SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 15 September 2025, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 16 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

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Which Constitutional Amendment Act is often referred to as the “Mini-Constitution” due to the extensive changes it introduced to the Indian Constitution?

(a)44th Amendment Act, 1978
(b)52nd Amendment Act, 1985
(c)42nd Amendment Act, 1976
(d)86th Amendment Act, 2002

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, passed during the Emergency, changed so much of the Constitution that it is called the Mini-Constitution.

It added Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble, inserted the Fundamental Duties as Part IVA (Article 51A), and moved five subjects, education among them, from the State List to the Concurrent List → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
44th Amendment Act, 1978 — The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 reversed several changes of the 42nd. It removed the right to property from the Fundamental Rights and replaced 'internal disturbance' with 'armed rebellion' as a ground for a national emergency.
(b)
52nd Amendment Act, 1985 — The 52nd Amendment Act, 1985 added the Tenth Schedule, the anti-defection law. It deals with one subject, the disqualification of legislators who defect.
(d)
86th Amendment Act, 2002 — The 86th Amendment Act, 2002 made education for children aged 6 to 14 a Fundamental Right under Article 21A. Its changes to Articles 21A, 45 and 51A all concern children's education.

Concept

The 42nd Amendment was enacted in 1976, while the Emergency declared in 1975 was in force. It reached into the Preamble, the Fundamental Duties, the Directive Principles, the division of subjects between Union and States, and the powers of the courts and the President.

That breadth earned it the name Mini-Constitution. The 44th Amendment, 1978, passed after the Emergency, reversed several of its changes.

Key facts

The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 added 'Socialist', 'Secular' and 'Integrity' to the Preamble.
It inserted Part IVA, Article 51A, listing the Fundamental Duties.
It moved education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice from the State List to the Concurrent List.
The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 removed the right to property from the Fundamental Rights and made it a legal right under Article 300A.

Study next

The 44th Amendment, 1978 and the emergency safeguards it addedMinerva Mills (1980): the Supreme Court strikes down parts of the 42nd AmendmentThe Fundamental Duties in Article 51A and the 86th Amendment's addition of 51A(k)

Common traps

Choosing the 44th because it also changed a great deal. It reversed parts of the 42nd, and the Mini-Constitution label belongs to the 42nd.
Mixing up the two by year: the 42nd is 1976, during the Emergency, and the 44th is 1978, after it.

Individual 42nd Amendment changes are asked at 12 Sep 2025, 09:00, GA Q.22 (education moved to the Concurrent List) and 14 Sep 2025, 09:00, GA Q.25 (Article 139A, transfer of cases).

Article 312, into which the 42nd added the All-India Judicial Service, is tested at 15 Sep 2025, 09:00, GA Q.25.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: General Policy — all 308 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.