Vision Academy EducareVision Academy Educare
Question 33 of 46 · DPSP & Fundamental Duties
Questioneasy
This question was previously asked in

SSC

When the Fundamental Duties were added to the Constitution, the Prime Minister of India was:

Answer View answer ▾

Answer: Option A — Indira Gandhi

Detailed Solution

The Fundamental Duties were inserted into the Constitution by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister.

Background:

  • Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister for two long spells, the second ending with her assassination.
  • In 1975, an internal emergency was proclaimed on the ground of internal disturbance, on her government's advice.
  • During the emergency, the government brought in the 42nd Amendment, which made sweeping changes to the Constitution.

Changes made by the 42nd Amendment:

  • It added a new Part IVA with Article 51A, listing ten Fundamental Duties.
  • It added the words "socialist", "secular" and "integrity" to the Preamble.
  • It added new Directive Principles, including free legal aid and participation of workers in management.
  • It increased the term of the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies from five to six years.
  • It tried to limit the power of courts to review constitutional amendments.

What happened later:

  • After the emergency ended, the Janata Party government that came to power in 1977 passed the 43rd and 44th Amendments.
  • These reversed many changes of the 42nd Amendment and restored the five-year term of the Lok Sabha.
  • However, the Fundamental Duties were kept.

Indira Gandhi's other milestones:

  • She was India's first woman Prime Minister.
  • Her government nationalised 14 major banks and abolished the privy purses of former rulers.
  • India won the war with Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

Why not the other options?

V.P. Singh became Prime Minister much later, at the head of the National Front government.

Lal Bahadur Shastri was Prime Minister from 1964 to 1966.

Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister after Indira Gandhi's death.

Quick tip

Remember: Fundamental Duties (1976) = 42nd Amendment = Indira Gandhi's government, during the emergency.

💬 Discussions on this question

Ask a doubt ›

Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.

Ask a doubt

More DPSP & Fundamental Duties Questions

View all ›
  1. Q1.The organisation of village panchayats is mentioned in which Article of the Constitution?
  2. Q2.Provision for early childhood care and education for all children below the age of six years is made in:
  3. Q3.Which Article of the Constitution provides for 'equal justice and free legal aid'?
  4. Q4.'To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so' is a Fundamental Duty under:
  5. Q5.The Directive Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution were borrowed from the Constitution of:

More General Knowledge Questions

  1. Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
  2. Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
  3. Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
  4. Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
  5. Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms

DPSP & Fundamental Duties — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of DPSP & Fundamental Duties, 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 Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV (Articles 36-51), borrowed from the Irish Constitution, and the Fundamental Duties in Part IV-A (Article 51A), added on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. Questions often ask which article contains a directive (Article 44 on a uniform civil code, Article 40 on village panchayats, Article 45 on early childhood care), how DPSP differ from Fundamental Rights (they cannot be enforced in court), and how many Fundamental Duties there are now (eleven, after the 86th Amendment added the eleventh in 2002). Practise the DPSP and Fundamental Duties 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.

‹ All DPSP & Fundamental Duties questionsBrowse all topics ›