Indian polity & Governance Test 6

Answer – A

• Transmission and dissemination of one’s religious beliefs to others or exposition of the tenets of one’s religion.
• But, it does not include a right to convert another person to one’s own religion. Forcible conversions impinge on the ‘freedom of conscience’ guaranteed to all the persons alike. Chattisgarh has also passed anti-conversion act last year, beside many other governments.

Answer – C

• Article 25 also contains two explanations: one, wearing and carrying of kirpans is to be included in the profession of the Sikh religion; and two, the Hindus, in this context, include Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.

Answer – C

• State is permitted to regulate or restrict any economic, financial, political or other secular activity associated with religious practice

Answer – C

• Right to religion is subject to public order, morality, health and other provisions relating to fundamental rights.
• State is permitted to provide for social welfare and reform or throw open Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus

Answer – A

• Supreme Court held that a religious denomination must satisfy three conditions:
  • It should be a collection of individuals who have a system of beliefs (doctrines) which they regard as conductive to their spiritual well-being
  • It should have a common organisation
  • It should be designated by a distinctive name
• Under the above criteria, the Supreme Court held that the ‘Ramakrishna Mission’ and ‘Ananda Marga’ are religious denominations within the Hindu religion. It also held that Aurobindo Society is not a religious denomination.

Answer – A

• According to Article 26, every religious denomination or any of its section shall have the following rights:
  • Right to establish and maintain institu-tions for religious and charitable purposes
  • Right to manage its own affairs in matters of religion
  • Right to own and acquire movable and immovable property
  • Right to administer such property in accordance with law
• Like the rights under Article 25, the rights under Article 26 are also subject to public order, morality and health but not subject to other provisions relating to the Fundamental Rights

Answer – C

• Under Article 28, no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds. However, this provision shall not apply to an educational institution administered by the State but established under any endowment or trust, requiring imparting of religious instruction in such institution
• Further, no person attending any educational institution recognised by the State or receiving aid out of State funds shall be required to attend any religious instruction or worship in that institution without his consent. In case of a minor, the consent of his guardian is needed.

Answer – B

• Article 27 lays down that no person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination. In other words, the State should not spend the public money collected by way of tax for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion. This provision prohibits the State from favouring, patronising and supporting one religion over the other. This means that the taxes can be used for the promotion or maintenance of all religions.
• This provision prohibits only levy of a tax and not a fee. This is because the purpose of a fee is to control secular administration of religious institutions and not to promote or maintain religion.

Answer – C

• Article 29 provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same
• Article 29 grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities. However, the Supreme Court held that the scope of this article is not necessarily restricted to minorities only, as it is commonly assumed to be. This is because of the use of words ‘section of citizens’ in the Article that include minorities as well as majority

Answer – D

Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings, begar (forced labour) and other similar forms of forced labour. Any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. This right is available to both citizens and non-citizens. It protects the individual not only against the State but also against private persons.

Answer – D

• The expression ‘traffic in human beings’ include (a) selling and buying of men, women and children like goods; (b) immoral traffic in women and children, including prostitution; (c) devadasis; and (d) slavery. To punish these acts, the Parliament has made the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act13, 1956.
• The term ‘begar ’ means compulsory work without remuneration. It was a peculiar Indian system under which the local zamindars sometimes used to force their tenants to render services without any payment. In addition to begar, the Article 23 prohibits other ‘similar forms of forced labour’ like ‘bonded labour’. The term ‘forced labour’ means compelling a person to work against his will.
• The word ‘force’ includes not only physical or legal force but also force arising from the compulsion of economic circumstances, that is, working for less than the minimum wage. In this regard, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Contract Labour Act, 1970 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 were made.

Answer – C

Same explanation as above

Answer – A

• Article 32 confers the right to remedies for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of an aggrieved citizen. In other words, the right to get the Fundamental Rights protected is in itself a fundamental right. This makes the fundamental rights real. That is why Dr Ambedkar called Article 32 as the most important article of the Constitution—‘an Article without which this constitution would be a nullity. It is the very soul of the Constitution and the very heart of it’.

Answer – B

• Parliament can empower any other court to issue directions, orders and writs of all kinds. However, this can be done without prejudice to the above powers conferred on the Supreme Court.
• The right to move the Supreme Court shall not be suspended except as otherwise provided for by the Constitution. Thus the Constitution provides that the President can suspend the right to move any court for the enforcement of the fundamental rights during a national emergency (Article 359).

Answer – A

• Article 23 also provides for an exception to this provision. It permits the State to impose compulsory service for public purposes, as for example, military service or social service, for which it is not bound to pay. However, in imposing such service, the State is not permitted to make any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste or class. Hence statement 1 is correct
• Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory, mine or other hazardous activities like construction work or railway. But it does not prohibit their employment in any harmless or innocent work. Hence statement 2 is wrong.

Answer – D

• The framers of the Constitution borrowed Directive Principles from the Constitution of Ireland, which in turn had adopted from Spanish Constitution. Hence statements 1 and 2 are true.
• Directive Principles resemble the ‘Instrument of Instructions’ enumerated in the Government of India Act of 1935. Hence statement 3 is also true.

Answer – B

• In the words of Dr B R Ambedkar, ‘the Directive Principles are like the instrument of instructions, which were issued to the Governor-General and to the Governors of the colonies of India by the British Government under the Government of India Act of 1935. What is called Directive Principles is merely another name for the instrument of instructions. The only difference is that they are instructions to the legislature and the executive’. Hence B is correct.

Answer – B

• Constitution (Article 37) itself says that these principles are fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws. Hence B is correct.

Answer – A

• 44th Amendment Act of 1978 added one more Directive Principle, which requires the State to minimise inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities (Article 38). Hence statement 1 is correct.
• 97th Amendment Act of 2011 added a new Directive Principle relating to co-operative societies. It requires the state to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of co-operative societies (Article 43B). Hence statement 2 is wrong.
• To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor (Article 39 A) was added through 42nd Amendment. Hence 3 is also wrong.