Indian Politics - General Knowledge Questions and Answers

India, also known as Bharat, is a Union of States.
Article 1 of the Constitution of India declares India as a Union of states. According to Constitution India is the Union of states because the states are indestructible part of the country.

On August 1935, the Government of India passed longest act i.e. Government of India Act 1935 under the British Act of Parliament.
The Indian leaders were not enthusiastic about the Act since despite granting provincial autonomy the governors and the viceroy had considerable ‘special powers’.
After independence, this Act was replaced by the Constitution of India .

Dr.Sachchidanand Sinha was the first (temporary) chairman of Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India.

The Government of India Act (1919) Dyarchy, also spelled diarchy, system of double government introduced by the Government of India Act (1919) for the provinces of British India.

In this act, for the first time, the system of bicameral system and direct election was introduced in the country. Thus, in place of Legislative Council in India, bicameral system i.e. Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha was formed. The majority members of both the houses were elected through direct election.

According to Article 124(2) of the Constitution, the age of retirement for Supreme Court judges is 65.
As per Article 217(1) of the Constitution, High Court judges retire at 62.

The president of India is the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces whilst the elected prime minister acts as the head of the executive, and is responsible for running the Union government.

Development expenditure of the Central Government does not include. defence expenditure.

The 44th Amendment of 1978 removed the right to property from the list of fundamental rights. A new provision, Article 300-A, was added to the constitution, which provided that “no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution states the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.
It says: “All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”

The Panchayat is chaired by the president of the village, known as a Sarpanch. The term of the elected representatives is five years. The Secretary of the Panchayat is a non-elected representative, appointed by the state government, to oversee Panchayat activities.

Liaquat Ali Khan became the first Finance Minister of India in the Interim Government during 1946-1947

The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the States and Union Territories. The allocation is based upon the population of states and UTs.

ARTICLE 32(Right to Constitutional Remedies)
During the Constituent Assembly debate, Dr. B.R Ambedkar had said that Article 32 is the heart and soul of the Constitution, and rights given through it will always be exercised in the Supreme Court unless any amendment has been made in the Constitution.

The Indian Constitution is unique in its contents and spirit. Although it had picked up many best features from other constitutions of the world.
India borrowed the concept of Fundamental Duties from the Soviet Constitution (USSR, now Russia)

Article 51A, Part IVA of the Indian Constitution, specifies the list of fundamental duties of the citizens.

at present there are overall 11 Fundamental Duties in Indian Constitution which are given below :

To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions , the National Flag and the National Anthem ;
To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom ;
To uphold and protect the sovereignty , unity and integrity of India ;
To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so ;
To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious , linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women ;
To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture ;
To protect and improve the natural environment including forests , lakes , rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures ;
To develop scientific temper , humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform ;
To safeguard public property and to abjure violence ;
To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement ;
To provide opportunities for education by the parent or guardian to his child or ward between the age of 6 and 14 years . This duty was added to the Indian Constitution by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act , 2002 .

The Finance Commission is constituted by the President under article 280 of the Constitution, mainly to give its recommendations on distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States and amongst the States themselves.