is a sovereign body with an elected head

• Article 368 lays down the powers of Parliament to amend the Constitution,etc.

(i) Article 335 deals with Claims of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes to services and posts.

(ii) Article 161 deals with Power of governor to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases.

(iii) Article 330 deals with reservation of seats for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes in the House of People.

(iv) Article 213 deals with Power of governor to promulgate ordinances during recess of the state legislature.

Article 30 deals with the rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions while the Ninth Schedule incorporates Acts and Regulations of the state legislatures dealing with land reforms and abolition of the zamindari system and of the Parliament dealing with other matters. This schedule was added by the 1st Amendment (1951) to protect the laws included in it from judicial scrutiny on the ground of violation of fundamental rights.

The 97^th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011 gave a constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies. It made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental right (Article 19). It empowers the Parliament in respect of multi-state cooperative societies and the state legislatures in respect of other co-operative societies to make the appropriate law.

Sixth Schedule contains the provisions relating to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

Voting is not a fundamental right, but is a legal right granted to citizens . The voting age was reduced to 18 years from 21 years in 1989 by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988. upholds the principle of equality, enables minorities to protect their interests and opens up new hopes and vistas for weaker sections.

India is a ‘Union of States’ which implies that Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement by the states and no state has the right to secede from the federation. Article 352 deals with National emergency on the ground of war or external aggression or armed rebellion. During an emergency, the Central Government becomes all-powerful and the states go into the total control of the centre. It converts the federal structure into a unitary one without a formal amendment of the Constitution.

The Constitution of India stands for a secular state. Hence, it does not uphold any particular religion as the official religion of the Indian State. Article 27 provides that No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for the promotion of a particular religion.

The Fundamental Rights are meant for promoting the idea of political democracy. They operate as limitations on the tyranny of the executive and arbitrary laws of the legislature. They are justiciable in nature, that is, they are enforceable by the courts for their violation.

The Constitution of India abolished the old system of communal representation which was reservation of seats in the legislatures on the basis of religion. However, it provides for the temporary reservation of seats for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes to ensure adequate representation to them.

(i) Federal features include:

• Two Government
• Division of Powers
• Written Constitution
• Supremacy of Constitution
• Rigidity of Constitution
• Independent Judiciary
• Bicameralism

(ii) Unitary or non-federal features include:

• Strong Center
• Single Constitution
• Single Citizenship
• Flexibility of Constitution
• Integrated Judiciary
• Appointment of state governors by the Center
• All-India Services
• Emergency Provisions

42^nd Amendment Act of 1976 is also termed as the Mini Constitution. It added three words Socialist, Secular and Integrity in the Preamble of Indian Constitution. It also provided for Fundamental Duties. 

Directive Principle of State Policy is a novel feature of Indian Constitution. Enumerated in the Part IV of the Constitution, these principles promote the ideals of socio-economic democracy and impose a moral obligation on the state authorities to establish a welfare state.
Preamble contains the summary or essence of the Constitution. It does not have any obligatory provisions.
Fundamental Rights promote ideal of political democracy.
Article 1 of the Indian Constitution is related to Name and the territory of the Union.

(i) Federal features include:

• Two Government
• Division of Powers
• Written Constitution
• Supremacy of Constitution
• Rigidity of Constitution
• Independent Judiciary
• Bicameralism

(ii) Unitary or non-federal features include:

• Strong Center
• Single Constitution
• Single Citizenship
• Flexibility of Constitution
• Integrated Judiciary
• Appointment of state governors by the Center
• All-India Services
• Emergency Provisions

The 97^th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011 provisioned for:

• It made the right to form co-operative societies a Fundamental Right under Article 19.
• It included new Directive Principle of State Policy on promotion of co -operative societies under Article 43-B.
• It added a new Part IX-B in the Constitution which is entitled as ‘The Co-operative Societies’ under Article 243-ZH to 243-ZT.

The Constitution of India has provisioned for its Secular character i.e. the country does not have any particular religion as the official religion of the Indian State. These provisions include:

• The 42^nd Constitutional Amendment Act, added the term ‘Secular’ to the preamble of the Constitution which secures to all citizens of India liberty of belief, faith and worship.
• The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or equal protection of t he laws.
• The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the ground of religion.
• Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment.
• All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate any religion.
• No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for the promotion of a particular religion.
• All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
• The State shall endeavour to secure for all the citizens a Uniform Civil Code.

Universal Adult Franchise under the Indian Constitution provides a right to vote to every citizen of India who is not less than 18 years of age without any discrimination of caste, race, religion, sex, literacy, wealth and so on.
It makes democracy broad-based, enhances the self-respect and prestige of the common people, upholds the principle of equality, enables minorities to protect their interests and opens up new hopes and vistas for weaker sections.
The 61^st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988 has reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years.