Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Polity & International Relations) – May 27, 2020

The Constituent Assembly.

Statement 1 is correct: The Cabinet Mission of 1946 consisting of three British Cabinet Ministers – Lord Pethic Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and Mr. Alexander, recommended the setting up of a Constituent Assembly for the purpose of framing a new Constitution.

Statement 2 is correct: Initially, as the Constituent Assembly was brought about by the British Government it could not be called a sovereign body and its powers were limited. However, with the passing of the Indian Independence Act of 1947, the Constituent Assembly became a sovereign body and it was free to frame a Constitution as it pleased. The Indian Independence Act of 1947 also empowered the Constituent Assembly to frame laws for India until the new Constitution came in to force.

The Government of Indian Act was passed by the British parliament in 1935 and came into effect in 1937. It was based on a report by a Joint Select Committee, led by Lord Linlithgow, set up by the two houses of the British parliament. The report, in turn, was the result of the Joint Committee’s scrutiny of the ‘White Paper’ – a scheme of constitutional proposals – prepared by the British government close on the heels of the Round Table conferences. Except for the National Liberal Federation, most political parties in India took a negative view of the Act. The Indian National Congress called it a ‘slave constitution that attempted to strengthen and perpetuate the economic bondage of India’.

The Constituent Assembly appointed a number of committees to deal with different tasks of constitution-making. Out of these, eight were major committees and the others were minor committees. The names of these committees and their chairmen are given below:

• Union Powers Committee– Jawaharlal Nehru
• Union Constitution Committee– Jawaharlal Nehru
• Provincial Constitution Committee –Sardar Patel
• Drafting Committee – B.R. Ambedkar
• Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas –Sardar Patel
• Rules of Procedure Committee – Rajendra Prasad
• States Committee(Committee for Negotiating with States) – Jawaharlal Nehru
• Steering Committee – Rajendra Prasad

The Indian Constitution is known as a bag of borrowings and draws it features from the Constitutions of many countries. Dr BR Ambedkar rightly said that it was created after ransacking the known Constitutions across the world. The features borrowed from Canada’s Constitution are:

• Federation with a strong Centre
• Vesting of residuary powers in the Centre
• Appointment of state governors by the Centre
• Advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

The Office of Governor is borrowed from the Government of India Act of 1935.

The Right to move freely throughout the territory of India and Right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India comes under Protection of six rights regarding freedom (Article 19). Right to travel abroad is comes under Protection of life and personal liberty (Article 21).

In a Judgement delivered in the Secretary of Malankara Syrian Catholic College case (2007), the Supreme Court has summarized the general principles relating to establishment and administration of minority educational institutions in the following way:

The right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice comprises the following rights:

• To choose its governing body in whom the founders of the institution have faith and confidence to conduct and manage the affairs of the institution;
• To appoint teaching staff (teachers/lecturers and headmasters/ principals) as also non-teaching staff; and to take action if there is dereliction of duty on the part of any of its employees;
• To admit eligible students of their choice and to set up a reasonable fee structure; and
• To use its properties and assets for the benefit of the institution.

According to Article 51 A, it shall be the duty of every citizen of India:

• 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 that inspired the national struggle for freedom;
• to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
• to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhoodamongst 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 the country’s 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 promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order permeated by justice—social, economic and political—and to minimize inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities is a Directive Principles of State Policy.

When the legislatures of two or more states pass resolutions requesting the Parliament to enact laws on a matter in the State List, then the Parliament can make laws for regulating that matter. A law so enacted applies only to those states which have passed the resolutions. However, any other state may adopt it afterwards by passing a resolution to that effect in its legislature. Such a law can be amended or repealed only by the Parliament and not by the legislatures of the concerned states. Some examples of laws passed under the above provision are Prize Competition Act, 1955; Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976; and Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.

Public health and sanitation, Regulation of mines and mineral development comes under State list. Electricity is in Concurrent list.

Union Public Service Commission.

Statement 1 is correct: The UPSC consists of a chairman and other members appointed by the president of India. The Constitution, without specifying the strength of the Commission has left the matter to the discretion of the president, who determines its composition. Usually, the Commission consists of nine to eleven members including the chairman.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The Constitution also authorizes the president to determine the conditions of service of the chairman and other members of the Commission.