SSC
The provision for the President to nominate members to the Rajya Sabha from among persons with special knowledge of literature, science, art and social service was borrowed from the constitution of:
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Answer: Option D — Ireland
Detailed Solution
The provision for the President of India to nominate members to the Rajya Sabha from among persons with special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service was borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland.
The Irish model:
- In Ireland, some members of the Senate (Seanad Eireann), the upper house of the Irish Parliament, are nominated by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister).
- The Irish Constitution (1937) also provided for representation of vocational and cultural interests in the Senate.
Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha:
- The President nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha.
- They are chosen from among persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service.
- The purpose is to bring into Parliament eminent persons who may not want to contest elections, but whose knowledge and experience would be valuable.
- The nominated members have the same rights as elected members, except that they cannot vote in the election of the President; they can vote in the election of the Vice-President.
Famous nominated members:
Many eminent persons have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha, such as the poet Maithili Sharan Gupt, the dancer Rukmini Devi Arundale, the actor Prithviraj Kapoor, the singer Lata Mangeshkar, and the cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
Composition of the Rajya Sabha:
- The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha is 250 members: 238 representatives of the States and Union Territories, and 12 nominated members.
- The representatives of the States are elected by the elected members of the state legislative assemblies.
- The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not dissolved; one-third of its members retire every second year.
- The Vice-President of India is its ex-officio Chairman.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The USA, Britain and Australia were not the source of this provision.
Quick tip
Remember: nomination of 12 members to the Rajya Sabha (literature, science, art, social service) = borrowed from Ireland; nominated members cannot vote in the presidential election.
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Preamble & Salient Features — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Preamble & Salient Features, 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 Preamble of the Indian Constitution, the meaning of its key words (sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, justice, liberty, equality and fraternity), and the salient features of the Constitution, such as its federal structure with a unitary bias and the parliamentary form of government. Remember that the words 'socialist', 'secular' and 'integrity' were added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, the only time the Preamble has been amended. Questions also test landmark cases on the Preamble: the Supreme Court held in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) that the Preamble is part of the Constitution. Practise the Preamble and salient features 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.