Through the Forty Second Amendment to the Constitution of India, which of the following was/were inserted into its Preamble? 1. “Liberty of thought, expression and belief” was substituted by “Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship”. 2. The expression “Unity of the Nation” was substituted by “Unity and Integrity of the Nation”. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — B, 2 only. The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 made exactly three changes to the Preamble: it inserted the words SOCIALIST and SECULAR between SOVEREIGN and DEMOCRATIC, and it replaced 'unity of the Nation' with 'unity and integrity of the Nation'. Statement 2 describes the third of those changes and is right. Statement 1 is wrong because the words it claims were added were never missing — the Preamble adopted on 26 November 1949 already read 'LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship'. Nothing in the 1976 amendment touched the liberty clause.
- (a)1 only — Reverses the truth. The liberty clause is original 1950 text; it is the unity clause that the 42nd Amendment altered.
- (c)Both 1 and 2 — Tempting if you remember only that the 42nd Amendment 'changed the Preamble' and assume every change listed must be its work. The liberty formula was never amended.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Denies the one change the 42nd Amendment did make to that phrase — 'integrity' entered the Preamble in 1976 and was not there before.
The Preamble has been amended once in seventy-six years, by the 42nd Amendment of 1976, and that single amendment added three words: 'Socialist', 'Secular' and 'Integrity'. Everything else in the Preamble — Justice social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity; Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual — is as the Constituent Assembly adopted it on 26 November 1949.
Statements of this shape are answered by asking what the original text said, not by asking what the amendment did. Once you know that the liberty clause has always carried five items — thought, expression, belief, faith, worship — statement 1 collapses without any need to recall the amendment at all. The three-word memory aid also protects you against the commoner error of thinking 'Fraternity' or 'Justice' came in later. Do note that the 1976 wording has been contested in court and has survived: a petition challenging the insertion of 'socialist' was filed in 2008 and was eventually withdrawn in 2010 after the Supreme Court called the issue largely academic, and the Preamble still reads exactly as it did at the time of this exam.
- The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 is the only amendment ever to alter the Preamble.
- It inserted 'Socialist' and 'Secular' between 'Sovereign' and 'Democratic', and substituted 'unity and integrity of the Nation' for 'unity of the Nation'.
- The 1950 Preamble already read 'LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship'.
- The Preamble was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949; in Kesavananda Bharati (1973) the Supreme Court held it to be a part of the Constitution.
- Assuming that anything true of the Preamble today was put there by the 42nd Amendment.
- Mixing up 'unity of the Nation' with the Fundamental Duty in Article 51A to uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
- Believing the Preamble has been amended more than once.
Usually as a list — which words were added in 1976, or which objective is not in the Preamble at all — so learn the original text and the three added words as one package.
Which one of the following objectives is not embodied in the Preamble to the Constitution of India?
- (a) Liberty of thought
- (b) Economic liberty
- (c) Liberty of expression
- (d) Liberty of belief
Answer(b) Economic liberty
The same liberty clause, tested on its contents rather than its history. Knowing that the Preamble's liberty is of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship answers both items at once.
The word 'socialist' was inserted into the Preamble to the Constitution of India through which one of the following Amendment Acts?
- (a) 41st Amendment Act
- (b) 42nd Amendment Act
- (c) 43rd Amendment Act
- (d) 44th Amendment Act
Answer(b) 42nd Amendment Act
The same amendment, isolated to one of its three words. Between the two papers, UPSC has asked all three insertions of 1976.
CDS_GK_2020_II_Q772020Which of the following terms were added to the Preamble of the Constitution of India by the Constitutional Amendment, 1976? 1. Socialist 2. Secular 3. Integrity 4. Fraternity Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 1, 2 and 3
- (c) 2 and 4
- (d) 1, 3 and 4
Answer(b) 1, 2 and 3
CDS asked the very same amendment four years earlier and gave away the whole answer: Socialist, Secular and Integrity went in, Fraternity was always there.
CDS_GK_2022_I_Q652022Which of the following statements with regard to the Preamble to the Constitution of India is/are correct ? 1. Equality of status and equality of opportunity find mention in the Preamble. 2. The expression ‘unity and integrity of the Nation’ was not there in the Preamble since the beginning. Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
Statement 2 of that 2022 CDS item is statement 2 of this one, stated the other way round — the unity-and-integrity formula was not in the Preamble from the beginning.
- practice — not a real PYQ
How many times has the Preamble to the Constitution of India been amended?
- (a)Never
- (b)Once
- (c)Twice
- (d)Three times
Answer(b) Once — by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The word 'integrity' was added to the Preamble to the Constitution of India by which Amendment Act?
- (a)24th Amendment
- (b)42nd Amendment
- (c)44th Amendment
- (d)52nd Amendment
Answer(b) 42nd Amendment — 'unity of the Nation' became 'unity and integrity of the Nation' in 1976.