UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 83 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Fundamental Duties Sovereignty Integrity
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectPolity
- TopicFundamental Duties
- DifficultyEasy
- TypeDirect
To uphold and protect the Sovereignty, Unity and Integrity of India' is a provision made in the
Show answer
Answer: D. Fundamental Duties
Verdict
The answer is the Fundamental Duties. Upholding and protecting the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India is a Fundamental Duty under Article 51A.
Analysis
Article 51A(c) makes it the duty of every citizen to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. The Fundamental Duties were added by the Forty Second Amendment Act of 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. The Preamble speaks of the unity and integrity of the nation in its aspirational language but is not where this provision is made. The Directive Principles address the State rather than the citizen. Fundamental Rights confer entitlements rather than impose duties.
Source
M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity, page 135.
How to crack it
Ask who the provision addresses, because that single question separates all four options. Duties address the citizen, Directive Principles address the State, Rights confer claims on the individual against the State, and the Preamble declares objectives without addressing anyone. Note the deliberate overlap the examiner exploits: unity and integrity appears in both the Preamble and Article 51A, so identical vocabulary in two places is exactly where a distractor gets built.