Question map
Through the Forty Second Amendment to the Constitution of India, which of the following was/were inserted into its Preamble? 1. 'Liberty of thought, expression and belief' was substituted by 'Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship'. 2. The expression 'Unity of the Nation' was substituted by 'Unity and Integrity of the Nation'.
Explanation
The Preamble of the Indian Constitution has been amended only once by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976. This amendment introduced three specific words: 'Socialist', 'Secular', and 'Integrity'. Specifically, it substituted the phrase 'Sovereign Democratic Republic' with 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic' and replaced 'unity of the Nation' with 'unity and integrity of the Nation'. Statement 2 is therefore correct as it accurately reflects this substitution. Statement 1 is incorrect because the phrase 'Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship' was part of the original Preamble adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949 and was not a result of the 1976 amendment. The 42nd Amendment's changes were limited to the nature of the state and the addition of 'integrity' to the fraternity clause.
Sources
- [1] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 5: Preamble of the Constitution > 1 AMENDABILITY OF l THE PREAMBLE > p. 48