UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Satyagraha for Constitution-as-commons

Q1. With reference to the Preamble to the Constitution of India and the idea of popular sovereignty, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Preamble presents the Constitution as adopted, enacted and given by the people of India to themselves, placing the source of constitutional authority in the people.
  2. The Constitution came into being through adoption by the Constituent Assembly, not through ratification by a popular referendum.
  3. The words 'socialist' and 'secular' formed part of the Preamble as it was adopted on 26 November 1949.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Because the Preamble records the date on which the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution, Parliament cannot insert into it words that were not present in 1949.
  2. The amending power of Parliament under Article 368 extends to the Preamble.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to the views of M.K. Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar on extra-constitutional methods of resistance, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. In his speech to the Constituent Assembly in November 1949, Ambedkar held civil disobedience to be legitimate in independent India so long as it remained strictly non-violent.
  2. Ambedkar's objection to satyagraha rested on the availability of constitutional methods, not on a claim that such methods had never been justified.
  3. Gandhi adopted the term 'satyagraha' in place of 'passive resistance' to convey a force born of truth and non-violence.
  • A. 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. In his concluding speech to the Constituent Assembly, B.R. Ambedkar urged that the methods of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha be abandoned.
  2. In the same speech, Ambedkar warned that in politics, bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. A district administration allows a demonstration against a new law, but only at a designated ground and during fixed daytime hours. It refuses permission to hold the demonstration on a highway for an indefinite period. In the light of Supreme Court rulings on public assembly, the administration's action is best described as:

  • A. a permissible regulation of the time, place and manner of protest that leaves the right itself intact
  • B. an impermissible restriction, as Article 19(1)(b) guarantees assembly at any public place of choice
  • C. a permissible restriction, because the right of assembly is a statutory and not a fundamental right
  • D. an impermissible restriction, since conditions may be imposed only on protests found to be violent