Making of the Constitution, Preamble & features

Answer: (a) A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory independent of external control and possessing an organized government

A State in political science has four essentials: people, a definite territory, a government, and sovereignty (freedom from outside control). Option (a) is the only one that names all four.

• ✓ (a) It has the community of persons (population), permanent occupation of a definite territory, an organised government and independence from external control (sovereignty).
• ✗ (b) It never mentions freedom from outside control, and it adds functions (protecting natural rights, sustenance) that are duties of a good State, not part of what makes a State.
• ✗ (c) Living together for a long time with a shared culture describes a nation or community. It leaves out sovereignty.
• ✗ (d) Adding an executive answerable to a central authority and an independent judiciary describes a particular form of government, not the basic definition of a State. Sovereignty is missing here too.

Remember · State = population + definite territory + government + sovereignty. The government can change; the State continues.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 only

Only statement 1 is correct: India has a single citizenship (and a single domicile, that of India), unlike federal countries that give people citizenship of both the nation and a state. Statement 2 is wrong because Article 58 requires the President to be a citizen of India, not a citizen by birth, and statement 3 is wrong because the Citizenship Act allows the Central Government to deprive some citizens of citizenship.

• ✓ 1. The Constitution provides only one citizenship, that of India; Article 5 speaks of domicile 'in the territory of India', not of any state. Some federal countries have dual citizenship; India does not.
• ✗ 2. Article 58 lists three conditions to be President: citizen of India, at least 35 years of age, and qualified to be elected to the Lok Sabha. Birth in India is not a condition, so a naturalised citizen can be eligible.
• ✗ 3. Section 10 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 lets the Central Government deprive a citizen who got citizenship by naturalisation or registration of it, for example where it was obtained by fraud, after giving notice. The Citizenship Rules, 2009 lay down the notice procedure.

Remember · One citizenship, one domicile. The President must be a citizen of India, not necessarily by birth. Section 10 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 allows deprivation of some citizens.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 7 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Separation of powers

Separation of powers is the best safeguard of liberty because it keeps law-making, law-enforcing and law-interpreting power in different hands, so each organ can check the others and none can rule unchecked. Centralised power removes those checks, and an elected government is itself the body that needs to be restrained.

• ✗ (a) A judiciary protects liberty only when it is independent of the legislature and executive. That independence is itself a product of separating the powers, so the judiciary alone is not the 'best' safeguard.
• ✗ (b) Centralising powers puts them in one place and removes the checks that protect individual freedom.
• ✗ (c) Elections choose the government but do not limit what it may do once in office; a majority can still override individual rights unless other organs hold it in check.
• ✓ (d) Dividing power among the legislature, executive and judiciary creates checks and balances: each organ can check what the others do and restore balance if one goes beyond its role.

Remember · Liberty is safest when no single organ holds all state power: separation of powers, with checks and balances among legislature, executive and judiciary, is the best safeguard.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 6 Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Ch 10 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) A Sovereign Democratic Republic

On 26 January 1950 India was a Sovereign Democratic Republic. The words 'Socialist' and 'Secular' were added to the Preamble only by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, which took effect on 3 January 1977.

• ✗ (a) It leaves out 'Sovereign', which was in the Preamble from the start.
• ✓ (b) The original Preamble read 'Sovereign Democratic Republic'; the 42nd Amendment replaced these words with 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic' from 3 January 1977.
• ✗ (c) 'Secular' was inserted in 1976, so it was not part of the description in 1950.
• ✗ (d) This is the present wording, adopted only after the 42nd Amendment (1976), so it describes India after 1977, not in 1950.

Remember · 1950 Preamble: Sovereign Democratic Republic. 'Socialist' and 'Secular' (and 'integrity') were added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976, effective 3 January 1977.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Economic Development

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) a government limited by the terms of the Constitution

Constitutional government means a government whose powers are limited by the terms of the Constitution. A constitution sets limits on what the government may do, and the government may not go beyond them.

• ✗ (a) This describes a representative, federal government. Whether a government is federal or unitary is a separate question from whether its powers are limited by a constitution.
• ✗ (b) A Head with nominal powers describes the parliamentary system (for example India's President in practice, or a constitutional monarch); it is not the definition of constitutional government.
• ✗ (c) A Head with real powers describes the presidential system; the size of the Head's powers does not define constitutional government.
• ✓ (d) The third function of a constitution is to set limits on what a government can impose on its citizens; these limits are fundamental, so the government may never trespass them.

Remember · Constitutional government = government limited by the Constitution. It is defined by limits on power, not by federal structure or by how strong the Head is.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 1 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error