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Question 1 of 5 · Constitutional Amendments
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Which Constitutional Amendment is known as the 'Mini Constitution'?

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Answer: Option D — 42nd Amendment

Detailed Solution

The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 was passed during the Emergency (1975-77) by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It made so many and such sweeping changes to the Constitution that it is called the "Mini Constitution". Most of its changes were based on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee.

Key changes made by the 42nd Amendment:

  • Added the words "Socialist", "Secular" and "Integrity" to the Preamble.
  • Added a new Part IVA with ten Fundamental Duties (Article 51A).
  • Added new Directive Principles: equal justice and free legal aid (Article 39A), participation of workers in management of industries (Article 43A), and protection of the environment, forests and wildlife (Article 48A).
  • Moved five subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List: education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and the administration of justice.
  • Made the President bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers.
  • Provided for administrative tribunals (Articles 323A and 323B).
  • Extended the term of the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies from five to six years.
  • Gave the Directive Principles precedence over some Fundamental Rights and restricted the power of courts to review constitutional amendments.
  • Allowed the Centre to deploy armed forces in any state to deal with law and order.

After the Emergency, the Janata Party government passed the 43rd (1977) and 44th (1978) Amendments to undo many of these changes, such as restoring the five-year term of the Lok Sabha. In the Minerva Mills case (1980), the Supreme Court struck down the parts that limited judicial review and gave DPSPs primacy over all Fundamental Rights.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗The 44th Amendment (1978) undid many changes of the 42nd and removed the right to property as a Fundamental Right.
  • ✗The 73rd Amendment (1992) gave constitutional status to panchayats.
  • ✗The 86th Amendment (2002) made elementary education a Fundamental Right.

Quick tip

Remember: 42nd Amendment (1976) = "Mini Constitution": socialist, secular and integrity in the Preamble, Fundamental Duties and five subjects moved to the Concurrent List.

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Constitutional Amendments — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Constitutional Amendments, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the procedure for amending the Constitution under Article 368 and the most important amendments, such as the 1st, 7th, 42nd, 44th, 52nd, 61st, 73rd, 74th, 86th, 101st and 103rd Amendments, along with the basic structure doctrine. Exams ask what a particular amendment did: the 61st lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, the 73rd and 74th gave constitutional status to panchayats and municipalities, the 86th made education a Fundamental Right, and the 101st introduced GST. The 42nd Amendment (1976) is often called the 'mini-Constitution' because of how much it changed. Practise the constitutional amendments questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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